The Wolf Mountains Battlefield, also known as "Where Big Crow Walked Back and Forth," is historically significant as the site of the final major engagement of the Great Sioux War of 1876?1877, fought on January 8, 1877. Following the defeat of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the U.S. Army launched a relentless winter campaign to force the remaining non-treaty Lakota and Northern Cheyenne onto reservations. Led by Colonel Nelson A. Miles, military forces tracked the Native coalition through sub-zero temperatures to this rugged canyon landscape along the Tongue River in Rosebud County, Montana. The ensuing battle with warriors led by Crazy Horse and Two Moons demonstrated the Army's ability to wage an effective winter campaign, which exhausted the tribes' resources and ultimately served as a decisive turning point that led to the surrender of Crazy Horse and many of his followers.

Beyond its military strategic importance, the battlefield holds profound cultural and historical significance for the Northern Cheyenne, as preserved in the site's dual name. During the height of the conflict, a prominent Cheyenne warrior named Big Crow sought to inspire his people and demonstrate his spiritual power by walking back and forth along a highly exposed ridgetop, drawing and dodging intense army gunfire. His eventual fall to military fire demoralized the Native warriors, leading to their tactical retreat under the cover of a blinding snowstorm. Today, the battlefield stands as a highly intact cultural and natural landscape, serving as a solemn monument to the bravery of the Northern Cheyenne and Lakota warriors and a vital touchstone for understanding the culmination of the Plains Indian Wars.