The fact that they didn’t work reflects the failure of the framework, not the failure of his use of it.

The Washita Today

The Battle of the Washita National Historic Site in western Oklahoma marks the site of the attack on Black Kettle’s camp.

The interpretive approach at the site has changed significantly since its establishment in 1996, moving from a presentation centered on Custer’s “victory” to a more complex acknowledgment of what the attack represented.

The site’s interpretation now includes the perspective of the Cheyenne and Arapaho descendants — the people whose relatives were killed at the Washita.

Their presence in the site’s interpretive program is a genuine change from the site’s earlier history, when the battle was presented primarily from the perspective of the U.S. military.