150 Years Later: The Battle of the Little Bighorn - Insight 16
Today, June 25th, marks 150 years since the famed Battle of the Little Bighorn in what was then known as the Montana Territory.
Many remember it as Custer’s Last Stand, but it is much more than that.
It is a day where westward expansion met a tipping point and initiated the fall of dominos that resulted in a systematic corralling of an entire people throughout the western United States.
In 1876, it was one of the last gasps of freedom Native Americans illustrated in the defeat of the U.S. Cavalry at the Battle of the Greasy Grass. While a divisive figure in history outmaneuvered his own forces and led them to disaster, it is more of a day for recognizing the strength it took to unite so many people for one cause. The leadership of two key men and the overwhelming victory they led their people toward was a defiant stance against an authority that was beginning to impose its will through force.
The Battle of the Little Bighorn was the beginning of the end for many. It resulted in other events such as the Flight of the Nez Perce in 1877, which led to the crossing of the Musselshell River only four miles from our location. It eventually concluded with the defeat of others, with one of the final acts coming from the Apache tribe as they also attempted to hold on for as long as possible.
The culmination of containing ‘Hostiles’, as General Sheridan called any free Native Americans, came at the 1890 Massacre of Wounded Knee where the 7th Cavalry, resurrected from annihilation, reared its head again and killed hundreds of unarmed Lakota. Many attribute this final act of evil as a retribution for the Battle of the Little Bighorn fourteen years earlier.
The impact of that fateful summer afternoon is visible to this day. Without the removal of Native tribes from the west, many farms and ranches may not exist. To an extent, much of Montana agriculture can look back on this date a century and a half later and recognize that it came at a great cost to all involved.
The Little Bighorn Battlefield is a large tourist attraction for the state of Montana and the crown jewel to ‘Custer Country’ where it annually generates approximately $10 million. But what it also created was an amazing ambassador for Native American people a century after its occurrence in the form of Dr. Chief Joseph Medicine Crow.
As the last true War Chief of the Crow Nation, his title was earned through brave acts performed in the European Theater during World War II.
The four crucial acts:
1) Striking an Enemy Without Killing Them
2) Taking an Enemy’s Weapon
3) Leading a Successful War Party
4) Capturing an Enemy’s Horse
Dr. Chief Joseph Medicine Crow, 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient, served to illustrate the importance of this particular day through his lifelong passion where he began the annual re-enactment performed in Crow Country. His ties ran deep to the Battle of the Little Bighorn where his maternal step-grandfather, White Man Runs Him, was a scout for Custer’s forces and an eyewitness to the battle.
From a personal perspective, the Battle of the Little Bighorn is also overwhelmingly large. From the physical perspective, the only battlefield I have witnessed that comes close to its size is Gettysburg. In legend, it is one of the greatest the American West has ever experienced. In national reactions, it is one of only two engagements I can think of within the confines the United States where such a defeat caused such a driven determination not only by the military, but also the populace. The other is the Alamo.
Many also use the incident as a lesson on leadership but focus solely on the Cavalry forces. Realistically, the situation warrants a look at both the failed leadership and subordinate-ship of Custer. To be a good leader, one must recognize the importance of also being a good subordinate; the two go hand-in-hand and rarely outweigh the other. Inversely, the true leadership lessons were illustrated through Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Gall, Two Moons, Lame White Man, and others. Both politically and militarily, these men showcased some of their greatest lifetime experiences and strengths in the matter of a few hours. Victors of history have focused on this defeat of ‘their’ side and often cast away the perspective of those who won on that hot June day.
Today marks less of a Remembrance for a man who made a costly error, sent his men to their death, and became a nation’s martyr; a greater justification for annihilating a whole other race of people. Instead, it should be a Celebration of something bigger.
Perhaps, a celebration of those who stood for as long as they could, defying fate. Perhaps, a celebration where leaders of various people united under a common cause and, unexpectedly, won. Perhaps, a celebration where a David and Goliath story unfolded and turned into an even greater legend than the event itself.
Then again, maybe more so, it is a day to both remember the sacrifices that led to where we are today and celebrate a people at the height of their glory, simultaneously.
