TITLE: POWDER RIVER EXPEDITION OF 1865 AGAINST LAKOTA, CHEYENNE, AND ARAPAHO
Biography: Donovin Sprague was born and raised in Dupree, SD, on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation and is an enrolled tribal member. He is a Minnicoujou Lakota and is a history faculty member at Sheridan College, WY, and is the advisor for the Native American students. He is a tour guide, author of 10 historical books, historian, artisan, archivist, musician, and consultant.
Presentation Summary: The presentation will include events leading up to the Powder River Expedition, which used Fort Laramie as a starting base for operations once the expedition was in the targeted field. The military expedition was under Major General Dodge who chose Patrick Connor to lead the expedition. Other military personnel included Nelson Cole, Samuel Walker, and Frank North against Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho in the Montana Territory and Dakota Territory.
Fort Connor was established, and other locations will be discussed where events unfolded, such as at Crazy Woman’s Fork, Pumpkin Buttes, Gillette, Sundance areas, and the Battle of Tongue River in the area of Ranchester and Dayton. Other locations include Sheridan and the Wolf Mountain area of Montana.
There were many American Indian leaders from the tribes, and their leaders included much more than what the military reported
This project is funded in part by the Wyoming Semiquincentennial grant from the Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources office.
