As they say, there are three sides to every story – Yours, Mine, and the Truth.
David, the girls, and I were there to hear the Lakota side of the story.
As we entered the auditorium, we passed up the snacks and coffee and took our seats. Watching the chairs fill up, I said to Mallory and Eileen that they were the youngest people in the room. As other young students began filing in, I was glad for Mallory and Eileen’s sake. The lecture would not solely be for people with wrinkles.
Every seat in the house was taken for the presentation of “Voices from the Little Big Horn”.
The pony-tailed academic announced the professor, and the teenage girl seated in front of us began to use her tablet – to play on Tumblr.
According to the professor, Custer’s Last Stand was the Lakota’s Last Stand. He told accounts of the battle from the perspective of oral histories passed down by the Lakota Indians.
One of the most romantic stories, I think, is that of General Custer having a relationship with a beautiful Lakota maiden. (The professor showed us a picture of her and she was indeed, lovely.)
In support of this, the professor said that upon the death of General Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn, Lakota women were said to pass over Custer’s body and not to harm it because he was a relative.
The lecture continued.
Indian chiefs and medicine men always make fascinating subjects and so it was with the stories of Sitting Bull. The most interesting information being that he worked with Buffalo Bill. Sitting Bull was said to be a generous man and money that he earned from the Wild West Shows was sent back to his people for food and other necessities.
Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill
As I listened to the professor’s speech, I was aware that he was not politically correct. When his lecture was over, he took questions from the audience. And although, most asked questions using the term Native American, he referred to the Lakota, Crow, and Sioux as Indians.
It was refreshing! We have more than enough of “newspeak“. I don’t know what the Indians think, but I’ve never considered that label one of disrespect.
Marlene
Here’s a picture I took at the Little Bighorn National Monument near the town of Garryowen in south central Montana.
I understand Garryowen is still for sale.
In light of that, you may enjoy reading:
