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Indians
Indian Country-Most Indians lived west of Mississippi River -Lived there for centuries -Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851) promised the Indians control of the “plains” -Government went back on its promise -Heard rumors that the West had fertile land and lots of natural resources -In a series of treaties, Indians moved to reservations -Promised: land that would be Indian land forever, money, and yearly supplies -Bureau of Indian Affairs (1824) -Agency in charge of the reservations -Part of the Department of War -What message does that send??? -Gov’t did not keep its promises -Sold goods that were allocated to the Indians -Gov’t reduced the size of the reservations as demand for the land increased -Gov’t had no intention of keeping their promises
Years of Struggle-Indians angry by the government’s double-dealings -Some fought back -The Plains Indians were in a tough situation -About 20,000 Army troops (Civil War vets) enforced Indian removal -4,000 of these troops were African American troops--“Buffalo soldiers” -Army hired Indians to spy on other Indians -Army played on rivalries between Indian tribes -Sand Creek -US troops slaughter 200 Indian women and children while the men were out hunting -Indians were on their way to surrender -Other Indians heard of the massacre--attacked US troops -Treaty of Medicine Lodge (1867) -Southern Plains Indians agreed to give up their land and move to a reservation in OK -Second Treaty of Ft. Laramie -Sioux agreed to move to a reservation in SD and WY -Treaties did not end the fighting
Custer’s Last Stand (Battle of Little Bighorn)-In 1875, the Army waged battles against the Sioux -US wanted to take Sioux land in the Black Hills--gold -Sitting Bull, urged the Sioux to defy the gov’t -Thought reservation life was like slavery -2,000 Sioux and their allies gear up to fight -Army did not want to get caught off guard -Launched offensive--Didn’t know Indians had that many ready to fight--outnumbered 3 to 1 -Indians, led by Crazy Horse, fought off two offensives -June 25, 1876--Custer divides his troops into 3 parts to attack the Native Americans from 3 different sides -His battalion (part) had 200 soldiers, and within an hour, they were all dead -Gave the Indians a triumph over the gov’t -Did not last for long
Battle of Wounded Knee-Last battle between the gov’t and the Plains Indians -Ghost Dance Religion started by Wakova (“holy man”) -White men would vanish, the buffalo would return, and Indian traditions would be revived if Native Americans performed the Ghost Dance -The Sioux added a twist to the Ghost Dance by saying their “Ghost Shirts” (what they wore to the dance) would stop bullets -Ghost Dance spread to reservations -Spread to Standing Rock (reservation) -Sitting Bull joined the religion -Gov’t tried to arrest Sitting Bull (too popular) -Skirmish breaks out--Sitting Bull killed -Native Americans were angry at the death of Sitting -Gov’t sets out to arrest Big Foot--member of GD religion -Big Foot does not want to fight -Gov’t catches up to Big Foot and 350 others -Army begins confiscating Indian weapons -Gun goes off--Fighting breaks out -Was there a scuffle? Was it a signal? -300 Indians and 20 US soldiers died -Custer’s death avenged
Conflict in the Far West -Basically, all Native Americans faced forced resettlement -Nez Perces (Oregon) got along great with the gov’t -Gov’t orders tribe to move to a reservation--they agree -Nez Perces killed some white settlers on the way -Chief Joseph believed the entire tribe was going to face retribution--Fled -Wanted to get to Canada -Surrendered 30 miles from the border -The Apaches (NM and AZ) one of the longest campaigns against the gov’t -1850s--whites began settling in the Apache area -Settlers and the Apaches both attacked/raided each others camps -1877--Apaches forced onto a reservation in AX -Life was harsh on the reservation -Led by Geronimo, 75 Apaches fled the reservation -For 5 years, Geronimo and followers evaded capture -Sept. 4, 1886--Geronimo surrenders -His surrender marked the end of armed resistance to the reservation system
Summary of Resistance Mov’t-By the 1880s, Native Americans had been forced to give up more than 480 million acres to the gov’t -Moved to reservations -Some by force, some had no choice -Buffalo had been killed off by early settlers
Assimilating American Indians-Assimilation--Cultural absorption -Many believed the only way to ensure Native Americans’ survival was to assimilate them into “white society” -Gov’t told Indians to farm, live in wooden houses -Passed laws that forbid Indians from wearing the native clothing and start “dressing like Americans” -One law forced Indian men to cut their hair -Outlaw certain Indian religious practices -To speed up assimilation, the gov’t set up schools -Some were on reservations, but others were forced to go to boarding schools -Spoke only English -Forced to wear “proper” clothing -Have “American” names -“Kill the Indian and save the man” -Dawes General Allotment Act of 1887 -Established private ownership of Indian land -Each family would receive 160 acres for farming -Any excess Indian land would be sold -Complete disaster for Indians -In less than 50 years, Indians lost 2/3 of their land -Some were bought out -Others weren’t given their full 160 acres -Warfare and forced assimilation reduced the Indian population to less than 250,000--“vanishing Americans”
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