Custer had it comin'...

September 13, 2013

Partly cloudy
Lat/Lon 45 34.2N 107 25.9W

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument 
formerly "Custer Battlefield National Monument".

This photo is taken from Last Stand Hill, where General Custer and over 240 members of the US 7th Cavalry died fighting against a large band of Souix, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians.

The hillsides are covered with white headstones marking where members of the 7th Cavalry died.

On Last Stand Hill, there are headstones in a tight group where Custer and 46 men shot their horses to create a 'bunker' to hide behind as they made their final stand.  (The headstone with black on it is where Custer fell.)


Some of the white stones have names on them, others just say - US 7th Cavalry Soldier Fell Here.



We all learned about Custer's Last Stand in grade school.  But I remember it being told more as soldiers fighting hideous savages that would leave the reservation to attack, (unprovoked), innocent wagon trains in search of firewater and guns.

Sorry,... but I'd like to share what we learned at the monument.  I'll try to keep it short.  Please keep in mind that this will also include MY view, my opinion.


My opinion:  I have always felt guilty about how the white 'new comers' to this country treated the natives who already lived here.  Instead of being visitors to their land, the white man TOOK, (through higher firepower),  the Indians land and corralled them on reservations.   

Some tribes across this country took it better than others.  The Lakota Sioux was not one of them.  They had a very nomadic lifestyle, requiring them to move frequently according to weather and food sources.  They had been given a reservation in south western South Dakota. But soon after the treaty was signed, gold was discovered on the reservation and white miners began flooding in and killing not just the Indians, but also the buffalo, which they knew the Sioux and Cheyenne depended on heavily for food, clothing, and shelter. When buffalo became scarce, the Sioux and Cheyenne needed to move on. Sitting Bull moved his people west to SE Montana and NE Wyoming, into unceded territory in an attempt to find buffalo.

Upon finding that the Indians had left the reservation, the US told Sitting Bull to return to the reservation or 'pay the price'.  Sitting Bull refused, saying that his people faced starvation if they returned.  So the US Cavalry was sent out.  And Sitting Bull pretty much said, "Bring it on, you are not going to tell us where and how to live." (Can't blame them there. We fought for our freedom in 1776, right?)

The Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho had set up a large hunting camp, (hundreds of teepees, approx. 2000 members), along the Little Bighorn River.  In the middle of the photo at left, it's the dark tree lined area. (Appx 1.5 miles beyond the black wrought iron fence shown.)

June 25th, 1876, Custer and 246 men located the Indians and tried sneaking in for an ambush.  But they were seen by Sioux scouts, and the element of surprise was lost. (Strike one)

NOTE: One thing you need to know,... when the Sioux were put on their reservation, the US gave them repeating rifles to assist in their hunting.  The Indians used those rifles in this fight.  The Cavalry had only single shot rifles probably like those used in the Civil War.   (Strike two)

So it was that 2000 Indians with repeating rifles fought to remain free and live their lives the only way they knew how, against 200 US soldiers with single shot rifles.
Seeing this, one would think Custer might have called for a retreat, but instead Custer ordered an attack and moved in.  The fight was on.  (Stiiirike Three! You're out!)  

No members of Custer's party survived.  The slaughter gave the US justification to send out several thousand troops to round up the Indians, killing as many as needed until they agreed to return to the reservation permanently.   The rest, as they say, is History.

~~~

It was not until 1991 that work began on also making the Little Bighorn area a memorial for the native americans that died on this site fighting for their way of life. 

One of the first steps was the renaming of the memorial from "Custer's Battlefield" to "Little Bighorn Battlefield".

In 1999, they began adding headstones for many of the fallen Indians.  These were for two Cheyenne warriors.




In 2003, the Indian Memorial, (their term, not mine),  was dedicated.  (This sculpture is part of the memorial.)

Also - Over 200 horses were killed in the battle at Little Bighorn.  In 2003, a headstone was placed onsite for them as well.

Stay tuned -
Tomorrows post will be happier, I promise.