‘Calling the Allies back together’

Part 2 of a series

LAME DEER, Mont. – As reported in part 1 of this series, in 2020, the National Park Service (NPS) received a grant of 4.5 million to build a new Visitors Center and expanded interpretive services at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Since that time, NPS has been in the planning process, promised to involve tribal consultation, especially with the Tribes involved in that historic event: principally the Northern Cheyenne, Sioux, and Arapaho.

Finally, in August 2023, the NPS held a formal consultation with the Northern Cheyenne. However, from the Tribe’s point of view, it was not a consultation meeting, rather to inform the Tribe of the finalized plans for the new proposed Visitors Center. 

On the other hand, NPS had previously sent a letter to the Tribal Historic Preservation Office inviting consultation. Due to a transition in that tribal department, that request was not answered by the Tribe. As a result, the Tribal President formally delegated Tribal Vice President Ernest Littlemouth as the official designated point of contact.

Conrad Fisher, former tribal Vice-President, THPO Director, Council member and Vice-President of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe commented that “true” tribal consultation requires more than a single letter. “After all, the Battlefield is only about twenty five miles away from Northern Cheyenne,” he said.

What is consultation? According to Webster’s dictionary it is a meeting where the involved parties come together, discuss common concerns, and arrive at a good and mutually agreed upon decision.

While the Sioux Tribes are geographically more distant, according to Gay Kingman, Executive Director of the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association, the matter of the new Visitors Center at the Battlefield has not been readily made available to them. 

Annually, several of the Sioux Tribes send riders and delegations to the Battlefield anniversary, welcomed and hosted by Northern Cheyenne families.

Kingman’s’ great grandfather, Miniconjou or Cheyenne River Sioux, Dogs Back Bone, for example, fell at the Battle. It took the family many years to convince NPS to erect a marker in his honor at the Battlefield, while markers for the white soldiers had stood for decades.

“How the Battle is presented is a very personal and spiritual matter to us,” she commented. “It is not just about bricks and mortar; it is the story of our survival.”

The official interpretive narratives at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument have historically been based on accounts by the U.S. Army – not necessarily from the veteran warriors of allied tribes of the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. NPS themes at the monument of ‘competing ways of life’ and conditional peace leave out a major part of the picture, which is why the Northern Cheyenne Tribe has been fighting for meaningful consultation on this “once in a lifetime opportunity” to have their side of the story told at the new visitor center. 

Another factor which has impeded consultation and communication between the Tribes and NPS is the high turnover rate with the Battlefield Superintendent position. Five different people have been in that position since 2020.

For example, Superintendent Dustin Sene who participated in the consultation meeting with the Northern Cheyenne in August 2023 has recently left. At this time, it is unclear to the Tribe who his replacement will be.

In a letter of October 3, 2023, the Northern Cheyenne under the leadership of Vice-President Littlemouth forwarded official comments regarding the new Visitors Center to NPS. Following is a summary of the primary concerns from the Northern Cheyenne Tribe:

The Tribe questioned the sense in the NPS design plan to build the same exact size visitor center building as the old one, when there is now an opportunity to ‘go bigger’ to attract and host an increase in park visitors. Given the fact that the Battle of the Little Big Horn was one of the most famous battles fought in U.S. history, it is of profound importance. The Tribe believes the NPS should expand the plans for the Visitors Center to be physically larger.

Though the Tribe had multiple comments, their primary focus was the interior exhibition spaces to include tribally designed content. We request permanent exhibition spaces designated for the Cheyenne and would work cooperatively with Battlefield to plan rotating exhibits. On behalf of our historical allies, we recommend separate, but equal space for the Sioux and other allies. In regard to NPS’s proposed exhibit titled “The Enemy of My Enemy” for Indian scouts serving the 7th Cavalry, the Northern Cheyenne recommended the NPS forego that specific exhibit, stating, “as the Indian scouts were paid or enlisted by the U.S. Army, they fought as part of the U.S. Army at this battle – not independently as tribes, and therefore scouts should be included under exhibits reserved for the U.S. Army.”

Educational venues are also important for the Tribe to suggest to the NPS, recommending the inclusion of a theater similar to ones at Crazy Horse Monument, Mount Rushmore or Yellowstone Park, where tribally created multimedia content could be viewed. .

Additionally, in their comments the Tribe weighed in on becoming included in the battlefield interpretive services and tours, and inquired about employment opportunities for tribal members.  Currently the Crow Tribe’s Apsaalooke Tours is the only sanctioned organization to provide group commercial tours at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, and not many Northern Cheyenne work for the NPS at the monument.

“How can you have another Tribe tell our story,” questioned Littlemouth?

Currently, only one Northern Cheyenne tribal member, Rogene Whiteman is employed at the Battlefield as a tribal liaison. She does an excellent job of representing the Cheyenne perspective.

As yet, a contract has not been awarded for construction. The Northern Cheyenne hope that preference may be given for tribal members during the construction phase as there are a considerable number of skilled craftspeople in our tribal communities.

The goal of the NPS is to have the new Visitors Center completed by the 150th anniversary of the Battle, June 25, 2025. Yet, Regardless of any significance placed by NPS on a 150th attle anniversary, as Vice-President Littlemouth commented, “We would rather take the extra time to have it done right than rush to meet an invented deadline where a lot of important tribal contributions are not yet acknowledged.

As timelines diminish, the coming weeks and months become even more critical for meaningful consultations between Tribes and the NPS. Littlemouth said that in one conversation with a consulting NPS official, the Tribe was told that their comments were understandable but we were basically the only ones taking these stances on the battlefield’s interpretive services and visitor center plans.  “I know we can’t be the only Tribe that feels how important all of this is to us and our grandchildren.”

For example: The Great Plains Chairman’s Association’s comment is that these matters haven’t been brought to their immediate attention. The Northern Cheyenne Vice-President has committed to reaching out to the Cheyenne’s traditional Sioux allies to lend their strength to bring positive changes to the new battlefield visitor center and its interpretive services.

Although Northern Cheyenne officials have commended the NPS superintendents of the Little Bighorn Battlefield for their willingness to regularly meet, the Tribe has yet to see any substantive changes in the new visitor center plans that the Tribe been calling for. “We’ve been doing our best. Our goal is to conduct diplomatic consultation, we owe this to future generations.”

Former US Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Northern Cheyenne who guided the name change of the Battlefield agreed. “You must keep the Park Service on their toes, or they will just go their own way. I wish the Tribes well and will stand by them. One weakness of the Federal government is that their interpretation of consultation is to tell them of a preconceived plan.” he said.

Editor’s note: A contract has been awarded according to verbal reports from former LBBNM Superintendent Sene – but this must be verified from the authorized NPS officials. The Crow Tribe’s TERO laws will give Crow preference on their reservation

Editor’s note: Reach out to Chris Roman Nose, he is the communication director for the governor of the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma – for a comment, because they have begun attending consultation meetings recently, but only by remote attendance (video conference). (405) 422-7766

 

(Contact Clara Caufield at 2ndcheyennevoice@gmail.com)

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