History

Indian Victory Day

Indian Victory Day commemorates the Battle of Little Bighorn, during which the Sioux nation spectacularly defeated Lt. Colonel George Custer along with five companies of the United States calvary. The battle was fought on June 25, a Sunday, in 1876, on a ridge above the valley of the Little Bighorn River in Montana. Custer and his troops attacked a village comprised of seven Indian bands, each with its own chief: the Unkpapas under Sitting Bull, the Oglala under Crazy Horse, the Minniconjou under Fast Bull, the Sans Arc under Red Bear, the Cheyenne under Ice Bear, the Santee and Yanktonais under Red Point of the Santee and the Blackfeet under Scabby Head.

The warriors were defending their right to hunt on lands promised to the tribes in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. The treaty agreed that all of South Dakota west of the Missouri River be "set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation" of the Brule, Oglala, Minniconjou, Yanktonai, Hunkpapa, Blackfeet, Cuthead, Two Kettle, Sans Arc, Santee and Arapaho Indians. It also stipulated that the country north of the North Platte River and east of the Summits of the Big Horn Mountains be considered unceded Indian Territory.

The attack was a complete surprise to the village. When Custer charged, the women, children and infants fled to the north. Custer mistook them for the main body of fighters and immediately pursued them. Seeing this, the warriors of the village divided into two groups. One group intercepted Custer between the group of women and children and themselves and the other came up to their rear, trapping the soldiers. Neither Custer nor a single soldier under his command survived the day.

To learn more about the Battle of Little Bighorn, try these websites:

• The Custer Battlefield Historical & Museum

• Notes from the North American Indian by ES Curtis The Battle of Little Big Horn

• Little Big Horn Associates