Rosebud Battlefield—Plans For Its Future

By Diane M. Tipton, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Statewide Information Officer

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At Rosebud Battlefield State Park, on thousands of acres of rolling prairie in southeastern Montana, little has changed since June 17, 1876.

But the site’s future promises changes of all sorts. To help manage that change, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is inviting Montanan’s and others in a year-long process to develop a management plan for the park.

Despite its national prominence and pivotal role in the Sioux Indian Wars, many Montanans are unfamiliar with the story of the Rosebud Battlefield, known to the Cheyenne Indians as "The Battle Where The Girl Saved Her Brother" and to the Crow Indians as "Where the Bull Who Doesn’t Fall Down Stuck the Enemy."

"The battle at the mouth of Kollmar Creek, a tributary to the Upper Rosebud, occurred eight days before and only about 30 miles away from the battle on the Little Bighorn. It played a significant role in the Sioux Indian Wars, in George Armstrong Custer’s fate, and in the federal government’s subsequent hard-line campaign to disarm and force Indian people in the region onto reservations," said Sue Dalbey, FWP parks planner coordinating the park’s planning process.

Dalbey said that FWP’s planning involves neighbors, tourism interests, representatives from the Indian tribes connected to the site, historians, energy developers, and recreationists. A series of town meetings and the ability to comment by way of FWPs web site at fwp.mt.gov   enables others to be involved in planning for the park’s future.

  That future promises to be multi-faceted and challenging. Rosebud Battlefield State Park is:

·         a state park that embodies the early relationships among native people of the region, the federal government and early settlers,

·         a site that provides outdoor opportunities,

·         a candidate to become a National Historic Landmark,

·         a nationally prominent resource worthy of the interest and support of the American Battlefield Protection Program,

·         an outdoor classroom for U.S. Army officers and other educational groups,

·         a site where underground mineral rights have been leased for coal, oil and coal bed methane, and

·         a place for many tribal cultures in Montana and the mid-west to honor the memory of their ancestors.

"Many people are passionate about this park because of their heritage, their upbringing, their love for western history, their fascination with the Battle of the Little Bighorn, or their interest in natural resources," Dalbey said. "The one thing everyone agrees upon is the significance of this site."

At Rosebud Creek warriors of the Northern Cheyenne and Lakota Sioux nations, including Crazy Horse, encountered General George Crook and his men who were guided by Crow and Shoshone scouts. Crook was headed north to join Colonel John Gibbon’s men from the west and Brigadere General Alfred Terry’s men from the east, including George Custer’s 7 th Cavalry, to force about 2,400 Indians in southeastern Montana back onto reservations.

About 1,000 Indians made a surprise attack on Crook and his men, in a startling strategy and what some say was a tactical victory for Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and their men.

"Battle strategists today study the Rosebud Battlefield’s complex and multiphase campaign and relish its physical integrity and near pristine state," said Dr. Ricardo Herrera of the Combat Studies Institute in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The Sioux Indian Wars of 1868-76 are among this U.S. Army think-tank’s major areas of study.

"In our work, battlefields are considered to be classrooms and primary ’documents’ for study, and that includes Rosebud Battlefield," Herrera said.

Though Crook claimed victory, some sources say his Crow and Shoshone scouts refused to continue. Crook retreated without notifying Gibbon and Terry of the military engagement or the huge Indian encampment in the area.

Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull moved their camp to the valley of the Little Bighorn River where they were joined by 3,000 or more Indians who had left the reservations to follow Sitting Bull. Here eight days later George Armstrong Custer, in command of the 7 th Cavalry, encountered them. The Indian encampment may have been 7,000 strong, but Custer thought he saw his opportunity. Today "Custer’s Last Stand" may be all many people recognize of the tumultuous Sioux Wars and their climax at the Little Big Horn.

Rosebud Battlefield State Park exists to engage Montanans and others in remembering this period of history and contemplating the values at the heart of the conflict including trust, integrity, economic survival, wealth accumulation, relationship, resource sharing, community and love-of-place—values that remain strong today as we study and plan for the future of this nationally important place.

  Everyone interested in the Rosebud Battlefield is invited to participate in the management planning process for the park. The next Town Hall Meeting is July 26 in Lame Deer. For details, locate Rosebud Battlefield State Park on the FWP web site at fwp.mt.gov , or call: 406-444-3764.