Black Hills War

The Black Hills War, primarily occurring in 1876, was a conflict between the U.S. Army and the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne peoples. This war stemmed from the discovery of gold in the Black Hills. These hills were considered sacred territory and were guaranteed to the Lakota and Arapaho by the Second Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868.12

Despite the treaty, thousands of miners and settlers entered the Black Hills after the gold discovery. The U.S. government's attempts to negotiate purchase rights failed, and President Ulysses S. Grant ultimately authorized the seizure of the land. The conflict's most notable event was the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876, where Lakota and Cheyenne warriors, led by Sitting Bull and others, decisively defeated Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry. By 1877, the U.S. Army had expelled the Lakota from the Black Hills, forcing them onto reservations. The Supreme Court later recognized the illegal seizure of the land, awarding the Sioux over $1.5 billion, though the settlement remains uncollected.1234