These two granite markers can be found at the Little Bighorn Battlefield. This National Monument site is located near Crow Agency, Montana, and is where General Custer, along with the 7th Calvary, had his famous "Last Stand" on June 25th and 26th, 1876.
About 220 U.S. soldiers, scouts, and civilians lost their lives in this historical battle. This, of course, does not count the number of Cheyenne, Lakota Sioux, or Arapaho Indians who also died there.
It is important for all to understand the tensions leading up to this massacre. The tensions of the Indian tribes had been building for years as they dealt with continued hostilities from soldiers and the many broken promises made by representatives of the U.S. government. For example, seven years previously, after a particular battle on May 15, 1869, General Custer smoked the peace pipe with the Cheyenne and made the following oath:
“I will never point my gun at a Cheyenne again. I will never kill another Cheyenne.” - General George Armstrong Custer (1869).
The pipe was shared with a Cheyenne leader named Stone Forehead, Keeper of the Sacred Arrows, who upon finishing the traditional smoking ritual, emptied the ashes from the peace pipe as he firmly responded to General Custer's promise:
"If you break your promise, you and your soldiers will go to the dust like this. If you are acting treacherously towards us, sometime you and your command will be killed.” - Stone Forehead Arrow Keeper, Cheyenne (1869).
Seven years later those tensions got to the point that the Native Americans reacted to these broken promises with this devastating battle.
A visit to this National Monument should lead one to ask the questions, "Why?"... "Why did this have to happen?" ..."What could have been done to prevent this from happening at all?"
