Hardin and the Little Big Horn

We've arrived at Hardin, Montana to attend the Custer Battlefield and Museum Symposium. On Tuesday we drove about 6 hours to get here, a long trip for all of us. This is the weekend of the Anniversary of the Battle of the Little Big Horn or Custer's Last Stand. On June 25, we went to the National Park which had many activites going. There were talks by Indian tribes. We took a bus tour of the various battle sites. It was narrated by a young Indian woman who did a nice job. Unlike the previous trip we made here, the narration was pretty unbiased for both sides. The exhibits were equal and interesting and we attended a ranger talk. The ranger did a good job of presenting both sides, as well. Our previous visit was about 16 years ago. The interpretation was so heavily anti-white and military that we were left with a bad feeling about the whole park and those in charge of it. Things have changed and seem more even handed and we enjoyed the visit. Part of the park is a national cemetery where a number of famous people are buried.

Both Chuck and I attended the symposium which was from 9-3, a whole lot of Custer discussion. The main street has vendors, a parade and arts displays. In general, it is a big event for a little town. Chuck also went on the field trip which took them into the back country to see all the sites of the battle. It was in a yellow school bus --not built for big people--but apparently the large nice air conditioned buses couldn't have gotten to the sites. I stayed at the trailer with dogs since it was all day and we had a good time just lazing around .

Chuck plans to participate in the reenactment on the Crow reservation on Sunday. He was invited by Steve Alexander, a living historian who plays Custer and was the Custer look alike with Chuck. I will hope Chuck survives with the little hair he has left. I'll post pictures tomorrow. After we leave here we will not have much Internet access so posts will be spotty until we get to Washington.