A June 2025 view of Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota’s Black Hills. (Photo by Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

Searchlight Report is a podcast from South Dakota Searchlight. Reporter and host Meghan O’Brien works with other Searchlight journalists to take listeners inside politics and policy in The Mount Rushmore State.

While many people are looking ahead to next week’s celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday, including a fireworks display with President Trump at Mount Rushmore, many Native Americans on the Great Plains have been focused on a different anniversary this week: the 150th commemoration of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Also known as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, it was a major Native American victory during the United States’ encroachment on their land after gold was discovered in the Black Hills — an area that now includes Mount Rushmore.

In this episode, Searchlight Report Host Meghan O’Brien and numerous sources break down how the two anniversaries and the fireworks spark diverse emotions in different people.

Click here to access a transcript for this week’s episode.