Campbell Hails Dedication of Indian Memorial at Bighorn Battlefield
Crow Agency, MT -- Today Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) joined
Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Northern Cheyenne Chairwoman Geri
Small, Indian tribal leaders from around the U.S., Native veterans
and spiritual leaders and took part in ceremonies dedicating the
Indian Memorial at the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana.
Campbell, serving in the House of Representatives when he introduced
the bill authorizing construction of the Indian Memorial, is the only
American Indian in the Senate and is one of 44 Council Chiefs of the
Northern Cheyenne Tribe. Today's dedication took place 13 years after
Campbell championed the name-change of the site from the Custer
Battlefield to the Little Bighorn Battlefield.
President George Bush signed the name-change into law in 1991, 115
years after a force of Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors defeated
a detachment of the U.S. Seventh Cavalry under the the command of Lt.
Colonel George Armstrong Custer, on June 25, 1876.
"One-hundred and twenty-seven years is a long time to wait for
something that means so much to Indian people and I am happy it is
happening and honored to be a part of the dedication", said Campbell,
the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
The dedication ceremonies and program were developed by the National
Park Service and representatives from tribes historically affiliated
with the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
"It took awhile to get this done, but it is important that the Indian
warriors be acknowledged and honored in some official way" said
Campbell.
In 1996, the National Park Service -- guided by the Little Bighorn
Battlefield National Monument Advisory Committee, made up of members
from the Indian tribes involved in the battle, historians, artists
and landscape architects -- conducted a national design competition.
In 1997 the winning design was selected and the "Peace Through Unity"
memorial, designed by Philadelphia architect John Collins and his
wife, Alison Towers, was built near an 1881 pillar erected in honor
of the 265 U.S. soldiers who were slain in the vicinity of Last Stand
Hill. The Indian Memorial is the first Federally-funded memorial to
American Indian warriors. It features a sunken circle and "spirit
gate" meant to welcome the U.S. Cavalry dead and act as a
counterpoint to the soldiers' monument, about 100 yards to the south.
The centerpiece of the Indian Memorial is a bronze sculpture of three
warriors, representing the Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho. The
sculpture, entitled "Spirit Warriors," is by Colleen Cutschall of the
Oglala Sioux Tribe. The Indian Memorial also honors the Crow and
Arikara who served as scouts for Custer.
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CONTACT: Paul Moorehead 202-224-2251
June 25, 2003