[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 114 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 114

  Commemorating the 125th Anniversary of the Battle at Little Bighorn.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 2001

Mr. Campbell submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Commemorating the 125th Anniversary of the Battle at Little Bighorn.

Whereas, on June 25, 1876, the 7th Cavalry of the United States Army, led by 
        Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, fought with a group of 
        Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians camped on the shores of the Little 
        Bighorn River;
Whereas this battle was the result of increasing hostility between the United 
        States and Sioux and Cheyenne tribes over Sioux ownership of the Black 
        Hills and the trespass of non-Indians into the area;
Whereas the Sioux believed the Black Hills, or Paha Sapa, as they called them, 
        to be sacred, a place they traveled to in order to have visions and 
        pray;
Whereas the United States and Sioux leaders agreed to the Treaty of Fort Laramie 
        in 1868, securing to the Sioux ownership of the Black Hills forever, and 
        pledging to aid and assist in keeping trespassers away from the Black 
        Hills;
Whereas the United States violated the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1874 by 
        sending, without the permission of the Sioux, a reconnaissance mission 
        to the Black Hills, led by General George Armstrong Custer;
Whereas tensions were rising in Sioux Country, where the tribes were becoming 
        increasingly unsettled and feared the loss of Sioux Country and their 
        way of life;
Whereas the Battle at Little Bighorn was preceded by two military engagements, 
        occurring on March 17, 1876, and June 17, 1876;
Whereas, after the second engagement, now known as the Battle at Rosebud, the 
        Sioux and Cheyenne moved their encampment from the Rosebud River to the 
        Little Bighorn River;
Whereas Lieutenant Colonel Custer, along with 650 soldiers and scouts, was 
        dispatched to scout for the Indians along the Rosebud and Little Bighorn 
        Rivers;
Whereas, on the morning on June 25, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel Custer discovered 
        the Indian encampment of approximately 10,000 on the shore of the Little 
        Bighorn River and determined to engage in a battle with them;
Whereas Lieutenant Colonel Custer's forces, upon attempting to engage the Indian 
        warriors at the shore of the Little Bighorn River, were forced back up 
        the ridge from which they attacked and forced west, and were overwhelmed 
        by Indian forces;
Whereas the 201 men under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Custer were killed 
        and the total losses suffered by the U.S. Army numbered 258;
Whereas the Sioux and Cheyenne, led by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Gall, 
        suffered losses of approximately 58; and
Whereas the Battle of Little Bighorn occupies a legendary place in American 
        history, a tragic clash of two cultures leading to the demise of the 
        traditional Indian way of life, and the end of the era known in American 
        history as the ``Indian Wars'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors the memory of the those who died in the battle, 
        the Indians fighting for a way of life that they believed in 
        and the cavalry troops fighting for the young nation in which 
        they believed;
            (2) recognizes June 25th, 2001, as the 125th Anniversary of 
        the Battle of Little Bighorn; and
            (3) calls upon the people of the United States to observe 
        this day with appropriate ceremonies and respect.
                                 <all>