During the 1800s, with westward expansion surging across the Midwest toward the Rocky Mountains, the tension grew between settlers and Indigenous people grew. While squirmishes had been on the rise for the better part of the century, the stage was set for what would become one of the most significant battles in the Indian Wars.

After years of fierce fighting between the United States Army and Lakota and Cheyenne warriors, several Lakota leaders agreed to sign the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868. This treaty created a large reservation for the Lakota in the western half of present-day South Dakota. Some Lakota leaders, such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, vehemently rejected the reservation system and refused to sign the treaty.

In 1874, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was ordered to explore the Black Hills inside the Great Sioux Reservation. During the expedition, geologists discovered deposits of gold. Word quickly spread and miners and entrepreneurs flooded the region. Despite being in direct violation of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, the United States government negotiated with the Lakota Sioux to purchase the Black Hills, but the price was rejected. In the winter of 1875, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs issued an ultimatum requiring all Lakota to report to a reservation by January 31, 1876, or be considered hostile. The deadline came and went with virtually no response from the Native Americans, and matters were handed to the military.

And now, we’ve met the major characters in what would become known as Custer’s Last Stand, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and George Armstrong Custer, who was in command of the 7th Calvary. Their worlds collided in June of 1876, along the ridges, steep bluffs, and ravines of the Little Bighorn River, in present-day south central Montana. Custer led 700 federal troops to battle despite being greatly outnumbered by roughly 3,000 warriors from the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho, and their allies. Custer, along with the 7th Calvary, was decimated.

The battle was a momentary victory for the Lakota and Cheyenne, though not the end of the story. The death of Custer and his troops became a rallying point for the United States to increase their efforts to force native peoples onto reservation lands. While the Battle of Little Bighorn was a victory, it was short-lived, and would become a powerful symbol of the clash between Native American culture and the encroaching American settler society.