War LeadersDuring the Battle of Little Big Horn, the Sioux had many leaders,
including the infamous warriors Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Spotted Tail. They were known to lead parties of anywhere from 500-1000 warriors, although in the Battle of Little Big Horn they led forces of nearly 2000 warriors to defeat the army. |
SIOUX TREATY
The treaty that the government had with the Sioux was broken when Custer and the US government invaded the Indian camps and tried taking the land back from them. The treaty had stated that the land was placed under the rule of the Sioux reservation. The army's invasion immediately broke the treaty and the trust of the Indians, and the Sioux fought back. Even today there is still a legal dispute about which party controls the land.
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BLACK HILLS GOLD RUSH
The Battle of Little Big Horn was instigated by miners. After gold was found in the hills, General Custer was sent in to peacefully move the Indians off their land. This would allow the army to control the gold mining by building a fort to oversee the extraction of gold from the mountains. "As white settlers and gold seekers encroached on Sioux hunting grounds during the last half of the 1800s, hostilities increased." (The Great American History Fact-Finder)As there were more miners going on land the hostilities increased creating the friction that sparked the battle.