![little bighorn battlefield national monument little bighorn battlefield national monument](https://s22658.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Indian-Memorial-at-Little-Bighorn-Battlefield-National-Monument.jpg)
Keogh in 1881 to honor U.S Army casualties from the 1877 Nez Perce War. This monument was originally erected at Ft. While clearing the district of the Yellowstone of hostile indiansĪs soon as I saw the text, I had to read the amendment on the small marker in front of the monument: To the officers and soldiers killed, or who died of wounds received in action in the territory of Montana. This particular marker is a sublime example of how interpretations of history shift. An old memorial demonstrating the changing views of a fixed event. But it is educational that these original markers remain. Historians now recognize the “hostile indians” as human beings defending their homes and ways of life. Some of the markers are so old that their dated nationalist language is a stark contrast from modern perspectives. One can trace how popular opinion of this battle has shifted over the decades by the age of different monuments. Grave markers for fallen people on both sides are scattered across the ridge, commemorating not only the fallen person but where they had fallen. On the other side is the more recent memorial sunken into a grassy mound where native Americans (both who fought for and against the United States) are commemorated. On one side of Last Stand Hill the old obelisk commemorating the 7th cavalry and other US citizens that died. What makes Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument particularly notable is that there are memorials for and by each side in the battle and from different eras since the battle. Memorial recognizing the tribal members who died both supporting Custer and defending their homeland. Recognizing this dichotomy is an excellent example of the singular perspectives most of us carry in a many-angled world. Both sides were protecting a way of life.
![little bighorn battlefield national monument little bighorn battlefield national monument](https://www.roadtrippin.fr/image/album/little-bighorn-battlefield-001.jpg)
One can analyze Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument from many lenses. This became the battle of Little Big Horn and Last Stand Hill-where Custer was finally cut down-is now a National Monument. In the course of his movements Custer engaged a riverside encampment along the Little Bighorn River. George Armstrong Custer lead the 7th cavalry into the contested land on May 17, 1876. Despite early attempts to preserve the treaty, the US government quickly reconsidered their stance when gold was verified and attempted to buy the Black Hills from the tribes. When the tribal leaders refuse to sell the Black Hills, or live on the reservation where the US government wanted to relocated them, they were labeled hostile and cavalry moved in to round them up. When gold was discovered in the spiritual center of the Lakota nation, miners ignored treaty agreements and encroached on tribal land. State creation, mass migration, and all out war. Gold is the driving force behind so many things. But Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument has some striking points of interest and, frankly, we were driving right by. Generally, they are macabre, empty fields with little to look at and much to get depressed about. We really aren’t into visiting battlefields.