George Custer became a hero to many Americans shortly after his last stand on June 25, 1876. Indians on the plains were still seen by many as a menace, and he had stood up to them with great courage it was believed. He became part of the folklore of the west. Dime novels and even more serious books were written about him. His last battle became an act in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. His wife Libby worked to keep his memory alive, always stressing his bravery and dashing and noble manner. Thus it was a natural transition when the Little Big Horn battlefield was made a historical site to glorify Custer there--it was named for him-the Custer Battlefield Historical Site. For decades only the story of the U.S. Cavalry and Custer and his men going down shooting and fighting were told and stessed. But finally by the late 1980’s, after years of pressure and agitation by Indian tribes and their supporters, it was decided by the National Park Service, which runs the site, to allow an Indian presence at the battlefield. Part of this was the new militancy on the part of native Americans since the 1960’s, and part of this was that many historians had been telling the National park Service that the story was incomplete. There was a rich store of oral history which had been passed down to the descendants of the Indians who fought there that day against Custer’s Seventh Cavalry. That history added to what was already known, plus a new archeological dig which unearthed evidence of where 7th Cavalry soldiers died, completely revised the story of the battle of the Little Big Horn. It now became known just how large the Indian village was, how rash Custer had been in going to the attack, and where and how his men died in the last stand at what came to be called Custer Hill. It also became evident that any real heroics that day were on the part of Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen and their men. These two officers organized a defense and fought off the Indians at their end of the battlefield (four miles away from Custer) and survived with most of their men. As a result of this new emphasis, the following changes are now in place at the battle site: -----Many of the National Park rangers who run the site are American Indians.... -----Most of the personnel who run the visitor’s Center and gift shop are American Indians.... -----Perhaps most important of all, a large percentage of the interpretive speakers at the Visitor Center are Indians. A new speaker comes on every 30 minutes, and it is here where the Indian history and perspective of the battle comes strongly into play. -----a large number of the books sold at the gift shop are from the Indian perspective. -----Various Indian tribes are now allowed to sell their crafts (jewelry, art, clothing, dolls) to tourists coming and going in the parking lot. -----The Crow Indians (who did not fight in the battle that day, some of their tribe were scouts for Custer and he released them from the area) run a narrated bus tour of the battlefield. Admission for this tour is $5.00, which goes to a college fund for Crow Indian youth. ----The battle site has been officially renamed The Little Big Horn Historical Battle Site (the Indian name for the area). Recently though, the name has been changed back to the Custer Battlefield Historic site. So this fight may have to be renewed ----Recently a monument has been erected near the battle site to honor the 100 Indians who died in the fighting that day. The 7th Cavalry lost 270 men overall, 210 under Custer, and 60 more from the forces that Reno and Benteen commanded. There had been a monument to these men at the battle site since shortly after the battle.