He was son of Many Bullet Wounds (also called White Buffalo Shaking off the Dust) and Eagle Feather on the Forehead.
Later, he inherited the name Wooden Leg from his uncle, a Crow adopted by the family of Eagle Feather on the Forehead.
Only his nephew was able to follow him during his endless walks, so the friends of Eats from His Hand began calling him by his uncle's name in sport.
During this period, he lived like any other Indian of the Plains, spending his time hunting game and fighting against the enemy tribes, in particular Crow and Shoshone.
Wooden Leg was too young to take part in the battle, but during the fight, his eldest brother Strong Wind Blowing died.
This facial picture, together with his best suit, his shield, and his flute made from the wing bone of an eagle, became part of his war equipment for the rest of his life On the morning of March 17, 1876, Wooden Leg and a few hundred Northern Cheyenne and Oglala Sioux people were peacefully encamped along the banks of the frozen Powder River near present-day Moorhead, Montana.
Wooden Leg and other warriors were quick to act, moving the women and children out of harm's way, and slowing the soldiers' advance.
The men, women, and children walked three days to reach the Oglala Sioux village of Crazy Horse farther north on the Powder River, where they were given shelter and food.
On June 17, 1876, Wooden Leg participated in the Battle of the Rosebud, against Brigadier General George Crook's force of 1,000 U.S. cavalrymen and infantrymen who were allied with 300 Crow and Shoshone warriors.
On the morning of the June 25, 1876, while sleeping under a tree after a feasting night, Wooden Leg and his brother Yellow Hair were awakened by the cries of the old men claiming the arrival of U.S. soldiers.
In late 1876, General Crook led another force out of Cantonment Reno, a staging area, and north up the Powder River.
Crook's Indian Scouts, Pawnee, Sioux, Shoshone and others found a large Cheyenne encampment at the Red Fork of the Powder River, on the east side of the Big Horn Mountains.
Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie's troops and scouts attacked the camp, killing many of the inhabitants, and driving off the rest, including Wooden Leg and Little Wolf.
A group led by Dull Knife and Little Wolf disobeyed the soldiers and left the reservation to return north.
In 1890, Casey's Scouts and Wooden Leg guided soldiers in the Ghost Dance campaign resulting in the Wounded Knee Massacre.
Back in the reservation, he became a judge: he had the responsibility to solve quarrels in the tribe and to teach the law of the United States.