The American West

United States History

Mr. Bach

A Clash of CulturesNative American Ways

• One with nature (no hierarchy)

• Animals are respected and only killed when necessary

• No private ownership of land

• No wars of mass killing

• All Indians created by Great Spirit

A Clash of CulturesEuropean Ways

• Man is above the natural world (hierarchy)

• Animals killed for sport

• Private ownership of land

• Wars can be won be attrition

• Created by God

Conflicts

• Land

• Animals

• Religion

• Survival

Broken Treaties - Shattered Promises

• U.S. made treaties with the Indians who didn’t represent the entire tribe

• U.S. sought to create Reservations set aside for Indians only

• U.S. had a history of constantly breaking the treaties

Waging a War• General Phillip Sheridan -

“Only good Indian is a dead Indian.”

• Mass killing of buffalo to eliminate Indians’ food source

• Sickness and disease - Indians had no immunity to European diseases

• Alcoholism

Destroying the Buffalo

• 1800 Population = 60 million

• 1886 Population = 541

• 2001 Population = 250 thousand

Path to the Little Big Horn• Because of

broken treaties, Sioux Chief Red Cloud wages a war against the U.S.

• U.S. ends war by agreeing to give the Sioux the Dakotas

Path to the Little Big Horn• Gold is discovered in

the Black Hills, South Dakota

• Black Hills is sacred land to the Sioux

• White miners invade the Black Hills

• U.S. sends Gen. George Custer to defend the miners

Battle of the Little Big Horn• U.S. sends Custer to force

the Indians back onto the Reservation

• Custer discovers a huge band of Indians under Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Gall

• Custer foolishly divides his troops not knowing his enemy’s size

• Custer’s whole regiment is wiped out

Little Big Horn Aftermath• American people

are outraged by Custer’s death

• Crazy Horse is hunted down until he surrenders because of starvation

• Sitting Bull is chased to Canada

The Ghost Dance• Facing destruction,

Indians hope for a miracle

• Paiute leader Wovoka describes a vision whereby Indians will be saved from the whites

• Urges Indians to dance the “Ghost Dance”

Massacre at Wounded Knee• The Ghost Dance

makes the U.S. nervous - could lead to new Indian resistance

• U.S. tries to break up the Ghost Dance

• Sitting Bull killed by U.S. soldiers

• Indians leave the Pine Ridge Reservation

Massacre at Wounded Knee• U.S. army rounds up

fugitive Indians at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota

• When army goes to confiscate Indian guns, a shot is fired

• Army kills Indian men, women, and children with machine guns

• Indian wars end

“Americanizing” the Indians

• Dawes Act - seeks to convert the Indians to white ways

• Fails because of Indian resistance, white skepticism, and white discrimination

Native Americans Today

• Poorest ethnic group in the U.S. today

• 1/3 Indians living in poverty

• Per capita income on reservations = $4,500

• 1/5 Indian homes lack a toilet and telephone

• 80% unemployment rate

• Rampant alcoholism