February 4, 2005
Since you asked
‘Greasy grass’ is a Crow term for rich grass
Why did the Custer Indians refer to the Little Bighorn River as the "greasy grass?"
— D. Hill, Medford
The answer is a bit complicated, but not too hard to understand, Mr. Hill.
According to the Ultimate Travel Guide of Montana, Lodge Grass is the first full-service gas stop on Interstate 90. Lodge Grass was named after Lodge Grass Creek, which flows into the little
Bighorn. The Crow used this area to hunt and called the creek "Greasy Grass" because of the rich grass that helped fatten the animals. The words "grease" and "lodge"
are very similar in the Crow language, and the name of the creek was mistakenly translated as Lodge Grass.
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