Little Bighorn

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument memorializes a major battle fought on June 25th 1876, between Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians, against the United States Army. These tribes were fighting to preserve their traditional way of life as nomadic buffalo hunters. The U.S. Army was carrying out the Grant Administrations instructions to remove the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne peoples to the great Sioux Reservation in Dakota Territory.

I rose before the sun just in time to see it come up. We were set to leave camp at Red Shale early and hit the road to put some miles behind us, heading to Red Lodge. On the way we would pass Little Bighorn so we decided to stop and pay our respects. Approaching the gate we realized there would be a fee to enter, we almost did a u-turn (it is easy to get burnt-out paying fees), but instead approached the gate with a little hesitation. I had my $10 in hand, the man at the gate told us to proceed, we noticed a sign that read, Today Only-Free. The date, June 25th, we just happened to visit on the 136th anniversary of the Little Bighorn Battle of 1876!! "I can't believe our luck," we heard a guy say to his wife later in the morning and we wonder if the same thing happened to them:) We went to a ceremony of the Lakota tribe, listened to drums and chanting, and were mesmerized by a Native American in his full garb, tribal dancing. It was a powerful experience bringing an emotion that was unexpected. Maybe it is the land, or how sacred Native Americans still hold their tradition, and the respect they have for their elders that fought for them and lead their people to battle. I found myself wiping tears from my cheeks. We visited the learning center, listened to a ranger talk about the battle, and drove through the Little Bighorn Battlefield identifying the places that certain events occurred. After our drive it was almost noon so we stayed for lunch, that the monument park provided, a sandwich, chips, an apple, and a Coke or Pepsi. We sat on the grass next to a family group of  Native Americans. We watched a charge on a hill where Native Americans yelped and charged their horses in honor of the battle. This experience was extra ordinary because on our drive up the Native American Scenic Byway in South Dakota we went through the Lakota reservation, and then on this day we went to their ceremony and listened to them speak. The chief of the tribe expressed that they barely had enough money to make the journey from South Dakota and they held a blanket offering. One of the head ladies of the tribe laid out a blanket and people went to the front laying their donation on the blanket.