The Ongoing Battles of the Little Bighorn: An Exploration of Conflict in Battlefield Heritage Tourism
Abstract
Battlefields are heritage tourism sites that represent historic warfare to the public. The “heritage” that is represented at these is often contested, highly political, and is subject to conflict, where different groups attempt to influence its presentation. Despite the popularity of battlefields as heritage sites, a comprehensive, contextually grounded, and theoretically informed exploration of conflict is lacking. Few studies in heritage tourism have utilized the rich tradition of sociological conflict theory to inform understandings of conflict. This study addresses this gap through an empirical study of conflict over representations of heritage at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Montana (LBHNM), including its causes and outcomes, guided by the sociological conflict theories of Georg Simmel and Lewis Coser. The LBHNM is a historic battlefield and tourism site where different cultural and interest groups have contested representations offered by site management for over a century. The study used qualitative content analysis to explore 258 texts related to conflicts over heritage representation at LBHNM. Qualitative content analysis involved interpreting written content in pre-existing texts through a process of identifying and coding themes using a multi-stage thematic analysis.
Among the insights produced, the study found that conflict is not a finite phenomenon, but an ongoing event throughout the cultural and tourism related activities at the battlefield site, and continues in various forms. This study identified 19 conflicts throughout the history of LBHNM. These conflicts were part of an ongoing process of change and development for the site and for the different cultural and interest groups involved. Conflicts continued to develop over time regardless of more inclusive management practices and changes to representation because “resolved” conflicts informed future conflicts, and societal forces beyond the site level continued to influence participant groups. Conflicts emerged as groups sought to secure their collective interests, or to express other frustrations at the site. Conflicts also served functions for the groups involved (e.g., establishing and affirming group identity, informing social status, increasing visitation). The study supports Simmel and Coser’s approaches to conflict as part of a normal, ongoing process that serves functions for its participants.
Subject
heritage tourismbattlefield tourism
conflict
conflict theory
simmel
coser
little bighorn
conflict management
social conflict
cultural conflict
Native American conflict
Citation
Wahl, Jeffrey Frederick (2021). The Ongoing Battles of the Little Bighorn: An Exploration of Conflict in Battlefield Heritage Tourism. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /195278.
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