Introduction
How do events help us define who we are -- as individuals, as groups with special interests and common links, and as a people and a nation made up of many peoples? How do representations of these events -- in words and through art -- help us reach these definitions? The Battle of Little Big Horn, painted by the Lakota warrior Kicking Bear, provides a focus for thinking about who we are and how we define ourselves.
The World Wide Web offers extensive opportunities for students to explore how Native Peoples and descendants of settlers alike have defined themselves through the experience of the Battle of Little Big Horn. We've provided ways to use Web sites to explore the connections between identity and events:
Battle of Little Big Horn
Kicking Bear (Mato Wanartaka)
c. 1898
Lakota (born c. 1846, unknown; died May 28,
1904, near Manderson, South Dakota)
Watercolor on muslin
2 ft. 11 in. x 5 ft. 10 in. (frame included)
The Southwest Museum
Instructions
- First delve into the list of Source Links to examine different accounts and points of view of the Battle of Little Big Horn.
- Next try out the Discussion Questions and Activities (some with Web links) that suggest approaches to investigating issues of multiple perspectives of events and the creation of heroes and myths.
- Then use the Additional Resource Links to investigate these issues further.
