In 1872, a lot of new surveys came out to this region. In 1873, there were many new inventions such as the colt revolver and the devils rope ( barbed wire) thid was a much cheaper version of fence. Unfortunately,  a lot of bison were slaughtered, so the Native Americsns lost their food source. In 1834, General Custer found a lot of gold in the black hills. The Americans want to buy the Black Hills which is sioux territory. After January 31, all Sioux were supposed to move out of the black Hills. Those who did not, a war was started.

Terry, Gibbons and Crook go on an expedition to clear out any Sioux that are still in the lands. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were the two leaders of the Sioux. The  Sioux formed an alliance with other tribes to make a larger encampment (7,000) individuals. The Sioux were known for their guerrilla warfare methods. However, in 1877 Crazy Horse surrenders, and is shot and killed by a military police. Sitting Bull is on the run for 5 years along with 40 individuals. However, he surrenders as well in 1881. In 1890, one gun is accidentally discharged and the battle of wounded knee is the final skirmish.

We surveyed the Little Bighorn National Monument on the Crow reservation. The monument dedicated to the Native American People was definitely my favorite. It was interesting reading quotes from the voices of various tribes.

After learning about the battle of Little Bighorn and General Custer,  we drove another two hours into Rapid City South Dakota. Surprisingly, there is two pieces of the Berlin Wall in a memorial 5 minutes from our hotel. It is amazing to think that they only just disassembled it in the year 1990. The little town of Rapid City was also a hidden gem amidst the mountains. Not only was there an enormous block party taking place, but we also found a space marked "art alley." Quite literally,  it was an alley with beautiful graffiti, images, and song lyrics various folks in the town had painted. Truly,  it was magical. What better way to become an advocate for the arts than to create a peaceful space where individuals can go and create. Drummers lined one of the entryways as well as henna artists and guitar players- Art at its finest.

In the evening, we had the chance to attend the Mount Rushmore lighting ceremony. Seeing the four presidents etched in granite was unbelievable. The showing of the movie before the lighting revealed why the original architect chose George Washington, Lincoln,  Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt. There were 400 individuals that worked on this project and no one was injured. Back then, many people were expected to die on these projects. Therefore, it was surprising, no one was injured and a testemant to the builders.