Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

In the summer of 1876, tensions continued to grow between Native Americans and the United States military. Back in 1868, tribal leaders from Lakota, Arapaho, and Norther Cheyenne communities signed the Treaty of Ft. Laramie. The agreement created the “Great Sioux Reserve," a Native reservation on the land we now know as South Dakota. The tribes were promised peace and freedom from the American government, but by 1872, surveying for the Northern Pacific Railroad began to cut across their land.

In 1874, Gen. George Custer established a fort in the Black Hills, where he discovered gold. Over the next couple years, the region would flood with eager miners. The U.S. government tried to buy the land back from the Lakota, but they refused. In 1875, tensions came to a boiling point when the Commissioner of Indian Affairs announced that all tribes needed to report to a reservation by the end of January, 1876. The tribes gave no response, and the U.S. military turned to force.

Several bloody disputes followed, the most famous of which being the Battle of Little Bighorn, also referred to as 'Custer’s Last Stand.' On June 25, Custer led 600 men into the Little Bighorn Valley. By this time, the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors had come together, ready to take on Custer's men. Today, the fight is considered the most decisive Native American victory during the Plains Indian War, with some 3,000 warriors defeating Custer and all his men. 

Today, a national monument marks the location of the Battle of Little Bighorn. The monument offers scenic overlooks of hills and valleys, outdoor installations, and grave markers — serving as a poignant place for contemplation.