Killing Custer Reflection

I found the novel Killing Custer by James Welch to be, for the lack of a better word, winding. He jumps from story to story, from past to present, throughout the text, making this book sometimes hard to follow. Even so, I did enjoy reading about this historical story from the Indian point of view. I find it heart wrenching to read about how these native people were forced from their lands and stripped of their traditions. I know some of the things they did seemed "savage" but when you look at it in the context of their beliefs and motivations, it seems less so. I found the fact that they did not celebrate their victory at Little Bighorn very interesting. They were too busy mourning their losses and their dead, to celebrate.
Before this book I had never heard of "the Custer myth". It is amazing to me how the media and the papers twisted the truth to meet their needs, and tell the story they wanted to convey, back then just like they do today. In those days there were fewer ways for people to communicate, so it was probably easy to tell a story, make it say what you wanted, and never have anyone refute it.
The novel made Custer sound more like a hero wanna-be than an actual hero to me. He wanted the glory, and he put it above all else, even the lives of the soldiers who depended on him. He would probably have been happy with the stories that were told about him and the myth that was created. I am sure he would disapprove of this novel and how it tells of his failures. I am glad that this story was told, not only to stick it to Custer, but mostly to tell the stories and struggles of the Plains Indians.