Little Bighorn NM memorializes an infamous defeat on June 26, 1876, of Lt Col George Custer and his troops of the 7th Cavalry by the Northern Plains Indians. With the U.S. economy in a recession, news of gold in Black Hills, South Dakota, caused unforeseen events like the Indian treaty being broken by eager gold seekers swarming the region. Inspired by Sitting Bull and war leaders such as Crazy Horse, Lakota and also Cheyenne left the reservation in an attempt to resume their ancestral way of life in the unceded territory on what is now the MT-WY border. President Grant ordered the tribes to return or be treated as his hostiles by military force. While the Indians won the battle, the U.S. Army response to the 247 soldier deaths triggered a massive increase in resources to win the Sioux Wars. Further westward expansion continued at an aggressive pace.
