Cavalry soldiers and Indian warriors alike. Looking out over the prairie, visitors to this sacred place are deeply moved by the commemorative markers that indicate the casualty sites of both 7th U.S. Greene on the 2003 dedication of the Indian Memorial at Little Bighorn Battlefieldįor many, this is a place of reflection. The people’s ownership was acknowledged and their dignity affirmed.” Their stories of the battle, once ignored or considered irreconcilable, had been increasingly validated - even confirmed - by scholars and battle students so that their testimony now comprised an important reservoir to enrich interpretation at the park. At long last their achievement at arms was recognized. “The dedication of the memorial to their fallen held great significance to the people of the tribes involved in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The memorial serves as a living tribute and, as Enos Poor Bear, Sr., an Oglala Lakota elder shared, “a message for the living … power through unity.” Completed in 2013, the congressionally authorized Indian Memorial honors the many American Indian perspectives and interpretations of the battle and its outcomes, their heroic sacrifice and their struggle to preserve and defend their homeland and traditional way of life. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument preserves and interprets a near-pristine field of engagement that includes critical combat sites, archaeological artifacts and numerous monuments commemorating the combatants. Yet the battlefield’s cultural legacy far transcends its military significance. This hallowed ground holds a unique place in the national consciousness as the high-water mark in the 400-year struggle of American Indians against the encroachment of European Americans. Cavalry in one of the most famous and decisive encounters in American history.
| June 25-26, 1876 | Federal Battlefield Park Since 1946 | 765.44 AcresĪt Montana’s Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, we honor all who participated in the 1876 battle at which Lakota and Cheyenne warriors defeated the 7th U.S. Little Bighorn Battlefield National MonumentĬrow Agency, Mont.
Handicapped parking is located at these two locations and at the visitor center. Adjoining the visitor center is Custer National Cemetery, which includes interments from abandoned frontier military posts, the world wars, Korea and Vietnam.Ī 4.5 mile self-guiding tour road connects two separate battlefields, the Custer Battlefield and the Reno-Benteen Battlefield. The Museum features exhibits of the history of the battle, Custer, weapons, archaeology, Plains Indian life, and a walking tour with interpretive markers. Custer was killed leading a contingent of 209 men. It is now representative of those who were in the battle, Native Americans and the 7th Cavalry.Ī visitor center and museum contains exhibits relating to the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn in which a total of 263 US Cavalrymen, of the regiments 650 men, were killed in action by Sioux and Northern Cheyenne warriors. Bush renamed the site on December 10, 1991. The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument was originally named Custer Battlefield National Monument. George Armstrong Custer, and the Sioux and Cheyenne under the political and spiritual leadership of Sitting Bull. Located in southeastern Montana, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument memorializes the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn which took place on June 25-26, 1876 between the United States Seventh Cavalry Regiment led by Lt.