Iron Nation was born in February 1815 and grew up when the Sioux were a powerful force on the northern plains. His life spanned a period of profound change, from Sioux dominance to their eventual settlement onto reservations by the U.S. Government. As Head Chief of the Lower Brule, he signed major treaties including the 1865 Fort Laramie Treaty, 1876 Black Hills Treaty, and 1889 Great Sioux Reservation Treaty. He sought the survival of the Lower Brule Sioux through some of their most disastrous and tumultuous years and was respected as a chief and peacemaker rather than as a warrior or a Ghost Dancer. He never took up arms against the U.S. government, choosing peace instead. Iron Nation died on 14 November 1894 in Iron Nation District of the Lower Brule Sioux Reservation and was buried at Messiah Episcopal cemetery. His granite monument, inscribed with the words "Children, Love One Another," is the first known commemorative monument erected over the grave of a Lakota Sioux chief by a tribe in South Dakota, and the gravesite reflects changing burial practices and memorialization as Native American and Anglo cultures coalesced during this period.