Indian Peoples in Retreat

Promises Made and Broken

End of the Buffalo

The War for the West

The Indian Way of Life Ends

Reformers Fail

Promises Made and BrokenStarted in the 1840’s when settlers and miners began to settle on Indian hunting grounds

Fort Laramie Treaty – 1851 when government met with Indian nations in Fort Laramie, WY

Officials asked the tribes to keep to a limited area

In return they were promised animals, tools, and money

However, in 1858 gold was discovered in Pike’s Peak, CO and miners rushed onto Cheyenne and Arapaho land

The government forced the natives to sign a new treaty giving whites the land around Pike’s Peak

Some Natives refused to accept this agreement and attacked the whites

Chivington Massacre1864 – Colonel John Chivington led his militia against the Cheyenne village whose leaders had come to the fort asking for protection

Chivington ignored that the natives were asking for protection and ordered his men to destroy the village

Over 200 people were killed

People in the US were outraged and across the Plains Indians and whites went to war

Assimilation and Reservations1867 – Government officials established a peace commission to end the wars on the Plains so that settlers would be safe

Urged the natives to send their children to white schools and settle down like white farmers

Assimilation – plan where Natives would give up their Indian beliefs and accept the white way of life

1867 – Kiowas, Comanches, and other Southern plains tribes signed a new treaty with the government promising to move to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma)

Lakotas and Arapahos also signed a treaty saying they would live on reservations (limited area set aside for Native Americans) in present day South Dakota

Carlisle School for Children

End of the BuffaloDecline of the buffalo began before the whites arrived due to disease, drought, and land destruction

Market for buffalo robes grew

Buffalo hunting became a pleasure sport

War for the WestCuster’s Last Stand

Prospectors found gold on the Sioux lands in South Dakota

Thousands of miners rushed to the area

Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and other Lakotas attacked the whites in what become known as the Sioux Wars of 1876

June 1876 – Colonel George A. Custer led soldiers into Little Bighorn Valley

Custer and all his men died in the Battle of Little Bighorn

However, the army soon defeated the Lakotas and Cheyennes and Congress said they would get no food rations until they agreed to the government demands

The Lakota gave up their claim to the Black Hills that they were promised in the Fort Laramie Treaty

Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse took their followers to Canada and vowed to return

Chief Joseph FleesNez Perce lived in the Snake River Valley (between Oregon and Idaho)

1855 – Signed a treaty with the US government and gave up parts of their land

Gold was discovered on their remaining land and they were ordered to move to a reservation in Idaho

Chief Joseph and his people eluded the US army by fleeing

They traveled over 1,000 miles but eventually he surrendered

“I will fight no more forever.”

~ Chief Joseph

The Apache WarsThe Apaches fiercely resisted the loss of their lands

Geronimo – continued fighting the longest (1876-1886)

He led raids by hiding in Mexico and attacking in Arizona and New Mexico

His surrender marked the formal end of Indian resistance against the whites

Indian Way of Life EndsGhost Dance – Word spread among the Paiute people led by Wovoka who said the Great Spirit would make a new world for his people

On the reservations, many tribes embraced this dance and idea

Settlers React

They though Ghost Dancers were preparing for war

The government outlawed the dance

On a Lakota reservation they claimed Sitting Bull was spreading the dance and in the chaos he was shot and killed

Massacre at Wounded Knee

Because of Sitting Bulls death, many Lakotas left the reservations

Met the troops at Wounded Knee, SD

As the Indians were preparing to surrender a shot rang out and in the end over 300 Native Americans lay dead

The Aftermath of Wounded Knee Massacre

Reformers FailMany reformers spoke out about the unfair treatment of the Indians

Susette La Flesche lectured about the destruction of Native American life

Helen Hunt Jackson published A Century of Dishonor in 1881

Discussed the broken treaties

Dawes Act – in 1887 this act encouraged Natives to become farmers and divided up tribal lands for individual natives

Was unsuccessful because natives believed everyone owned land and didn’t fully understand the concept of selling land

Also on reservations, the chiefs had no power, only the US government did

What symbols do you see?

What is the cartoonists point?

Buffalo SoldiersThe Beginning

African Americans have served proudly in every great American war. In 1866, through an act of Congress, legislation was adopted to create six all African American Army units. The units were identified as the 9th and 10th cavalry and the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st infantry regiments. The four infantry regiments were later reorganized to form the 24th and 25th infantry regiments.

These fighting men represented the first Black professional soldiers in a peacetime army. The recruits came from varied backgrounds including former slaves and veterans from service in the Civil War.

The Nickname The nickname buffalo soldiers began with the Cheyenne warriors in 1867. The actual Cheyenne translation was Wild Buffalo. The nickname was given out of respect and the fierce fighting ability of the 10th cavalry. Overtime, Buffalo Soldiers became a generic term for all African American soldiers.