Hi Grumpy and Vietnam cat,

 I can agree with you both. As a canadian/ cree/ french Metis, I can say that it wasn't the whites that killed off most of my ancestors, but the bugs that they carried, Polio, Chicken pox, and of course, the "galloping consumption" otherwize known as Tuberculosis. The settlers at that time had no idea that they would be the mechanism for the first boilogical warfare.The Movie industry put out a good movie called "The last of his tribe" starring Grahaem green, A Canadian native actor playing a Yahe native literally the last of his tribe. It showed how he died as he became infected with TB during the last century IE 1800's. I found the movie very poingnant (sp?). As far as Custer goes, I have heard a few reports about how he conducted his campaign against the natives in that area of poerations. He was reported to have wiped out a native settlement down to women and children.. If this is true, it kind of makes Lt Calley's My Lie massacre in Vietnam look like a cake walk. This is supposedly to have happened before wounded knee. maybe the natives had reason to kill everything they saw in retaliation.

I have been to the Custer battle site, and walked it form both perspectives, not being a West Point Graduate, or any other military college, and therefore not schooled in tactics (other than 10 years in the Army, and a tour in Nam), the first thought that crossed my mind was Custer had it coming. If I had been in a similer situation, and survived, I can think of a few First Sargents, and Sgt Majors that would have kicked my ass for abusing the right to be stupid in public. He took an indefensible position, being severly out numbered, and out gunned, and did the stupidist thing I have ever heard of in military history, he took away the only advantage he had when he gave the order to dismount. That was the perfect time to "run away and live to fight another day"

Custer was indeed a hero. In the Civil War his courage and tanacity were an insperation to his men, he never asked a troop to do anything that he wouldn't do, and did on several occasions. His actions at Washita against Black Kettle were regrettable, He did indeed kill many innocents in an unwarrented attack on a village that contained only a few hostiles who were responsible for the murders of some white settlers. His actions at the Little Big Horn were typical of his M.O., that is bravdo and a blitzkrieg type of charge. I believe his last tactic was, if you don't have a hand, bluff. But his "Custer's luck ran out. Ten to one odds agianst a better armed opponent is bad bussiness. The kicker was that he was fully warned of the odds, after the conflict, some Indian women pierced his eardrums so he could hear better in the afterlife. Appropriate mabey ?