Conflict With Native Americans

1. Conflict With Native Americans US History Jacobs

2. Essential Questions What caused changes in the life of Plains Indians? How did government policies and battlefield challenges affect the Indian wars? What changes occurred in federal Indian policies by

3. Manifest Destiny Early in the 1800’s many white American’s believed it was their right to expand the country to the Pacific Ocean Manifest Destiny: nation’s undeniable fate to posses the entire continent Coined by journalist John L. O’Sullivan Meant that God gave Americans the right to move west and “civilize” the rest of America

4. Manifest Destiny

5. Life of the Plains Indians Before the Civil War Native Americans west of the Mississippi continued to inhabit their traditional lands. Great Plains: vast grassland between Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains Into 1800’s bison roamed the plains used for meat and hides Hides used for shelters, clothing etc Every part of bison used Early European traders began giving Natives guns in return for hides

6. The Great Plains

7. Plains Indians Spanish traded horses to natives in Mexico and southern US Other tribes acquired horses through raids and battle Most tribes lived mainly as: Farmers Hunters Gatherers Nomads: people who travel from place to place, usually following available food sources, instead of living in one location

8. Plains Indians Nomads tended to follow bison and other big game herds The rise of warrior societies led to a decline in village life, as nomadic Native Americans raided more settled groups. White American’s and other immigrants began buying, taking, stealing native lands

9. Acquiring Indian Lands 1860-1900: presidents gained lands however they could Treaties Land purchases Forced relocation to reservations Wars After gold was found in the Black Hills on “protected” territory the government looked the other way as prospectors took the land of the natives

10. Making Treaties Government wanted to restrict nomadic movement through treaties Limited movement to reservations Federal lands set aside for Indians Treaties produce misunderstanding and fraud Government and natives often disobeyed treaties

11. Making Treaties Many natives did not know they were restricted to reservations Continued to follow herds BIA-Bureau of Indian Affairs Set up to manage delivery of critical supplies to reservations Corruption led to supplies being stolen or lost

12. Making Treaties Reservations had nominal protection from government from settlers Settlers stole land, killed buffalo, diverted water, and attacked Indian settlements/camps Natives would retaliate against settlers and settlers would then retaliate against natives

13. Treaties to Conflict Government decided treaties were useless 1871 declared no more treaties and gov’t would not recognize any more chiefs Army sent to protect settlers from Indians but not good resolution White profiteers selling guns to natives for profit

14. Conflict Acts of violence on both sides set off cycles of revenge Some native groups allied to fight whites Sometimes Army would pit certain tribes or groups against others Most confrontations were small at this point but more would come……

15. Soldier’s Life on the Frontier • Soldier’s made $13/month • Left over CW uniforms and rotten food • Who: former Civil War soldiers, jobless men, and former slaves • 1/3 of men deserted from military service

16. Cause of Clashes Native view of land vs. settlers view of land Settlers felt they could make native land more productive and thus should have the right to it

17. Major Conflicts • Sand Creek Massacre 1864 • Battle of Little Bighorn 1876 • Battle of Wounded Knee 1890

18. Sand Creek Massacre

19. Sand Creek Massacre 1864 • Cheyenne occupied plains including part of Colorado Territory • Raided settlements east of Denver • Cheyenne leader Black Kettle asked the military/governor for peace agreement • Told to camp men, women and children at Sand Creek on the plains

20. Sand Creek Massacre 1864 • Col. John Chivington saw chance to win victory against Cheyenne • Nov. 29, 1864 sent 700 men to Sand Creek • Black Kettle tried to surrender as Chivington and his men slaughtered his people • 150-500 people were killed • mostly women and children

21. Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer Charming, fearless with long blond curls Vain, didn’t like authority, foolhardy Received great distinction in Civil War Called “chief of thieves” by Sioux because he was responsible for starting a gold rush in the Black Hills Court-martialed twice for various offenses

22. Battle of Little Big Horn

23. Battle of Little Bighorn 1876part 1 • Who: Sioux of the northern plains • Where: Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana • How it starts:1865 government wanted to build Bozeman Trail through hunting grounds • Red Cloud leads two-year war to block the project • 1866 Sioux kill 80 US soldiers

24. Battle of Little Bighorn 1876part 2 • 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty- • US abandoned Bozeman Trail • created Sioux reservation in the Dakotas • Protected land in the Black Hills held sacred by Sioux

25. Battle of Little Bighorn 1876part 3 • 1874-US sends Lt. Col. George Custer to investigate rumors of gold in Black Hills • Custer finds gold on the land that the government gives Natives • Sparks another gold rush to the Black Hills • Government offers to buy Black Hills from natives and Red Cloud

26. Battle of Little Bighornpart 4 • Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse (2 Sioux chiefs who have not signed Laramie Treaty leave Sioux reservation • Conflict between Sioux and US resumes

27. Battle of Little Bighornpart 5 • June 1876 Custer sent to round up Indians who left reservation • Leads his men towards Little Bighorn River • There he finds 2,000 Sioux warriors • Sioux kill Custer and 200 other soldiers in an hour • Battle of Little Bighorn = Custer’s Last Stand

28. Battle of Little BighornOutcome • Army sent more troops to force Sioux onto reservations • Crazy Horse was killed after surrendering in 1877 • Sitting Bull and other Sioux escaped to Canada but after 4 years were forced to surrender and return to reservation

