Task one: Please carefully read the Textbook passage
Textbook
Battle of Little Bighorn
For years the Lakota Sioux conducted raids against white settlers who had
moved into Sioux lands. In response, the U.S. government ordered all Lakota Sioux to
return to their reservation by January 31, 1876. They refused. The situation was turned
over to the military.
About 2,000 Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho gathered near the Little Bighorn
River. The leader of the Sioux, Sitting Bull, conducted a ceremonial sun dance. He
reportedly had a vision of a great victory over soldiers.
The brash leader of the U.S. Army troops, Lieutenant Colonel George
Armstrong Custer, predicted victory as well. On June 25, 1876, Custer led his troops
into a headlong attack against superior numbers. Custer and his troops were quickly
encircled and slaughtered. The Battle of Little Bighorn was a tremendous victory for
the Sioux—but a temporary one. Now the U.S. government was even more determined
to put down the Indian threat to settlers.
Source: American Anthem, Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 2006, p. 441.
Task two: Please carefully read the following two documents:
Document A: Cameron Report (Modified)
To the PRESIDENT: Washington, July 8, 1876
There have been certain wild and hostile bands of Sioux Indians in Dakota and
Montana. I refer to Sitting Bull's band and other bands of the Sioux Nation. These
Indians continue to rove at pleasure, attacking scattered settlements, stealing horses
and cattle, and murdering peaceful settlers and travelers.
The present military operations are not against the Sioux Nation at all, but against
certain hostile parts of it that defy the Government. No part of these operations are on
or near the Sioux reservation. The accidental discovery of gold on the western border of
the Sioux reservation, and the settlement of our people there, have not caused this war.
The young Indian warriors love war, and frequently leave the reservation to go on the
hunt, or warpath. The object of these military operations was in the interest of the
peaceful people of the Sioux Nation, and not one of these peaceful Indians have been
bothered by the military authorities.
Very respectfully,
J. D. CAMERON, Secretary of War
Source: The President of the United States asked the Secretary of War, J.D. Cameron, for a
report of the military actions leading up to the Battle of Little Bighorn.
Document B: Kate Bighead Interview (Modified)
Little Big Horn was not the first meeting between the Cheyennes and Long Hair
[General Custer]. Early in the winter of 1868 Long Hair and the Seventh Cavalry
attacked our camp on the Washita River killing Chief Black Kettle and his band, burning
their tipis and destroying all their food and belongings. In the spring Long Hair promised
peace and moved the Cheyenne to a reservation. When gold was discovered white
people came and the Indians were moved again. My brothers and I left for the open
plains where our band of Cheyenne was again attacked by white soldiers in the winter
of 1875. We were forced to seek help from a tribe of Sioux. We joined Sitting Bull and
the Sioux and decided to travel and hunt together as one strong group. As conditions on
the reservations became worse more and more Indians moved west joining our group.
Six tribes lived peacefully for several months, hunting buffalo, curing the meat for the
winter months, and tanning buffalo hides. In the early summer, 1876 we set up camp
near Little Big Horn River. Soldiers were spotted by some hunters to the south of the
camp. . .
Source: Kate Bighead, a Cheyenne Indian, told this story to Dr. Thomas Marquis in 1922. Dr.
Marquis was a doctor and historian of the Battle of Little Bighorn in the 1920s. He interviewed
and photographed Cheyenne Indians.
Task three: Please answer the Central Historical Question in three paragraphs: Who was responsible for the Battle of Little Bighorn?