Jessica Crabtree

June 25, 1876: Battle of Little Big Horn

There’s not much about this event that hasn’t been said – both true and not so true. It has been studied more extensively, and become more entrenched in popular culture, than possibly any other encounter between Indians and US forces. Maybe that’s because it involved so many influential figures – General Custer, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse – or maybe because it was so shocking to Americans when it occurred that it was instantly and permanently seared into the public memory. Whatever the reasons, our understanding of the conflict and the events surrounding it have changed dramatically through time. The technologies of forensic archaeology and ballistics have reconstructed the course of events on the Greasy Grass, from the movements on the field to weapons used and the nature of the combat.

Perhaps the biggest change in perception is the shift in bias. The role of the US military, and of Custer in particular, is no longer so glorified as it once was, and the Indians not so vilified. We’ve come to understand how the hunger for gold in the forbidden Black Hills motivated the Custer Expedition of 1876. And with more Native accounts coming to light – and being heard – our understanding of the events on the ground has become more objective and comprehensive.

These changes are relatively recent, however. For most of the 20th century, discussing the legitimacy of US Indian policies was strictly taboo – and so was challenging the objectivity of “official” accounts. (continue reading…)

You can see National Geographic’s photo gallery feature here.

December 10, 1909 – Death of Red Cloud

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the death of one of the Lakota nation’s most renowned leaders. Red Cloud, or Makhpiya-Luta as he was known in the Lakota language, spent many years leading the military resistance against American encroachment. He is perhaps most remembered for his involvement in the conflict known as Red Cloud’s War in the 1860′s. In his later years, however, he took a controversial stand against armed resistance and instead advocated diplomacy as a means to obtain justice for his people and to ease their transition to reservation life. He fought relentlessly against fraudulent land deals and bureaucratic corruption. He died on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota at the age of 87.

“They made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they kept only one; they promised to take our land, and they did.”

“I am poor and naked, but I am the chief of the nation. We do not want riches but we do want to train our children right. Riches would do us no good. We could not take them with us to the other world. We do not want riches. We want peace and love.”

Wikipedia: Red Cloud

Profile of Red Cloud on PBS: The West

The Lakota winter counts are an amazing historical and cultural record that go back for centuries. The Smithsonian’s National Anthropological Archives have put out this fascinating interactive web exhibit about the Lakota people and their traditional calendar.  Click on the screenshot below to go directly to the exhibit. If you don’t have Flash, the HTML version is available here.