Program Schedule
Symposium Overview
The Crows and the Little Big Horn: 150 Years Later
April 9–11, 2026
Symposium Purpose: to look first at the historical and cultural context, then the experiences of the six Crow scouts and interpreter/guide Mitch Bouyer for Custer through the eyes of descendants, and finally the aftermath and importance of this event in Crow history and its continuing impact today.
Day 1
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9:00 am – 9:15 am
Welcome
Patricia Whiteman, Speaker of the House Velma Pickett
Prayer – Walter Old Elk Sr. -
9:15 am – 10:15 am
Introduction, Agenda Overview and Orientation to the Symposium
Framework/Perspective on Crow Culture and History in the 19th Century: Kinship and Land
Tim Bernardis and Sharon Stewart Peregoy
Q&A -
10:15 am – 10:45 am
Break
-
10:45 am – 11:45 am
Historical Context Prior to the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Sioux and Cheyenne Expansion into Crow Country From the 1840s to the 1870s
Frank Rzeczkowski
Q&A -
11:45 am – 12:45 pm
Lunch
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12:45 pm – 1:45 pm
Why the Crows Scouted and Fought with the US Army
Marvin Dawes
Q&A -
1:45 pm – 2:45 pm
Council at the Second Agency and the Enlistment of the Crow Scouts to Serve with the US Army, April 1876
Mardell Plainfeather and Rodney Thomas
Q&A -
2:45 pm – 3:00 pm
Break
-
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Battle of the Rosebud and the Crow Auxiliaries/Scouts, June 17, 1876
C. Adrian Heidenreich
Q&A
Day 2
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9:00 am – 9:15 am
Welcome, Prayer
Patricia Whiteman, Tilton Old Bull
“The Unfinished War: The Battle of the Little Bighorn in Native American Art”
Exhibit at the Brinton Museum, Big Horn, WY
Jochen Wierich, Curator -
9:15 am – 10:15 am
Overview of the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Role and Actions of the Crow Scouts
Tim Bernardis
Q&A -
10:15 am – 10:30 am
Break
-
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Ancestor Scout Stories – The Battle and Biographies
Oral History and Reflections 150 Years Later – Panel of each scout and interpreter/guide’s descendants- Goes Ahead – Levi Yellowmule, Aaron Brien, Allen Knows Gun
- Half Yellow Face (the leader) – Patrick Hill
- Mitch Bouyer (Lakota/French Canadian interpreter and guide married to a Crow) – Joseph “Jobo” Stewart
- White Swan – Scott Russell
- Hairy Moccasin – Riley Singer, Solon Moccasin
- White Man Runs Him – Jeff Packs The Hat, Janine Pease
- Curley – Walter Eugene Old Elk, Dominic Old Elk, Gwendolyn Old Elk Plainbull
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12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
Lunch
-
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
The Aftermath of the Battle
Curley and the Far West, the Crow Camp on Pryor Creek Gets the News and the Crows Reclaim/Reoccupy Crow Country
Mardell Plainfeather and Rodney Thomas
Q&A -
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Narratives and False Narratives
“The Only Way Left Open to Us” vs Liars, Cowards and Race Traitors -- It Depends on Who You Listen To
Panel of Sharon Stewart Peregoy, Caiden Big Day, Noel Two Leggins, Marvin Dawes and Rodney Thomas
Q&A
Optional Day 3 • Bus Tour
Optional Tour
Because seating is limited to 36, participation will require in-person sign-up during the symposium. Crow Tribal Members will receive priority for the tour.
Tour Focus: The tour will go to the places where the Crow scouts were on and near the battlefield.
Tour Lead: Marvin Dawes
- 8:00 am – Departs LBHC
- Begin at the Crow’s Nest and the Divide, where the scouts first observed the village below
- Travel along Reno Creek Road, stopping at the Lone Tipi and morass sites
- Continue to the point where Reno advanced into the valley with his three companies and scouts
- Cross the river and follow the route to the areas where Half Yellow Face and White Swan engaged the enemy
- Proceed to the site of Curley’s cabin
- Return to the Battlefield tour road and continue toward the Reno-Benteen Defense Site
- Stop at the Reno-Benteen Defense Site
- Visit the area where White Man Runs Him, Goes Ahead, and Hairy Moccasin fired into the Sioux and Cheyenne village
- Continue to the location where the scouts were dismissed by Custer and where Curley left the command
- Conclude at Last Stand Hill, overlooking Battle Ridge and the hill where Curley witnessed the final stages of the fighting
- 5:00 pm – Returns to LBHC