29. Battle of Wounded Knee 1890 • Wovoka-Native American prophet • Promised return to traditional life if people performed purification ceremonies • Ghost Dance- a ritual in which people joined hands and whirled in a circle • Caught on among Teton Sioux • Word spreads to US Army that natives are becoming restless because of Ghost Dance

30. Battle of Wounded Knee 1890 • Army sends same Custer’s former cavalry unit to Pine Ridge Reservation • Hoped to calm the situation • Tried to arrest Sitting Bull but officers shot and killed him • 120 men and 230 women/children surrendered to Army at Wounded Knee Creek

31. Battle of Wounded Knee

32. Battle of Wounded Knee 1890 • As natives were being disarmed during the surrender a shot was fired • Army opened fire • 200 Sioux were killed • Wounded Knee was the last major conflict in Indian wars

33. New Policies Toward Native Americans • Even though many whites wanted all N.A.’s killed • Growing movement for peaceful resolution • Helen Hunt Jackson A Century of Dishonor • Protested government’s broken promises toward natives

34. Changing N.A. culture • Many still believed natives needed to be “civilized" meaning: • Christian • English speaking • Must adopt white dress and customs • Support selves through farming and trade only • All natives were to give up former religious beliefs

35. Changing N.A. Culture • 1879 Capt. Richard Pratt opens U.S. Indian Training and Industrial School in Carlisle, Penn • Took children as young as 5 from homes • Coaxing, trickery or force • Assimilation=process by which one society (Indian’s) becomes a part of another more dominant society (white’s), by adopting it’s culture

36. Dawes Act 1887 • Traditionally all land was thought of as shared land • Divided reservation land into individual plots • Each family headed by a man received a plot of ~160 acres • Land holders granted citizenship but had to adhere to local, state, and federal laws • Thought this would create ownership and pride

37. Dawes Act • Resistance: • Having to farm offended some natives • Some natives were not interested in farming • Most reservation land was not suitable for farming • Outcome: • Much of the land was sold or stolen by whites • 1887-1932: 138 million acres wound up in white hands

38. Opening of Indian Territory • As whites began moving into Indian Territory the US agreed to buy native claims to the land • April 22, 1889 • 10’s of thousands of homesteaders lined up at borders to stake a claim • Ended up with 2 mil acres • these settlers were called boomers • Much of land was taken by sooners (people who sneaked by gov’t officials to stake claims early)

39. Opening of Indian Territory • After 1890 remainder of Indian Territory opened to settlement

40. Outcome • 50+ years • 1000 battles • 950 US Army deaths • Deaths of Indian scouts and fighters for Army and settlers • Millions of Native American men, women, and children died in battle or on reservations • But ‘conquered’ the Native Americans

41. Wars/Battles Native American Nations/Homelands Key Players Description/Outcome Apache and Navajo Wars (1861-1886) Apache in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado territories; Navajo in New Mexico, Colorado territories • Geronimo • Col. Christopher “Kit” Carson Carson kills or relocates many Apache to reservations in 1862. Clashes drag on until Geronmino’s surrender in 1886. Navajo told to surrender in 1863, but before they can, Carson attacks, killing hundreds, destroying homelands. Navajos moved to New Mexico reservation in 1865. Sand Creek Massacre (1864) Southern Cheyeene, Arapaho, in central plains • Black Kettle • Col. John Chivington Cheyenne massacres prompt Chivington to kill up to 500 surrendered Cheyenne and Arapaho led by Black Kettle. Red River War (1874-1875) Comanche and southern branches of Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Arapaho, in southern plains • Comanche war parties • Gen. William T. Sherman • Lt. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan Southern plains Indians relocated to Oklahoma Indian Territory under 1867 Treaty of Medicin Lodge. After buffalo hunters destroy the Indians food supply, Comanche warriors race to buffalo grazing areas in Texas panhandle to kill hunters. Sherman and Sheridan defeat warriors and open panhandle to cattle ranching.

42. Wars/Battles Native American Nations/Homelands Key Players Description/Outcome Battle of Little Bighorn (1876) Northern plains Sioux in Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana territorries • Sitting Bull • Crazy Horse • Red Cloud • Lt. Col. George • A. Custer U.S. tries to buy gold-rich Black Hills from Sioux. Talks fail. Custer’s 7th Cavalry is sent to round up Sioux, but meets huge enemy force. Custer and some 200 men perish in “Custer’s Last Stand.” Nez Perce War (1877) Largest branch of Nez Perce, in Wallowa Valley of Idaho and Washington territories and Oregon • Chief Joseph • Gen. Oliver O. Howard • Col. Nelson Miles Howard orders Nez Perce to Idaho reservation; violence erupts. Joseph leads some 700 men, women, and children on 1,400-mile flight. His 200 warriors hold off Miles’s 2,000 soldiers until halted 40 miles short of Canada. Sent to Indian Territory, many die of disease. In 1885, survivors moved to reservation in Washington Territory. Battle of Wounded Knee (1890) Sioux at Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota • Sitting Bull • U.S. 7th • Cavalry Ghost Dance raises fears of Sioux uprising; Sitting Bull killed in attempted arrest. His followers surrender and camp at Wounded Knee. Shots are fired; some 200 Sioux die.