Editing Battle of the Little Bighorn (section)

==Battlefield preservation==
{{Main|Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument}}

The site of the battle was first preserved as a United States [[U.S. National Cemetery|national cemetery]] in 1879 to protect the graves of the 7th Cavalry troopers. In 1946, it was re-designated as the ''Custer Battlefield [[U.S. National Monument|National Monument]]'', reflecting its association with Custer. In 1967, Major Marcus Reno was re-interred in the cemetery with honors, including an eleven-gun salute. Beginning in the early 1970s, there was concern within the [[National Park Service]] over the name Custer Battlefield National Monument failing to adequately reflect the larger history of the battle between two cultures. Hearings on the name change were held in [[Billings, Montana|Billings]] on June 10, 1991, and during the following months Congress renamed the site the ''Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument''.

United States memorialization of the battlefield began in 1879 with a temporary monument to the U.S. dead. In 1881, the current marble obelisk was erected in their honor. In 1890, marble blocks were added to mark the places where the U.S. cavalry soldiers fell.

Nearly 100 years later, ideas about the meaning of the battle became more inclusive. The United States government acknowledged that Native American sacrifices also deserved recognition at the site. The 1991 bill changing the name of the national monument also authorized an Indian Memorial to be built near Last Stand Hill in honor of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors. The commissioned work by native artist [[Colleen Cutschall]] is shown in the photograph at right. On Memorial Day 1999, in consultation with tribal representatives, the U.S. added two red granite markers to the battlefield to note where Native American warriors fell. As of December 2006, a total of ten warrior markers have been added (three at the Reno–Benteen Defense Site and seven on the Little Bighorn Battlefield).<ref>National Park Service website for the Little Bighorn Battlefield.</ref>

The Indian Memorial, themed "Peace Through Unity", is an open circular structure that stands {{convert|75|yd|abbr=off}} from the 7th Cavalry obelisk. Its walls have the names of some Indians who died at the site, as well as native accounts of the battle. The open circle of the structure is symbolic, as for many tribes, the circle is sacred. The "spirit gate" window facing the Cavalry monument is symbolic as well, welcoming the dead cavalrymen into the memorial.<ref>{{Cite web|title = The Indian Memorial Peace Through Unity – Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)|url = http://www.nps.gov/libi/the-indian-memorial-peace-through-unity.htm|website = www.nps.gov|access-date = 2015-04-07|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150413060331/http://www.nps.gov/libi/the-indian-memorial-peace-through-unity.htm|archive-date = April 13, 2015|df = mdy-all}}</ref>

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File:Littlebighorn HR Locke.jpg|Photo taken in 1894 by [[H.R. Locke]] on Battle Ridge looking toward Last Stand Hill (top center). To the right of Custer Hill is Wooden Leg Hill, named for a surviving warrior. He described the death of a Sioux sharpshooter killed after being seen too often by the enemy.<ref>[http://www.friendslittlebighorn.com/martinpate.htm "Martin Pate"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123193206/http://friendslittlebighorn.com/martinpate.htm |date=November 23, 2010 }}, ''Friends Of The Little Bighorn Battlefield'', retrieved April 24, 2010.</ref><ref>Wooden Leg, ''q.v.'', p. 236.</ref>
File:little bighorn memorial overview with clouds.jpg|The battlefield in 2005
File:Casualty Marker Battle of the Little Bighorn.jpg|US Casualty Marker Battle of the Little Bighorn
file:little-bighorn-memorial-sculpture-2.jpg|''Indian Memorial'' by Colleen Cutschall<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Rankin|editor-first1=Charles E.|title=Legacy: New perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn; (proceedings of the Little Bighorn Legacy Symposium, held in Billings, Montana, August 3–6, 1994)|date=1997|publisher=Historical Soc. Press|location=Helena, Mont.|isbn=0-917298-41-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/legacynewperspec0000unse/page/310 310]|edition=Nachdr.|url=https://archive.org/details/legacynewperspec0000unse/page/310}}</ref>
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