What are some causes and effects of the Battle of Little Bighorn?

The various Indian tribes of the Black Hills region had
been given until January 31, 1876 to voluntarily report to their new assigned
reservations. The U. S. military was assigned to round up all delinquent tribes,
including the Sioux, Arapaho and Cheyenne. Hunkpapa Lakota chief Sitting Bull had called
a meeting of these holdouts along the Little Bighorn River. It was part of Lt. Colonel
George Armstrong Custer's detachment of the 7th Cavalry Regiment that stumbled upon this
large group of hostiles. Custer had less than 600 troops separated into three large
battalions and several other small detachments. Combined Indian forces range from
1000-5000; in any case, the usually thorough Custer was heavily outnumbered when he
ordered the ill-timed assault.

Following the massacre at
Custer's Last Stand, the Lakota and Cheyenne regrouped and attacked the remnants
of Custer's command led by Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen. They held
off the attacks (until reinforcements under General Alfred Terrry arrived), and both of
these officers survived the fighting. The victory was a hollow one for the Native
Americans, however. A renewed effort by the military forced Sitting Bull's followers
into Canada, where they remained exiled for nearly four years. The remaining 200 Lakota
headed south, where they surrendered in July 1881. They were housed at the Dakota
Standing Rock Reservation after some shuttling for fear of another
uprising.

Sitting Bull eventually appeared in Buffalo
Bill's Wild West Show, while Custer's death cemented his place in American military
lore.