I. Settlers Encounter the Plains Indians The government sent agents to negotiate treaties with Plains Indians 4 tribes who lived on the Plains are the. Apache, Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Pawnee, Sioux Tribes spoke many different languages. In order to communicate with each other, they used sign language Hunting Buffalo Plains Indians depended on the horse and buffalo (animals) They hunted Buffalo by hunting from horseback with a bow & arrows Buffalo were used for many things including food, shelter, clothing, utensils, tools, dried jerky, teepees, cups (tools & clothing mentioned twice) 1
Struggle to Keep Land The Treaty of Fort Laramie was the first major treaty between the U.S. government and Plains Indians The 3 conditions included in the treaty included Recognized Indian claims to most of the Great Plains Allowed the U.S. to build forts & roads & to travel across Indian homelands Promised to pay for any damages to Indian lands However, in 1858 (what happened) and created conflict between miners and Native Americans. Gold was discovered Reservations areas of Federal lands set aside for Native Americans (include definition) were created, but it made hunting buffalo impossible. Conflicts increased and in 1866 Crazy Horse and a group of Sioux ambushed and killed 81 cavalry troops In the Second Treaty of Fort Laramie, the government agreed to (3 things) close the Bozeman Trail, abandon the forts, and provide reservation land to the Sioux 2
II. Fighting on the Plains Native Americans continued to resist being moved to and confined on reservations and the Government sent troops, including Buffalo Soldiers (African American cavalry) into the West to force the Indians to leave. Battles on the Northern Plains In 1874, soldiers discovered gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota - on Sioux land. They wanted the land, but Chief Sitting Bull of the Lakota Sioux (include title) resisted. Other Sioux leaders listened to Sitting Bull and refused to give up their land. 3
On June 25, 1876 George Amstrong Custer s scouts found a Sioux camp along the Little Big Horn River. Custer raced ahead without waiting for support. In the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Sioux forces led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull surrounded and defeated Custer and his troops. The event is also known as Custer s Last Stand- the worst defeat the U.S. Army had suffered in the West. The Battle of the Little Big Horn was the last Native American (Sioux) major victory. In 1890, reservation police killed Sitting Bull. Many Sioux left the reservations in protest and later that year (December 29) the U.S. Army shot & killed about 150 Sioux. This event, known as the Massacre at Wounded Knee was the last major incident on the Great Plains. Native American resistance ended. 4
Southwest In 1863, the Navajo refused to settle on a reservation. In response, troops made raids on fields, homes, and livestock. When the Navajo ran out of food and shelter, they surrendered. In 1864, the army led Navajo captives on the Long Walk, a 300 mile walk across the desert. Along the way countless Navajo died. Far West A peaceful tribe, the Nez Perce were promised they could keep their land in Oregon. However, the gvm t then ordered them on to a reservation. The Nez Perce fled and tried to escape to Canada, but were captured and sent to a reservation in Oklahoma. 5
Final Battles The Apache of the Southwest continued to battle the U.S. Army. In September 1886, their leader Geronimo surrendered and ended Apache resistance. III. Conflict Continues Life on the reservations was difficult. Land was usually not useful for farming or hunting buffalo and many Indians were starving. Wovoka, a Paiute Indian began a religious movement, the Ghost Dance. It predicted the arrival of paradise for Native Americans where buffalo would return and the settlers would disappear. U.S. officials were afraid it would lead to rebellion, so they tried to end the movement. 6
In the late 1870s, Sarah Winnemucca called for reform of the reservation system and spoke out for the fair treatment of her people. Other reformers believed that Native Americans should adopt the ways of white people and the Dawes General Allotment Act was passed in 1887. It tried to make land ownership private instead of shared, but in the end, the act simply took about 2/3 of Indian lands. Biography Read about Chief Joseph on page 599. Respond to the Cause & Effect question at the bottom. The advancement of white settlers and the United States trying to relocate them to a reservation. 7