The Black Hills are a sacred land to the Lakota and are located in the center the Great Sioux Nation. The Black Hills are spiritually connected to the Lakota/ Dakota people and are now considered an important part of their sacred lives. The 7th Cavalry led by General George A. Custer entered the Black Hills in violation of an 1868 treaty, the center of the Great Sioux Nation and discovered gold. This was the catalyst that sparked The Gold Rush in the Black Hills opening the conflict between the United States and Great Sioux Nation. The United States Government recognizing the value of the land wanted to buy or rent the Bla

In the beginning the reservations were prisons to the Lakota people. Most of the buffalo were slaughtered to make sure that the people would not leave the reservations. The changing diet of the Lakota caused many of the people to become sick, the high protein diet that the Natives were accustomed to was now removed and starvation set in killing many Lakotas. The teepees that the Lakotas utilized were replaced with poorly ventilated log houses and fresh water for cooking, drinking and bathing was no longer readily available.

Out of 470 treaties signed by congress, the United States Government has broken almost all of them. The unfair treatment and accumulation of the Native Americans lands by the United States Government has devastated the communities within the reservation. Even today the Lakota people are battling the government for the return of their rightful and sacred lands The Black hills, they have won a substantial settlement from the government covering the monetary loss and compensation for land and the payment in back interest yet the Lakota people refused. They want their land returned to them because it holds a deeper spiritual significance that money can not compensate.

General George Custer was assigned the task of relocating the Lakota onto constricting reservation lands that had very little use and lacked substantial natural resources. This is the premise for one of the more famous Indian battles known as the Battle of the Little Big Horn, one of the great blunders of the military. General George Custer full of bravado greatly underestimated his adversaries resulting in his demise. The Sioux won the battle that would latter serve as the beginning of the end for The

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1149
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)