On the weekend of June 25, thousands of descendants, visitors, and representatives from 19 Native Nations gathered on the Crow Reservation near Crow Agency, Montana, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Greasy Grass, also known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The anniversary brought together reenactors, historians, community members, and visitors from across the world to reflect on the battle’s enduring legacy.
During the event, a group of teen journalism apprentices from Crow Agency spent five days researching and practicing the fundamentals of audio journalism in order to cover the annual Battle of the Little Bighorn reenactment hosted by the Real Bird family. Working together, they interviewed reenactors, organizers, audience members, and their community members to understand why people attended and what the 150th anniversary meant to them. Multiple interviewees said the battle continues to be a defining moment in American and Indigenous history, and still shapes conversations about Tribal sovereignty, resilience, and remembrance.
Using interviews and natural sounds of the reenactment, the students produced a vox pop, which is an audio story that weaves together many voices to capture the experiences, reflections, and perspectives of those around them.
Along the way, these young journalists gained hands-on experience through field reporting, using audio equipment, script writing, and digital editing. More importantly, they helped to preserve voices and document history through the people who lived it, inherited it, and continue to carry its meaning forward. Listen to audio story they produced above!
The story was reported by Montana Media Lab journalism apprentices Benjimin Bigman III, Zeeka Birdinground, Lawrence Brown, Erinniah Dawes, Nathaniel Deputy, Calynn Falls Down, Claycee Fitzpatrick, Solomon Garcia, Caidence Gone, Macey Hogan, Christian House, Hyram Morning, Sly Popetsaitke, Karaya Takes Enemy, Kessley Takes Enemy, Leroy Takes Horse Jr., Maliyah Walks, and RaMyra White in partnership with Little Big Horn College.