Northern Cheyenne Tribal leadership is reviewing planned exhibits at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument visitor center after a Washington Post article flagged language at the site as noncompliant with federal policy.
The Post article, published in late January, details documents that follow the Trump Administration’s executive order to review, edit or remove partisan ideology at national parks and monuments. That includes narratives about gender, race, colonialism and the environment.
Northern Cheyenne President Gene Small says the Tribe voted recently to oppose any unapproved removals or edits at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument’s existing exhibits.
“You’re talking about something close home to us. So that’s why the response was what it was,” said Small.
In an email to the Tribe after it announced its vote, Little Bighorn Battlefield park staff say the language in media refers to draft exhibits at the Little Bighorn visitor center under construction, not existing installments already on site.
Staff say some of the edits past and present include language around boarding schools, “broken promises,” and phrasing, like swapping “western encroachment” for “western expansion.”
The Tribe says that they were previously unaware of these revisions and were under the impression that their most recent Tribal consultation on the exhibits there was final. They say they’re opposed, and are currently reviewing the materials shared with them for a more formal response.
YPR requested an interview with Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument staff, which was declined.
