Yes, Lonesome, Custer was a very brave (and reckless) man, and was caught up in the events of his time. He admired the Lakota and they admired him. They were also very ticked off at him for breaking his word to them on a couple of occasions, as did most of the other Army officers, because they were acting as the long arm of corrupt and self-serving politicians in Washington who were pursuing "manifest destiny" and destroying the Indians in the process. Custer's dash finally failed him at Little Big Horn, where he went seeking "a brevet or a coffin". There was something almost fatalistic in the way he charged to his doom...as if he knew the great days of the West were almost over...so he had to go for one more burst of glory, or die in the attempt. For both Custer and the Lakota it was over. The last hurrah. Money, greed and corruption swept them both away.

One little technical objection to your account...as far as I know, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull were not on any reservations at the time of the Custer fight...they were on free Indian land, defending the Black Hills and other ancestral lands. For them, the reservations came later.

But, yeah, I agree with your analysis in just about every way.

And Gospel Picker, I understand your point as well...and empathize with it. I hope that's clear.

My sympathies are most of all with Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Cheyenne and Lakota, who held back the tide as long as they could, and won a few great victories for all people to remember.