1 / 13

The Great West

The Great West. Native Americans Under Siege: 1854-1890. Native American Life. Organized into tribes, which were usually subdivided into "bands" of about 500 men and women, each with a governing council .

ulmer
Télécharger la présentation

The Great West

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Great West Native Americans Under Siege: 1854-1890

  2. Native American Life • Organized into tribes, which were usually subdivided into "bands" of about 500 men and women, each with a governing council. • Women assumed domestic & artistic roles, while men hunted, traded, and supervised religious & military life. • Each tribe’s warrior class competed with others to demonstrate bravery. • Never successfully united politically or militarily against white power, thus contributing to their defeat by the white society.

  3. Native American Policies • 1851: Concentration Policy - US government tried to concentrate Native Americans into areas north & south of those intended for white settlement. • 1860s: Relocation Policy – Native Americans were herded into still smaller areas • Sioux"guaranteed" sanctuary of Black Hills in Dakota Territory. • Other tribes relocated to "Indian Territory" (present-day Oklahoma) • Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior was put in charge of the reservations.

  4. Indian Wars • 1854-1890: Near constant warfare raged in West between Native Americans & whites. • US troops were largely Civil War veterans. • 1/5 of all soldiers assigned to frontier were black (Buffalo Soldiers) • Led by Sherman, Sheridan, & Custer.

  5. Sand Creek Massacre: 1864 • November 1864: Colonel John Chivington’smilitia massacred more than 200 Indians who had just signed a peace treaty with the US government

  6. Great Sioux War: 1876-1877 • 1874: Gold was discovered in the Black Hills of South Dakota. • May 1875: Sioux leaders traveled to Washington, DC in order to persuade the government to honor existing treaties • November 1875: Sioux were ordered to return to their reservation. • February 1876: The matter was turned over to the US army.

  7. Great Sioux War: 1876-1877 • June1876: Battle of Little Big Horn • Colonel George Custer’s forces clashed with nearly 4000 well armed warriors led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull • Custer, along with more than 250 of his men were killed • US reinforcements chased Sitting Bull to Canada where he received political asylum; hunger forced them to return & surrender by 1876.

  8. Nez Perce War: 1877 • 1855: Nez Perce ceded much land to US in return for large reservation in Oregon and Idaho; later ceded more lands when gold was discovered. • June 1877: US government ordered the Nez Perce to move to a reservation in Idaho. • Nez Perce, led by Chief Joseph, began a 75-day, 1300 mile trek; forced to surrender 40 miles south of the Canadian border • October 1877: Nez Perce were moved south to a malaria infested camp in Kansas before their final relocation in Oklahoma

  9. Apache Wars: 1874-1886 • 1874: US government ordered the Apache onto a reservation in San Carlos, Arizona • About ½ of the Indians, led by Geronimo, escaped to Mexico • Throughout the 1870s & early 1880, Geronimo raided settlements on both sides of the US-Mexican border • 1884: Geronimo surrendered to the US army • 1885: Geronimo, along with a small band of warriors & their families escaped again • 1886: Geronimo & his followers were captured & held as prisoners of war in Florida • 1894: Geronimo was sent to Fort Still, Oklahoma

  10. The Wounded Knee Massacre: 1890 • Last major clash between US troops & Native Americans • Issue: The US army was sent to end sacred "Ghost Dance" performed by Dakota Sioux. • Believers expected the white man to disappear from Native lands & for the buffalo to return in abundance. • Indian agents feared it was a prelude to an attack. • They ordered Sitting Bull’s arrest. • He, along with 6 policemen & 7 supporters died in the mayhem that followed. • His supporters fled.

  11. The Wounded Knee Massacre: 1890 • December 29: The Dakota Sioux were intercepted on the edge of the Wounded Knee Creek. • The US Army ordered the Sioux to surrender their weapons. • Yellow Bird began to perform the Ghost Dance. • Black Coyote, who was deaf, refused to surrender his rifle which discharged. • Within minutes, 200 Sioux were dead. • The US Army then went after the fleeing women & children, killing them as well.

  12. Results of the Indian Wars • National sentiment began to urge reform toward Native Americans. • 1881: Helen Hunt Jackson: A Century of Dishonor • Chronicled the record of government ruthlessness & deceit toward Native Americans • Had similar emotional impact of Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin • Inspired the movement to assimilate Native Americans "for their own good."

  13. Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 • Provisions: • Dissolved many tribes as legal entities. • Wiped out tribal ownership of land. • Set up individual Native American family heads with allotment of 160 free acres. • Allowed for US citizenship in 25 years. • Results • Army-style boarding schools were set up where Indians prohibited to exercise any portion of their culture. • 2/3 of Indians’ remaining land was lost. • Remained official Indian policy until 1934. • Helped Indian population to grow from about 243,000 in 1887 to 1.5 million in 1990.

More Related