Christopher S. Kortlander was born in 1958. He grew up in California and later moved to Montana where in 1993 Kortlander purchased and built the historical town of Garryowen, Montana. Chris also founded and built the privately run nonprofit Custer Battlefield Museum located in Garryowen. Kortlander was named Tourism Person of the Year in 2004 and received the Governor's Award after over a decade of efforts to enhance tourism potential in Big Horn County and the State of Montana. Located on the site of Sitting Bull's camp at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Garryowen is also the resting place of the Unknown Soldier from the famous fight and the site of the Battle of the Little Big Horn Peace Memorial, which honors all the combatants in the historic battle. He has been the director of the Custer Battlefield Museum for over 25 years, a dealer in rare and historic artifacts for over 30 years, and is a former law enforcement officer. He has received such prestigious awards as the Public Service Presidential Award from the Clinton administration, the Montana Governor’s Award for Tourism Person of the Year, the Distinguished Service Award from the Billings Police Department, and was the Personal Assistant to Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow when he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the French Legion of Honour medal. Kortlander was also the Associate Producer for the film "Contested Ground" (2016). The author, his town, and his personal story have been featured on such prominent television channels and news sites as: CNN, Fox News, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, BBC, The History Channel, Mystery’s at the Museum, TIME Magazine, and The Huffington Post among several others. Christopher Kortlander has also had feature stories written about him in such well-respected newspapers as: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, Denver Post, New York Post, Rocky Mountain News, Malibu Times, Deseret News, Chicago Tribune, and LA Times among many others.