The Dull Knife Battle

The panel's Lone Wolf was Little Wolf, and by November 1876 he, more than Morning Star, whom the Lakota called Dull Knife, was the camp's leading man. Its assortment of scouts was more than four hundred men of other nations: about 150 Lakota and Arapaho, among them Sharp Nose's Arapaho and Three Bears's Lakota, more than a hundred Pawnee under the North brothers, roughly as many Shoshone, a Bannock party, and nine Northern Cheyenne who knew they might be sent against their own people. The Pawnee drew the most notice for their fighting.

What the plaque says

The Dull Knife Battle In the months following Custer's defeat at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, a group of Native American members of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe left their allies along the Little Big Horn River and traveled south to encamp for the winter. Lead by Dull Knife and Lone Wolf, nearly 1400 people erected a 175-lodge village approximately 30 miles west of this point. The United States Army, seeking to end Native American resistance following Custer's defeat, dispatched Colonel Ranald MacKenzie and his force of 750 cavalrymen and an assortment of 400 Indian scouts to pursue Dull Knife and his people. Aware that the U. S. Army was in pursuit, many Northern Cheyenne advocated relocating their camp to a different location. At the behest of a soldier chief named Last Bull, the camp was not moved. The night before the battle, the Cheyenne erected a large fire to celebrate the success of a recent raid against a group of Shoshone Indians. By the bitterly cold morning of November 25, 1876, Colonel Mackenzie and his men reached the village following a night march and began their attack. Awakened by the sound of gunfire, Cheyenne warriors put up a fierce and determined resistance. Their action allowed their families to flee to a series of hills overlooking the battle site. During the battle, Mackenzie's forces captured nearly 500 Cheyenne horses and destroyed the village. The Cheyenne, now without their basic provisions and horses, faced death from exposure to the harsh winter conditions. In the following months they sought shelter among friendly tribes. By 1877, following their defeat at Dull Knife and the loss of their territory due to settlement, the Cheyenne surrendered to the U. S. Government. In 1884 they were placed on a reservation in southeast Montana.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Ranching on the Powder River — steps away
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