European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 3, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Not the refurbished House near Mandan n.d., where it. Col. George Armstrong ouster spent his last Days Bertore Riding with his troops into the Battle of the Little big Horn. Mary Louise defender Wilson right a Sioux who is on the North Dakota Centennial commission approved of the use of the Money for refurbishing the residence. Second thoughts on How the West was won by Timothy Egan new York times a s six Western states prepare to celebrate their Centennial in 1989 and 1990, official historians Are having much More trouble telling the Story of How the West was won than they did the first time around. The state governments aware that Indian groups have been critical of How they Are portrayed in Many history texts Are trying to include More of the perspective of native americans in the commemorative histories and events scheduled for the next two years. But at the same time As self examination vies with self promotion the states Are trying to attract tourists who Are drawn to the. West to see the very Cowboy monuments that Many tribes find so insulting. The situation has led to considerable bitterness and division on the Centennial commissions of Washington Idaho Montana Wyoming North Dakota and South Dakota. In North Dakota the Centennial commission stepped on a historical land mine in agreeing to spend $2 million in Federal Money to refurbish the cavalry Post where it col. George Armstrong Custer spent his last Days before Riding into history at the Little big Horn. This Effort has outraged some native americans who consider Custer a psychotic Indian hater. Some of my people said to me How could you do that " said Mary Louise defender Wilson a Northern Sioux who is of the North Dakota Centennial commission and approved of the use of the Money. My answer is this is a  across the Border in Montana where Custer died in the 1876 ambush by the Sioux and Cheyenne his name is Gold to the tourism Industry. When the japanese come Over Here All they Ever talk about is Custer said it. Gov. Gordon Mcomber of Montana. Washington is another place where there is Little Neutral feeling Over the painful episodes that Are emerging As the states look Back. Historians of the Northwest have Long glorified the work of or. Marcus Whitman a Pioneer Christian missionary who was killed by Cayuse indians at his Mission on the Columbia River in 1847. Some Indian historians say Whitman helped bring disease that wiped out Many tribes and he contributed to the stripping away of Indian culture. There is a crying and urgent need for All voices to come Forth in this Centennial said Sandy Osawa a Makkah from the Washington coast. But instead Washington state officials want totem poles and canoes. There is an appreciation Only of the safer aspects of Indian  Osawa who makes documentary films was turned Down for a $65, Centennial Grant to Tell the Story of Washington s indians. The production Money went to a non Indian. Osawa is considering a lawsuit against the state. What bothers so Many indians is that we be been denied the right to Tell our own Story she said. We Don t have a voice in our own  Washington Centennial officials deny they Are excluding native american voices. They cite Many Indian Community celebrations a re creation of a native american Village and a major Effort to Trace and retrieve coastal Indian Art that has been lost to collectors around the world. Montana officials have run into just the opposite problem meeting stiff resistance when they try to get indians to participate in some commemorative events. Mcomber the lieutenant governor said most indians � in his state have a deep distrust of government. I went to one reservation to try and enlist their support and the response was that the first Hundred years Federal government took their rights and the second Hundred years the state is after them he said. Indians were enthusiastic about at least one event in Montana s history. One tribe wants to re enact the signing of their treaty to remind everyone How they came out on the Short end of the stick said Mcomber. In seeking to resolve competing claims to the past some states Are presenting two versions of an event or a trend. An Indian tour guide and a non Indian tour guide will be on hand to offer different sides of the Story at the site of a Battle at Fetterman Ridge a tourist highlight of Wyoming s 1990 Celebration. Our Mission is to re educate people said Bob Spoonhunter director of the native american Institute on Wyoming s wind River reservation. The Indian people have existed apart from Wyoming for so Long and the Whites have never paid much attention to us. Now there seems to be a very Strong interest in telling our Side of the Story he said. A commemorative Wagon train will tour South Dakota next summer but it will encounter a Large and officially sanctioned Indian powwow when it arrives at the Pine Ridge reservation. The state also spent Grant Money both for an official history and a Book on the Sioux written by an Indian. North Dakota has authorized an Indian official Seal and a non Indian official Seal for its Centennial. The state legislature while appropriating Money to commemorate High Points of White settlement also allocated funds for an extensive curriculum of Indian studies for All Public schools. Attitudes have changed said Sebastian Hoffner director of North Dakota s Centennial commission. Both sides of the Story will be told. It won t be like the movies with winners and  some historians say the hardest concept to change May be the Western image of the Lone Cowboy or settler who fights indians and the elements to Clear the wilderness for civilization. I m afraid there May be no Hope for Ever seeing the Cowboy in his True form said William Lang editor of Montana the Magazine of Western history. We re just now finishing up with a president who is the embodiment of that  Lang said there had been a big shift in the treatment that serious historians Accord the Indian. The Indian s place has always been into the Battle and out before and after the editor said. More important to us now Indian culture is not just an exotic thing it s a real thing. It has influenced us especially in the spiritual realm How the world was made and Why it was  some Indian historians say telling the spiritual Side of the indians in the Centennial histories is just As important As telling the political Point of View. What i would like to see come out of this Centennial is a new beginning for our culture said defender Wilson who is an Oral historian. The missionaries she said made us look bad in order to justify what they were doing to us people should know that the history of this state did not begin with the arrival of the  most Indian tribes never had a word for Devil until Columbus landed she said. We have Many words to describe a Bear but it was t until Columbus arrived that he brought the  the stars and stripes Page 13