Planning underway or the 150th Anniversary of Battle of Little Big Horn

The 150th Anniversary of the Battle of the Little Big Horn is rapidly approaching, June 26, 2026. This year, the annual celebration and remembrance will be expanded to a full week of activities to commemorate this significant event, the most famous of all battles between Tribes and the U.S. military during the Great Plains Indian Wars.

The Northern Cheyenne people remember it as the time “Custer got rubbed out,” recalling that it was the only time the enemy, the Northern Cheyenne, captured the colors from the U.S. Cavalry in a battle on U.S. soil.

The battle itself was the culmination of long-standing tensions between Native Nations and U.S. forces. Custer underestimated the strength and resolve of the Lakota and Cheyenne warriors, and for Indigenous peoples it became a fight for survival and sovereignty. The defeat of Custer grew into a symbol of Native resistance, while the battle also underscored the tragic consequences of U.S. expansionism. Today, Little Bighorn remains a powerful reminder of the struggle for justice and recognition.

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe, supported by a tribal resolution, is engaged in planning for the anniversary with numerous other Tribes, including the Great Plains Tribal Leaders, Arapaho, Southern Cheyenne, and Crow. Vice-President Ernest Littlemouth has been formally designated as the point of contact for the Northern Cheyenne.

Other key tribal members are also actively involved, such as Wallace Bearchum and Donovan Taylor, both ardent history buffs and traditional leaders. Eugene Little Coyote, assistant to Littlemouth, recently provided NSNT with a summary of the planning and goals for the 150th anniversary.

Following tradition, several Cheyenne families will welcome and host visiting Sioux riders. These include the Yelloweyes Carlsons of Ashland, the Spotted Elks of Lame Deer, and Rosita Sioux of the Muddy District. One of the veteran Cheyenne riders, Danny Yellow Eyes Carlson, already has his big, splashy black horse ready to go.

This year, commemoration activities will be observed for an entire week rather than just one day, and organizers expect thousands of people to attend. Their primary focus is on tribal audiences, while also recognizing that the Battlefield is the third most-visited tourist attraction in Montana, drawing visitors from around the world. “It will be a time to tell our stories, the way we want them told,” Little Coyote noted.

Little Coyote also explained some of the logistical challenges. Because of ongoing construction of a new Visitors Center at the Battlefield, access will be limited. The Visitors Center and new roads throughout the Battlefield are not finished and will not be open. As a result, vehicles will not be allowed to enter the park, except for NPS tour buses and buses transporting people from an off-site parking area yet to be determined. The NPS will host commemoration activities on site, and preliminary plans call for two days of tribal presentations. It is still unclear whether the Morning Sunrise Prayer Ceremony, normally conducted by the Cheyenne, will proceed, though Little Coyote believes it should and will. That ceremony is traditionally not a public event, but one reserved for tribal members. The usual parading of horses throughout the Battlefield will be limited, although the dramatic “charge upon Last Stand Hill” will still occur. That symbolic and powerful charge by tribal riders takes place just off the designated Battlefield.

Vice-President Limberhand successfully negotiated an arrangement with the Realbird family of Garryowen to accommodate tribal campers and especially horseback riders from many tribal nations. The Realbirds own land in the Garryowen area, adjacent to the Battlefield, and for years have conducted a reenactment of the battle. “The Realbirds have been so gracious and helpful,” Little Coyote emphasized. “Except for the reenactment shows, they will allow other Tribes to use the grandstand for activities and honorings still in the planning stages. In addition, the Realbirds have welcomed tribal peoples to camp at the Garryowen site. Imagine the planning and resources necessary to accommodate hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people and horses during that week. It will certainly be a memorable intertribal event,” he noted.

Littlemouth and Little Coyote also expressed high praise and appreciation for the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Association. “Once again, the allied Tribes are coming together to appropriately commemorate and honor this significant event in our history, one which marked a brief victory for the Tribes and yet was the beginning of the end of the nomadic freedom they fought so hard to preserve.”

For more information about Northern Cheyenne planning, contact Vice President Ernest Littlemouth’s office at 406 477 6284.

(Contact Clara Caufield at acheyennereview@gmail.com)

The post Planning underway or the 150th Anniversary of Battle of Little Big Horn first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

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