Lenta

Who Killed Custer? It might surprise you.

Here's something we never learned in history books! Female Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors fought at the Battle of the Little Bighorn-Custer's Last Stand-with distinction. Cheyenne warrior Buffalo Calf Road Woman fought a number of battles in leadership roles, and tribal lore passed down for 143 years credits her with killing George Armstrong Custer.

She wasn't the only female warrior at the Little Big Horn. The Arapaho Chief, Pretty Nose, fought there, too. She lived to be 101 years old and her grandson served in the Korean War as a U.S. Marine and later an Arapaho chief, just like his grandmother.

Native American Animals: The Turtle (Kéya) Symbolizes Grandmother Earth (Uŋčí makȟá)
Turtle–Kéya
The turtle is a sacred creature among Native American tribes. Each tribe’s cultural view of the turtle/tortoise, is slightly different; however, the deeper meaning remains the same: the turtle represents Uŋčí makȟá , Lakȟóta for Grandmother Earth, who teaches us to walk our paths in peace.
The turtle and the tortoise
We are blessed with turtles and tortoises, which hold many similarities but possess distinct differences. Both have long life spans, lay eggs, and are slow moving. They also both have shells for protection.
Tortoises have saddleback and rounded shells. They life solely on land in warmer climates, spending most of their time underground during warmer times of the day. They will lay their eggs in a nest. Also, tortoises have feet with claws for digging with no webbing between their toes. Plants make up their diet. Tortoises live in one area for their entire life—they do not migrate.
On the other hand, turtles have a flat shell and make their homes in oceans or near lakes and rivers. They lay their eggs on land. The feet of a turtle differ from that of a tortoise—their front feet are webbed to help them swim. Turtles eat bugs and plants and migrate with the seasons.
Value of the turtle
To most tribes the turtle also represents healing, wisdom, spirituality, health, safety, longevity, protection, and fertility. Some Native Americans believe that the turtle contributed to creation because the turtle dove into the primeval waters to retrieve mud to create Mother Earth. Additionally, the shell of the turtle represents protection and perseverance.
For the Navajo—Diné, the turtle’s shell is used to dispense medications—the turtle’s healing properties are so great that no other container is adequate. Others use the shell to craft dance rattles for ceremonial purposes. With 13 patterned squares in the center of its shell, some tribes use the shell as a calendar. The thirteen squares represent the thirteen full moons of the year. The surrounding twenty-eight squares of the shell represent the twenty days of each lunar month.
Lakȟóta mothers make a leather amulet shaped like a kéya (Lakȟóta for turtle) for their newborn babies. Within, they place their child’s umbilical cord and sew them closed for protection. The amulet keeps the child grounded and connected to its mother and Uŋčí makȟá.
Earth on turtle’s back
Turtles are creatures with amazing fortitude much like the Native Americans of this continent. Through adversity, they survive with resilience. The indigenous of Turtle Island—North America—place the turtle in high esteem because of its connection to Mother Earth. Let us all remember her value and protect her as she has protected us for centuries.