Paha Sapa, the Black Hills, sacred land of the Lakota Indians, had long been the destination for prospectors. In 1874, Gen. George Armstrong Custer conducted an expedition into the Black Hills confirming rumors of gold. The findings of the expedition were widely publicized and the gold rush began. Unable to stem the tide of prospectors seeking their fortunes, the federal government opened Black Hills Native American land to settlement in 1877. During...