The Battle of Little Bighorn

This Sunday we had a very special chance to get a personal tour of Little Bighorn Battlefield from one of the staff at Pretty Eagle, Verdell, and his family. He lives on the far side of the battlefield and has actually found old rusted spurs and rifles on his land while digging for worms. So crazy!



He showed us some of the relics he's found, and took us through the battlefield, brining the battle to life as he presented each spot through both historical tellings and his own personal stories.



It was one of those moments where I felt overwhelmed with appreciation at the chance to have such an experience... to actually experience this hugely historical place not just as another tourist spot but by sharing in a Native's history of it, someone whose ancestors were a part of it and whose spirit can still be felt there.



I was just overcome by what a cool experience it was to be there with him and his family, hearing an "insider's" perspective, and being welcomed as strangers, really, to share in their history and culture... it's moments like these that I came to Montana for!



Little Bighorn Battlefield is the site of Custer's Last Stand and "one of the last armed efforts of the Northern Plains Indians to preserve their ancestral way of life,"says the National Park Service.