Aboriginal Memorial, (sculpture).

Aboriginal Memorial, (sculpture).

Collins, Christopher, sculptor.

Collins, John R., landscape architect.

Towers, Alison, landscape architect.

Cutschall, Colleen, designer.

Eagle Bronze Foundry, founder.

Collins Studio, fabricator.

Aboriginal Memorial, (sculpture).

Spirit Warriors, (sculpture)

Little Bighorn National Monument, (sculpture).

Indian Memorial, (sculpture).

1996-2003. Dedicated June 25, 2003.

Bronze, granite and earthwork.

A large earthwork in the shape of a circle, with the bronze Spirit Warriors sculpture as centerpiece. A stone walkway encircles a central mound of red dirt. On the inner walls are panels for each tribe that fought in the battle of Little Bighorn. Each tribe lists their dead and there are some pictographs. The memorial also includes a weeping "fountain" wall and spirit gate.

History -- United States -- Battle of Little Bighorn

Animal -- Horse

Ethnic -- Indian -- Sioux

Ethnic -- Indian -- Cheyenne

Ethnic -- Indian -- Lakota

Ethnic -- Indian -- Crow

Ethnic -- Indian -- Arikara

History -- United States -- Indian Wars

Allegory -- Civic -- Peace

History -- United States -- Westward Expansion

Outdoor Sculpture -- Montana -- Crow Agency

Administered by United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, District of Columbia

Located Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Interstate 90, Exit 510 & Highway 212, P.O. Box 39, Crow Agency, Montana 59022-0039

The Aboriginal Memorial (Indian Memorial) was authorized by Congress and signed into law on Dec. 10, 1991 by President George Bush. Public Law 102-201, changed the name of the battlefield from Custer Battlefield National Monument to Little Bighorn National Monument, and called for the design, construction and maintenance of a memorial to recognize the Indians who fought to preserve their land and culture in the Battle of Little Bighorn, June 25-26, 1876. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 1999. In Sept. 2001, 2.3 million dollars in Congressional funding was approved.

John and Alison Collins, landscape architects from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania won the 1996 National Design competition for the Little Bighorn Battefield Aboriginal Memorial. Fund raising efforts began in earnest in 1997, under the established theme of "Peace through Unity." Collins Studio produced the moulds, maquettes and structural drawings of the Spirit Warrior sculpture. Between May and Oct. 2002, they fabricated the large scale sculpture model. Chris Collins created the full scale model of the Spirit Warriors sculpture, which was then cast by Eagle Bronze works. Colleen Cutschall was selected as the designer and project manager for the Spirit Warriors sculpture.

The memorial was dedicated on the 127th anniversary of the battle in which Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors fought Lt. Colonel George A. Custer and his men from the 7th Calvary. Nearly 4,000 attended the June 25th, 2003 dedication ceremonies.

IAS files contain National Park Service news release from Oct. 2, 2002, and articles from the Associated Press June 25, 2003 and Washington Post, June 29, 2003, A2.

Washington Post, June 29, 2003, A2.

Inventory staff, 2003.

Dupre, Judith, "Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory," New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 2007, pg. 51.

Dupre, Judith, "Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory," New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 2007, pg. 51.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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