Native American accounts of the Battle of the Little Big Horn?

Dear Ms. Quintana,

Thank you for contacting the History Hub.

A quick catalog search found this document, “Letter from Captain John S. Poland to the Assistant Adjutant General of the Department of Dakota in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Which Gives an Account from Seven Sioux Indians of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer's Defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876.” However, as the National Archives collects only the records of the U.S. government, there will not be many such records in our holdings.

There are more contemporary accounts in magazines of the time period. As taken from this classroom resource:

“Sitting Bull Tells the Story of the Fight” New York Times (May 7, 1881)

“Gall’s account of The Battle of the Little Bighorn” St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press (July 18, 1886)

“An Eyewitness Account by the Lakota Chief Red Horse” Garrick Mallery, Picture Writing of the American Indians, 10th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology (1893)

Account from a Cheyenne participant McClure’s Magazine (September, 1898)

The Smithsonian’s Native American museum holds several such records, including drawings of the battle by Red Horse. This Smithsonian article, “How the Battle of Little Bighorn Was Won” also contains quotes from Native accounts as compiled in the book The Killing of Crazy Horse, by Thomas Powers.

We hope these are helpful and wish you all the best with your research!

Sincerely,

Katharine Seitz