Western Expansion Native Americans & Indian Wars Cynthia Parker • Moved with her parents to Fort Parker in Central Texas when she was a little kid. • May 1836 a group of Comanche attacked the fort & kidnapped 5 kids including Cynthia. • Cynthia was given to a Comanche family & raised her as their own daughter. • She completely immersed herself in Comanche culture & almost completely forgot about her Anglo life. • She later married Chief Peta Nacona & raised a family together, including her son Quanah Parker. • She had been living with the Comanche for over 25 years when the Texas Rangers raided their camp. The Texas Rangers noticed her blue eyes they took her to East Texas where an Anglo family member identified her as his niece. • Parker never liked Anglo society & tried several times to escape. She died in 1871 of a broken heart without ever seeing her family again.

Quanah Parker • Son of Cynthia Parker • Quanah Parker was the last Chief of the Comanche's • His tribe roamed over the area over the Great Plains • Never lost a battle to the white man • He was never captured by the U.S. Army, but decided to surrender and lead his tribe into the white man's culture, only when he saw that there was no alternative Comanche Culture: Men took pride in their hair, which was worn long and rarely cut. They arranged their hair with porcupine quill brushes, greased it and parted it in the center from the forehead to the back of the neck.

The Plains Indians depended on the buffalo for survival and their way of life. .As Americans moved Westward Indians got pushed onto reservations.

.What do you think is wrong with this? Reservation Life: Bad things about it • Usually received bad land (Reservation land in Oklahoma) • Indians had little experience farming. Were expected to become farmers. • Many kids were placed in boarding schools. They had to wear Anglo clothes, they had to cut their hair & speak English. • Many Indian Agents were corrupt. These agents were supposed to deliver money, food, & other supplies to the Indians, but many would steal or would sell the goods for their own profit.

• The Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania was founded in 1879. While the founder championed racial equality, something he set out to showcase at the school. The school aimed to prove that American Indians were the equals of whites by making them as white as possible. The slogan at Carlisle was "kill the Indian, save the man." Students were forbidden from speaking their own languages. Their hair was cut, they were dressed in suits and ties and corseted dresses. They didn't go home for years at a time. And they were taught trades, like baking and blacksmithing, which were meant to give them a foothold in the white Tom Torlino -- his portraits are 2 of the world after graduation. most striking (and best-known) "Before and After" images. Here he is 3 years • Torlino returned to his home in Coyote Canyon, and picked up his career later, in 1885. Notice how much lighter as a rancher and medicine man right where he had left off. Tom's skin appears in this photo.

Apaches at their arrival at Carlisle March, 1887: Apaches 4 months after their arrival at Carlisle • An 1890 cartoon illustrating the Indian Agents' infamous corruption. Caption reads: “The reason of the Indian outbreak. General Miles declares that the Indians are starved into rebellion.” Western Frontier

. As Anglo settlers were expanding West & settling new territory, new opportunities for African-Americans arose on the frontier. Buffalo Soldiers • Black soldiers (many were ex-slaves) that served on the frontier • The name ‘buffalo soldier’ given by the Indians • Served in segregated units of the 9th & 10th Cavalry& the 24th & 25th Infantry • Served along the Rio Grande during the Indian Wars • Helped keep peace among the Indians in Texas • What hardships do you think Buffalo Soldiers would face while serving in Texas?

Henry O. •Henry Flipper was born a slave in Georgia in 1856 •He was the 1st African American to graduate from West Point in 1877. He was ignored & treated poorly by other cadets and enduring racist discrimination. He excelled as a cadet, particularly in engineering, law, French and Spanish. •He was the 1st non-white to command the 10th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers) •In 1881, Flipper was accused of embezzlement (theft of funds belonging to one's employer). He was acquitted (not guilty), but was dishonorably discharged in 1882. •In 1976 it was revealed that U.S. Army officers had framed him. President Bill Clinton granted him a posthumous honorable discharge in 1999.

Captain Nicholas M. Nolan, the commander of A troop, 10th Cavalry, was the officer assigned to teach Flipper what was needed to know about being a cavalry officer. American Bison (Buffalo) • Bison are the largest mammal in North America. Male bison (called bulls) weigh up to 2,000 pounds and stand 6 feet tall • They can run up to 35 miles per hour. Plus, they’re extremely agile. They can spin around quickly, jump high fences and are strong swimmers • At their peak the bison are believed to have been the biggest population of large wild mammals anywhere on Earth, numbering over 50 million before the European settlers arrived • Yet within the space of a few decades, their number would be reduced to almost extinction bringing to an end an era in American history

Buffalo Guns • High powered guns that had scopes allowing hunters to shoot buffalo from a great distance.

• Hunting Bison was easy. One Texan remembered “A good hunter would kill 75 to 100 buffalo a day.”

The Sharps Model 1874 rifle in the .50-90 Sharps cartridge

The Sharps Rifle was the favorite among hunters because of its accuracy at long range. Weight 9.5 lb. Length 47 inches Rate of fire 8–10 shots per minute Buffalo Hunters • Killed for the hides. Worth ($2-3) • There was money to be made from buffalo leather, which was commonly used to make machinery belts & army boots • Used the meat to feed Railroad workers • U.S. War Tactic: the more buffalo they killed the more it would hurt the Indians way of life & make them move on reservations and overhunting the buffalo hunting forced Natives to become dependent on beef from cattle

Slaughtered: Men in the mid-1870s pose with a mountain of buffalo skulls soon to be ground into fertilizer, the sad remains of an animal that once ruled the American plains Men would either climb aboard the roofs of trains or fire shots at herds from outside their windows. As a description of this from Harper's Weekly noted: "The train is 'slowed' to a rate of speed about equal to that of the herd; the passengers get out fire-arms which are provided for the defense of the train against the Indians, and open from the windows and platforms of the cars a fire that resembles a brisk skirmish.“ The railroad industry also wanted bison herds culled or eliminated. Herds of bison on tracks could damage locomotives when the trains failed to stop in time. Herds often took shelter in the artificial cuts formed by the grade of the track winding through hills and mountains in harsh winter conditions. As a result, bison herds could delay a train for days. Compare & Contrast: Buffalo Soldiers & Buffalo hunters

Fill out the Venn diagram about Buffalo soldiers & Buffalo hunters. Find 2 similarities

Buffalo soldiers Similarities Buffalo hunters Battle of Adobe Walls • Buffalo were being slaughtered by buffalo hunters • Plains Indians were starving on reservations • A vision from a Comanche shaman promised victory against buffalo hunters predicting that the bullets would not harm the Indian warriors • Plains Indians call for an attack on trading post at Adobe Walls located in the Texas Panhandle Battle of Adobe Walls • June 1874 • Quanah Parker leads a group of 700 Indian warriors – Only 28 men & 1 woman were there. – High powered guns kept the Indians back – The hunters survived the attack & only suffered 2 casualties – Over a few days 15 Indians were killed by the hunters – The Indians retreat. Quanah Parker had been injured as well as many others – The Shaman’s vison had proved to be untrue • Frustrated at not taking Adobe Walls the Plains Indians attack other West Texas settlements. What factors helped defeat the Comanche Indians in Texas? • More settlers moving into Texas (meant less space for the Comanche) • Texas Rangers & their Colt pistols (were more effective than the bow & arrow) • Diseases (from settlers & people headed to California) • Buffalo Hunters overkilling of buffalo (meant less buffalo for the Comanche) Debate Question • On a sheet of paper • Is the Indian removal justified by the American progress in their expansion westward?

Pros Cons (What are the positive (What are the negative aspects to American aspects to American society as a result) society as a result) ______