 |
| Source |
The victors’ celebrations which continue 150 years after Custer’s defeat
Remember, the Plains Indians were composed of many different tribes, with their own languages, almost none of it written, and dependent on mostly oral history traditions passed down from each generation. They do have some pictographic documentation of various events often on buffalo hide, paper or fabric, and are sometimes called “Ledger art” for the ledger books used for the drawings. When carefully studied they seem to be very accurate representations of the depicted events. Several pictographs exist of the Custer battle, done by participants.
One Bull was the adopted son of Chief Sitting Bull, and a participant in the battle. He painted the pictograph discussed in the video in the source above (6:06 long). I urge you to view this one which ties together so much information about the Custer battle. There are many short videos below showing today’s Indians celebrating these events.
Today, a lot of documentation is taking place on social media instead of buffalo hides, so to see the full story, we need to look at several social media postings such as those below. It is worth the time to view them and try to understand their culture, even today.
To appreciate the battle you need to understand the terrain. It is a maze of jumbled hills, ridges, and depressions. The Little Big Horn River is pretty much the only water, and trees grew along it, but hardly anywhere else. The river at the battle site is only 25-50 feet wide, and ankle to knee deep. Here are two short videos.
VIDEO 1 (42 seconds) - Little Big Horn battlefield from a distance, showing last stand hill (green area on the hilltop with visitor center) and Indian village location in the trees along the river. VIDEO
VIDEO 2 (42 seconds) - Views from the battlefield, along the path of Custer’s retreat, taking casualties up to Last Stand Hill. VIDEO
The mission of the 7th Cavalry was to destroy the Indian camp which was unexpectedly large, estimated at maybe 1,500 to 4,000 warriors and total of 10,000 people from many tribes ready to start the annual buffalo hunt. Here are two short videos showing a much smaller camp at this year’s celebration which was held on privately owned land adjacent to the Custer battlefield.
VIDEO 3 (42 seconds) – Indian camp on eve of victory celebration. (Beautiful!). VIDEO
Video 4 (42 seconds) – Indians gathering in camp (Northern Cheyenne and Crows) and celebrations. VIDEO
The plains Indians were dependent on horses to hunt game, and haul their teepee camps to new locations. Horses had been reintroduced to North America by Cortez expedition in 1519, but spread rapidly in the wild. Obtaining (capturing or stealing) horses was a necessity for their way of life. Great horses make great warriors. Here is a two minute video of some Lakota Sioux in their camp showing off some of their horses.
VIDEO 5 (2:00 minutes) –Lakota Sioux camp with their horses prior to the reenactment of the battle. VIDEO
The highlight of the Victory Day celebration is the reenactment of the Indian repulse of the cavalry and their pursuit and destruction away from the camp to “last stand hill.” The following short videos are a good representation of the battle, although with far smaller numbers than in 1876. But, for the 268 men of Custer’s command, this is a good approximation of the battle. The first is a 1:57 minute view of the Indian charge from camp up the hill surrounding the site of Custer’s troops. Then a 22 second video taken in the midst of the attacking Indians. Finally, two videos (under a minute each) where the warriors charge from the hilltop to the spectator line – pretty much what Custer saw coming at them.
VIDEO 6 (1:57 minutes) “Victory Day” Warrior charge up the hill. VIDEO
VIDEO 7 (22 Seconds) – Indian View from inside the warrior attack. VIDEO
VIDEO 8 (45 seconds) - Final charge towards the spectators. VIDEO
VIDEO 9 (59 seconds) Another video captions this part of the celebration:
150th Little Big Horn Victory- The Final Charge.
From the top of the hill to the base of our seats, riders arrived in less than ten seconds, a sight from the front row that sends chills down your spine.
But this ground holds something deeper. Warriors from the Oceti Sakowin, Cheyenne, and Arapaho once stood on lands like these, defending everything they held sacred, their families, their freedom, and their right to live upon the ancestral lands of their people.
Let this be a reminder of the tenacity and courage that still runs through our blood. VIDEO
The final video of the reenactment is 40 seconds of a ceremonial dance by the spectators honoring their ancestors.
VIDEO 10 - (40 seconds) - “And we danced for our ancestors! Much respect for our ancestors.” VIDEO
There are other pictographic accounts of the battle, in addition to the oral histories known to the participants in the reenactment above. Follow the links below for more on the pictographs and what they tell us.
 |
| Chief Red Horse’s depiction of the battle (detail of one of several) done circa 1881. Source |
The artist, Chief Red Horse:
For further reading on pictograph sources check out the following:
Part 1 of 2 part series on Red Horse’s work:
https://www.notesfromthefrontier.com/post/the-amazing-little-bighorn-drawings-of-red-horse
Part 1 of 2 part series on Red Horse’s work:
https://www.notesfromthefrontier.com/post/red-horse-at-the-battle-of-the-little-bighorn-an-eyewitness-account
Crow “White Swan” work circa 1890 in Denver Art Museum
https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/object/1968.336
Some say there were no survivors from the Battle of the Little Big Horn.
They are wrong, the survivors are called “Indians.”
Great little series, sir. Thanks for all the work you've put in on it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting first vids JB, especially that first one. That terrain and the numbers on both sides......someone forgot that quantity has a quality all it's own.
ReplyDeleteFor a first person account I recommend "Warpath and Bivouac" by John Finerty. He was an Irish immigrant newspaper man, and rode with the expedition. The newsmen drew lots to determine which party they rode with. Finerty "lost" and only reached the Little Bighorn battlefield with the first party after it was all over.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the videos JB. I watched a couple, will watch more later.
ReplyDelete