Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Whereas June 25, 2026, marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn;

Whereas the Battle of the Little Bighorn marked a pivotal moment in the Great Sioux War and the American Indian Wars;

Whereas the battle is known as the Battle of Greasy Grass by many tribes;

Whereas the Great Sioux War was the culmination of rising tensions between the United States Government, Tribal Nations, including the Lakota Sioux, the Northern Cheyenne, and the Arapaho, and settlers seeking gold in the Black Hills;

Whereas, in 1868, the United States Government and many leaders of the Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie, which established the Great Sioux Reservation in South Dakota and recognized additional hunting territories;

Whereas, following the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, increasing numbers of miners and settlers entered lands protected under the Treaty of Fort Laramie, contributing to growing conflict in the region;

Whereas the Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne who opposed the Fort Laramie Treaty began moving west into unceded territory and the territory of other Tribal Nations;

Whereas the Commissioner of Indian Affairs declared as hostile all Lakota Sioux who had left the reservation and required the Armed Forces, including Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his cavalry, to contain the Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne;

Whereas the Battle of the Rosebud preceded the events at the Little Bighorn, preventing General George Crook and his troops from advancing;

Whereas, after the Battle of the Rosebud, General Crook and his troops withdrew from the area, leaving them unable to assist the United States Army’s 7th Cavalry, but avoided greater losses due to the battlefield heroics of his Apsaalooke and Shoshone warriors;

Whereas the 7th Cavalry was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, previously a Brevet Major General in the Union Army during the Civil War;

Whereas Lieutenant Colonel Custer, with Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen, assembled the 7th Cavalry, which included their battalions and Apsaalooke and Arikara warriors, who were employed as scouts for the United States Army;

Whereas Lieutenant Colonel Custer sent Indian warriors ahead to survey the Little Bighorn Valley and report back information about a large village of Sioux and Cheyenne;

Whereas Lieutenant Colonel Custer and the 12 companies of the 7th Cavalry created a plan to attack the village based on the information provided by the warriors;

Whereas the Indian forces were led by Tribal leaders Sitting Bull (Hunkpapa Lakota) and Crazy Horse (Oglala Sioux), as well as Chief Gall (Hunkpapa) and Two Moons (Northern Cheyenne), among many other prominent warriors;

Whereas the battle took place along the Little Bighorn River in southeastern Montana on June 25 and 26, 1876;

Whereas Major Reno’s battalion was overwhelmed by the Indian forces and forced to retreat, while Lieutenant Colonel Custer and his 5 companies continued north to situate themselves along Calhoun Hill and Last Stand Hill;

Whereas roughly 40 troopers were left on Last Stand Hill under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Custer when they were overwhelmed by the Indian forces, leaving no survivors;

Whereas approximately 268 soldiers, warrior scouts, and civilians and an estimated 60 to 100 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors died;

Whereas, in 1881, a memorial was placed by the Department of War and was transferred to the National Park Service in 1940;

Whereas the memorial was officially designated the “Custer Battlefield Monument” in 1946;

Whereas, on December 10, 1991, Public Law 102–201 (16 U.S.C. 431 note) was enacted into law, renaming the monument the “Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument”;

Whereas more than 200,000 visitors from across the United States and around the world visit the monument each year to learn about the battle and its legacy;

Whereas the Battle of the Little Bighorn remains significant to the Tribal Nations whose ancestors fought and died during the battle and the Great Sioux War; and

Whereas the monument is home to the Custer National Cemetery, where approximately 5,000 members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their families, including those that died during the battle, are buried: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate—

(1) recognizes the 150th anniversary and the historical significance of the Battle of the Little Bighorn to the shared history of all participants;

(2) honors all the soldiers, scouts, civilians, and warriors who died at the battle; and

(3) encourages the people of the United States to visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument to commemorate and honor the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.