Which 1876 battle was a decisive victory for Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho forces over the U.S. Army?

The decisive 1876 victory by Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho forces over the U.S. Army was the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

The battle took place on June 25–26, 1876, in present-day Montana. Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer led the U.S. 7th Cavalry’s 7th Regiment into a large Indigenous encampment. Warriors led by figures including Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Gall, and others defeated Custer’s immediate command and later fought the rest of the regiment.

The engagement became famous as “Custer’s Last Stand,” but that phrase focuses on one part of a larger battle. The Indigenous coalition included people from several nations, and the victory was connected to resistance against federal efforts to force Native peoples onto reservations.

The U.S. government intensified its campaign afterward. Within a year, many surviving resistance leaders had surrendered or been confined, and the Black Hills were taken despite treaty protections.