BATTLE OF LITTLE BIGHORN - LAST GREAT VICTORY OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS

BIJELJINA, JUNE 24 /SRNA/ - At the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876, the Sioux tribe, under the command of Chief Crazy Horse, inflicted one of the most devastating defeats ever suffered by the US Army on American soil.

The Native American warriors destroyed a portion of General George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry Regiment, and Custer himself was killed in the fighting.

Although he did not take part in the battle, the victory was made possible by the brilliant strategic preparations of Chief Sitting Bull, the leader of the Sioux, and the alliance of the Dakota tribes.

Sitting Bull led what many historians describe as a desperate struggle against the ethnic cleansing and genocide that the US government systematically pursued against Native American peoples.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn marked the most severe defeat suffered by the United States in its conflicts with Native Americans, but it also sealed the fate of the Indigenous peoples forever - any remaining prospects for cooperation and negotiation were shattered, while the US military leadership clamoured for a final resolution to the Indian question.

Today, a memorial stands at the battlefield site, bearing the names of those who lost their lives there. Monuments honoring U.S. soldiers predominate, although memorials commemorating Native American warriors are also present.