Little Bighorn

Little Bighorn

What happened? Where should the story start?

Little Bighorn is famous

• It is the site of a battle between the Lakota Sioux and the US Army in 1876

• US Army is led by George A. Custer, a brash military figure

• The entirety of the US troops under Custer's command were killed

• Custer had split his troops into three; so some did survive

• It is actually the name of the river near where the battle was fought

It's a victory... For who?

• The Native American group (mostly Sioux and Cheyenne) won the battle

• The victory brought many more American soldiers to the west

• These soldiers would force all native groups to reservations.

• 
  

George Armstrong Custer

• Leader of the American troops

• graduated from West Point military college

• General in the Civil War at age 23

• influential in victory at Gettysburg

• present for at the surrendur of Robert E. Lee and the Confederacy

Sitting Bull

• leader of the Lakota Sioux

• had a vision of soldiers 'as thick as grasshoppers' coming towards Sioux and Cheyenne camp

• Refused to surrender; took his tribe to Canada until 1881

Multiple Select

Little Bighorn is ....

• a native American leader

• the name of a battle between Americans and natives

• a river

Multiple Choice

__________ won the Battle of Little Bighorn.

• The Lakota Sioux and Lakota Sioux

• The US Army

• George Armstrong Custer

Multiple Choice

A reservation is _________.

• a native american homeland where natives traditionally lived

• A place where natives were forced to live by the US Army.

Where to start - option 1 - Custer...

• Custer had already fought in the Indian Wars for years

• He had been in charge of the Battle of Washita River.

• 103 natives on reservation soil were killed at this Battle

• Battle of Washita River is also sometimes called the Washita River Massacre.

• It occured in 1868.

Where to start - option 2 - Gold

• After Washita River, many Sioux and Cheyenne are forced to live in a reservation called the Great Sioux Reservation.

• Located mostly in South Dakota.

• Gold was found on the western border of the reservation.

• This pull factor of immigration brought many settlers west.

• Conflicts started to occur between settlers and natives.

From Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown

From Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown

Multiple Choice

Who was present at the Battle of Washita River?

• Sitting Bull

• George Armstrong Custer

• JD Cameron

Multiple Choice

__________ was a _______ factor of immigration that brought settlers towards the Great Sioux Reservation.

• Indian wars; push

• gold; pull

• gold; push

• Indian wars; pull

Multiple Choice

The Battle of Washita River occured before the Battle of Little Bighorn.

• True

• False

JD Cameron

• Secretary of War

• says natives are hostile and wild and like to "go on the warpath"

• says gold is not a reason for the conflict

Kate Bighead

• Cheyenne woman

• interviewed in 1922 - almost 50 years after the Battle

• remembers that Custer was at Washita River

• Says Cheyenne and Sioux were living peacefully

• Claims gold brought settlers towards the Great Sioux Reservation

Poll

Where should you start the story of Little Bighorn?

• Gold bringing settlers west.

• Custer's actions at the Battle of Washita River

• Other