Apocalypse
At Little Big Horn:
Custer's Final Battle
 The Battle of the Little Big Horn marked the beginning of the end
for the Plains Indians' traditional way of life. It was the culmination of
nearly four hundred years of cultural animosity and conflict between
European invaders and the continent's Native American occupants This warfare reached its peak in the summer of 1876 on the
northern plains, when the incidents comprising "Custer's Last Stand"
entered American history and mythology... incidents that have remained
unresolved and controversial to the present day. Intense emotions,
misinformation, and partisanships have clouded this subject, and the
history of the Indian Wars in general, ever since.
We will examine the actions which inevitably led to this bloodbath
and probe into the personalities of the major players who found
themselves inexorably caught up in its chain of events: Custer, Crazy
Horse, Grant, Sitting Bull, and many less well known
characters.
We will
visit historical sites integral to a real understanding of the battle
including Fort Phil Kearney, the Fetterman Fight, the Wagon Box Fight, the
Battle of the Rosebud, and of course, the Little Big Horn Battlefield
itself. Moreover, we will explore significant areas not available to the
casual visitor such as the line of Reno's
retreat.
 We will try to recreate what life must have been like for a trooper
in the Seventh Cavalry of 1876 by retracing his steps, firing his weapons,
sampling his rations, and trying on his clothing. Above all we will
attempt to understand the motivation of men on both sides who chose to
fight to the death on a Montana hillside in what has arguably come to be
known as America's most famous battle.
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