What was the "Thieves' Road"?

The Sioux had no concept of private property. The land was theirs by right of conquest due to the fact that they occupied it. President Ulysses Grant's peace plan involved containing the tribes on reservations and training them in agriculture. That was the best way to extinguish their way of life, as the Sioux knew.

American Indians are remarkable not only for their depth but also for the descriptions of their lives, religions and cultures. Gen. George Custer's 1,000-man exploration across 300 miles of Dakota Plains in search of gold occurred during this time.

The stated objective of Custer's expedition in 1874 was to find a site for a military installation, but the main goal was to find gold.

The Sioux called Custer's trail the Thieves' Road because it stole into their territory and foretold the end of their freedom and way of life.