Just look around the federal city of Washington, D. C., for instance. When I stand at the foot of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial, or see the Washington Monument, I am reminded not only of these great statesmen, but of the ideals they symbolize. That wall of simple stone and engraved names has done more to heal old wounds, create pride and reconcile many of our Viet Nam Veterans. There is power and importance in symbols, and I see the possibility of the memorial having a similar effect on Indian people. There is nothing at the Custer Battlefield that specifically acknowledges the Indian perspective and the Indian lives that were lost.
Many Indian people feel offended when visiting the Battlefield.
An analogous situation might be if there were nothing recognizing the Union soldiers who died at the Gettysburg Battlefield. The Indian Wars of the late 1880s were an extremely dark time in America's history. Indian people were fighting for their lives, their families, their livelihood and most importantly, for the culture. While the Indians were victorious at the Little Big Horn, they were, in the long-run, on the losing end of the larger battle to maintain their distinct way of life. We can all sympathize with that sort of a perspective today, I think, and understand why they fought the way they did.