Answer the following questions from the video:
1.) Explain Who Sitting Bull was.
Sitting Bull (c. 1831-1890) was a Teton Dakota Native American chief who
united the Sioux tribes of the American Great Plains against the white settlers taking their tribal
lands.
2.) Who was George Armstrong Custer?
George Armstrong Custer was a U.S. military officer and commander who rose to fame
as a young officer during the American Civil War. He gained further fame for his post-war
exploits against Native Americans in the West
3.) What tribes were involved and why were they at the Little Bighorn?
The Battle Of the Little Bighorn, known as the Lakota and other Plains indians as the
Battle of the Greasy Grass and also commonly referred to as Custer’s LaVideo: A Good Day to
Die
st Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota, Northern
Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes and the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. The
battle, which resulted in the defeat of U.S. forces, was the most significant action of the Great
Sioux War of 1876. It took place on June 25-26, 1876, along the Little Bighorn River in the Crow
Indian Reservation in Southeastern Montana Territory.
4) Why was the army out to get these Indians? (What tribes?)
In 1875, after gold was discovered in South Dakota’s Black Hills, the U.S. Army ignored
previous treaty agreements and invaded the region. This betrayal led many Sioux and
Cheyenne tribesmen to leave their reservations and join Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse in
Montana.
5) What mistakes did Custer make in attacking these Indians?
In what has been seen as a grave mistake, Custer declined to take Gatling guns along, but
these would have severely slowed his force down and considering the expected nature of the
upcoming battle they may not have been able to make an impact on the outcome.
6) What happened during the battle?
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also called Custer’s Last Stand, marked the most
decisive Native American victory and the worst U.S. Army defeat in the long Plains Indian War.
The demise of Custer and his men outraged many white Americans and confirmed their image
of the Indians as wild and bloodthirsty.
7) What was the outcome of this battle?
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also called Custer’s Last Stand, marked the most
decisive Native American victory and the worst U.S. Army defeat in the long Plains Indian War.
The demise of Custer and his men outraged many white Americans and confirmed their image
of the Indians as wild and bloodthirsty.
8) How does this battle impact the future of these Indians?
It caused the white Americans to see the Indians as wild and bloodthirsty.
9) Find out:
Where does Sitting Bull go after the battle? What role is played by Crazy Horse?
On July 10, 1881, more than five years after the fateful battle at the Little Bighorn, the great
chief led 187 Indians from their Canadian refuge to the United States. After a period of
confinement, Sitting Bull was assigned to the Standing Rock reservation in South Dakota in
1883.
10) Find out what the “Custer Myth” was and why it was created?
The Custer Myth was partly created by the traits of the man himself, a soldier who lived the
legend. It was also the consequence of the real generals placing him in the position where he
could become one.
