The Indian Wars

1. The Indian Wars AHII Unit 1 Part A: Conflict

2. 1st Treaty of Fort Laramie • 1851 • 8 Native American groups agreed to specific limited geographic boundaries in return for the US government promising to honor those boundaries forever

3. Settlers Move Into the Great Plains • Deprived natives of their hunting grounds • Ignored treaties signed by US government • Forced the Indians to move further west • Occasionally, Indian groups would resist or retaliate

4. The Buffalo • Plains Indians relied on the buffalo as their primary source of food, clothing, & shelter • As more settlers entered the plains, the buffalo hunting grounds were disturbed

5. The Buffalo Start to Disappear • Settlers killed animals to protect their crops • Professional hunters killed many for their hides which were popular in the east • Sport hunters killed many just for fun • Railroad companies hired sharpshooters to kill buffalo to keep them from blocking the tracks • The US Army killed many to deprive the Indians of food and force them onto the reservations

6. Dakota Sioux Uprising • Dakota Sioux had agreed to stay on a reservation in Minnesota • US government had agreed to pay annuities to Indians on the reservation • Corrupt traders and officials often cheated Indians out of their annuities • In 1862, Congress delayed paying the annuities due to the Civil War, resulting in widespread hunger among the Sioux

7. Chief Little Crow • Asked traders to sell the Sioux food on credit until the annuities were paid • Traders refused; one replied “let them eat grass or their own dung” • In desperation, the Sioux took up arms • Little Crow tried to limit the violence, but angry Indians killed hundreds of white settlers before federal troops arrived

9. Sioux Uprising Ends • Military courts sentenced 307 Dakota Sioux to death, but President Lincoln reduced the number to 38 • Many of the Sioux left Minnesota and took refuge in the Dakota Territory

10. Sand Creek Massacre (1864) • US forced Cheyenne to give up lands promised to them by treaty • Cheyenne retaliated by attacking settlements in Colorado • Colorado governor ordered the Cheyenne to surrender at Ft. Lyon or face the consequences • Cheyenne under Chief Black Kettle arrived at Ft. Lyon to negotiate a peace treaty and made camp at Sand Creek • US forces attacked the unsuspecting Cheyenne, killing about 270, including women and children in retaliation for the Cheyenne’s earlier attacks on settlers

11. Lakota Sioux Vow to Defend Their Territory • After the trouble with the Dakota Sioux, US Army began to patrol into the Great Plains to prevent other Sioux from organizing • The nomadic Lakota Sioux were determined to defend their territory against incursion by both white settlers and the Army • Several conflicts ensued

12. Red Cloud • 1822 – 1909 • Lakota Sioux • Led Sioux in Red Cloud’s War (1866-68) • Later traveled to Washington and met with Pres. Grant • Did not take part in later Sioux uprisings, instead pursuing more peaceful efforts

13. Fetterman Massacre (1866) • Capt. William Fetterman and 80 soldiers were lured out of their fort along the Bozeman Trail in Wyoming by Lakota Chief Red Cloud • They walked into an ambush and were wiped out by the Lakota

14. Indian Peace Commission • Formed by Congress in 1867, toured the Great Plains • Concluded problems were due to incursions by whites into Indian territory • Proposed creating 2 large reservations on the plains which would be managed by agents of the Bureau of Indian Affairs • US Army would be given full authority to deal with Indians who did not move to the reservations • Plan didn’t work due to resistance from the Indians

15. 2nd Treaty of Ft. Laramie (1868) • Also called the Sioux Treaty of 1868 • Guaranteed the Lakota ownership of the Black Hills in the Dakotas, as well as hunting rights elsewhere • Gold miners would violate the treaty, triggering later uprisings • The Lakota sued the US government in 1980 for violation of this treaty, winning $120 million in damages; Lakota refused the money and continue to press for return of their lands

16. Crazy Horse • 1840 – 1877 • Lakota Sioux • Took part in the Fetterman Massacre • Later led the Sioux in the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876 • After surrendering to US troops in 1877, he was shot while “resisting” his guards

18. George Armstrong Custer • 1839 – 1876 • Civil War veteran • Graduated last in his class at West Point • Flamboyant officer whose career was marked by scandals and a failed effort to accept command of the Mexican Army under Benito Juarez • Sent to fight Indians to get him away from Washington

19. Battle of Little Big Horn • Custer’s Last Stand • June 25, 1876 • Custer launched a cavalry attack on a group of 2500 Sioux & Cheyenne warriors • The Indians repulsed the attack, then surrounded Custer’s detachment and killed him and all 210 of his men • Last major Indian victory

20. The Ghost Dance • Lakota had finally relented in 1877 and settled on a reservation under Chief Sitting Bull • Lakota had begun performing a ritual known as the Ghost Dance, a celebration of a hoped-for day when the white settlers would disappear, the buffalo would return, and all of the Indian’s dead ancestors would come back • In 1890, federal agents ordered an end to the Ghost Dance, but the Lakota ignored the order

21. Sitting Bull • 1831 – 1890 • Holy man, and one of the Sioux leaders at Little Big Horn • Sitting Bull was blamed for the Lakota’s defiance over the Ghost Dance and ordered arrested • Police were sent to arrest Sitting Bull, but his supporters resisted his arrest; a gun battle broke out and Sitting Bull and 13 others were killed

22. Wounded Knee • Angered over Sitting Bull’s death, the Ghost Dancers left the reservation, breaking their treaty agreement • US troops pursued • Dec. 29, 1890: the two groups met at Wounded Knee Creek, resulting in a battle • 25 US soldiers and about 200 Lakota (mostly women, children, and the elderly) died

23. Chief Joseph & the Nez Perce • Nez Perce refused to give up their assigned reservation in Idaho in 1877 • US Army threatened to forcibly relocate them; violence broke out and the Nez Perce fled, trying to reach Canada • Retreated 1300 miles and got within 30 miles of Canadian border before being cut off by the Army and surrendering • Forced to relocate to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma)

24. Helen Hunt Jackson • 1830 – 1885 • Wrote A Century of Dishonor (1881) • Exposed the shameful way the US government and Army had treated the Indians, chastised Congress to make amends • Created concern for the plight, led Congress to try to find a new approach to Indian relations

25. The Dawes Act of 1887 • Sponsored by Sen. Henry Dawes of Massachusetts • Abolished tribal organizations • Broke up communally held reservation land by allotting each Indian head of household 160 acres for farming; single adults received 80 acres, children each received 40 acres • Remaining reservation land was sold to white settlers with the money going into a trust set aside for Native Americans

26. Assimilation • Dawes Act was a failure • Land allotted was of poor quality • Indians had little interest or experience in farming, didn’t want to be assimilated into “American-style” of life • Many sold their allotments • Didn’t like loss of reservation land to white settlers • Agents put in charge were often corrupt or biased • Indian problem was solved by the decrease in Indian population due to hunger and disease

27. Reservations Today