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Home , Great Sioux War of 1876

American West Information slides What impact did the arrival of Europeans have? Check your answers from last week

1. What was the main role of the chief? To keep the tribe well fed and safe. 2. Why would a chief need great wealth? They were expected to show generosity and couldn’t without it. 3. What were the main reasons for war? Capture better campsites and hunting grounds, capture horses or show the bravery of the warriors. 4. Why were scalp raids carried out? To get revenge on an enemy. 5. How many buffalo hides were needed to make a Tepee? 18-20 6. What did the tribe call the great spirit? Wakan Tanka 7. What was the main talent of a medicine man? They were good at dealing with the spirits. 8. What did a medicine man use to treat sick people? Herbs and plants 9. Why was the sun dance performed? To make sure the power of the sun came back each day. 10. Why was a boy sent to find their spirit animal? It was part of becoming a man. They believed the animal would protect them throughout their lives. As the white man’s trails crossed important native hunting grounds, they began to threaten the lives of the plains tribes.

The whites wanted the land for farming, mining and the growing towns. Many conflicts grew out of fear and misunderstandings on both sides. The Natives were not going to win this battle. With the loss of hunting grounds, disease and fighting with the Europeans the Indians were losing territory and growing weak.

In 1848, gold was discovered on the plains. This brought in a new influx of people believing they were going to get rich quick by finding gold in the rivers or mines. This created more conflict between as the Native Americans did not understand why gold was worth anything. Many battles took place particularly as gold was found in the , a place sacred to the Sioux. Source A Source B

• In 1838 Cherokee people were forcibly moved from their homeland and relocated to , now . They resisted their Removal by creating their own newspaper, The Cherokee Phoenix, as a platform for their views. They sent their educated young men on speaking tours throughout the . They lobbied Congress, and created a petition with more than 15,000 Cherokee signatures against Removal. They took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that they were a sovereign nation n Worcester vs. Georgia (1832). President Andrew Jackson ignored the Supreme Court decision, enforced his Act of 1830. As a result in 1838 Cherokee people were forcibly taken from their homes, incarcerated in stockades, forced to walk more than a thousand miles at gunpoint, enduring one of the harshest winters recorded and removed to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. More than 4,000 died and many are buried in unmarked graves along “The Trail Where They Cried.” Source A: A white journalist gives his strong opinion of Indian land: ‘As I passed over the very best cornland on earth and saw their owners sitting around the doors of their lodges at the height of the planting season, I could not help saying, ‘these people must die out. God has given this earth to those who will tame and cultivate it’. Horace Greeley, An Overland Journey from to San Francisco, 1859

Source B: Between 1492 and 1900 the Native American population fell by about 95%. See Right.

Source C: One Sioux chief said this about the white people: ‘Hear me, people. We have now to deal with another race. Strangely enough they have a mind to plough the soil and the love of ownership is a disease with them. They claim this mother of ours, the earth, for their own; they deface her with their buildings and their refuse.’

Sitting Bull, 1877 Source E: As they lie on their hard mats, the pox [is] breaking and their skin [is] sticking to the mats. And when they turn a whole side will peel off at once and they will be all of a gore of blood, most fearful to behold. And then, being very sore they die like rotten sheep

William Bradford, 17th century British settler leader, describing how diseases killed Native Americans

Source G: In sweeping away great multitude of the natives God has cleared our title (right to own) to this place. Source H: John Winthrop, 17th Century settler leader The woods are almost cleared of these pernicious creatures, to make room for a better growth.

A 17th Century Puritan writer. War with Europeans: What happened at the battle of little Bighorn? Source Investigation: What happened at the Battle of the Little Bighorn?

On Sunday, 25 June, 1876 the Lakota Sioux tribe and their allies killed Lieutenant Colonel Custer and his entire command of 260 men of the 7th Cavalry. The Black Hills of Dakota were sacred to the Lakota and the US had promised them to the Sioux tribes. However, gold had been discovered there in 1874 and miners poured in. The US government sent in soldiers to protect the miners from the attacks of the angry Lakota. It was decided that any Native American who refused to move to a reservation would be treated as a ‘hostile’ at war with the USA. Three Army’s moved against the Lakota and their allies. On 17 June, one group, led by General Crook, were defeated at the Battle of the Rosebud river. Another group (the 7th Cavalry under Custer) was ordered to ride ahead and find ‘hostiles’ but not to attack. Custer ignored his orders. When he reached a huge ‘hostile’ village he divided his soldiers. Expecting 800 Natives he actually encountered double with famous leaders such as involved. He sent 115 troopers to search for more ‘hostiles.’ Another 140, were ordered to attack the eastern end of the village. They were soon beaten back. Custer, with the rest, rode round the village intending to attack from its other end. He never made it. Within one hour Custer and all his men were dead. The only survivor was a horse named Comanche.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn meant nothing. Within a year the Lakota were defeated. The result was that the Native Americans now had to live on reservations, areas of land ‘reserved’ for them by the US government. The whites in America wanted the natives to look and act like them.

1) Boarding house 2) council rooms and doctors office 3) storehouse 4) police quarters 5) employees quarters 6) agents quarters 7) interpreters quarters 8) stable and ration issue centre 9) ice and meat house 10) water works 11) oil house 12) chief ’s house The reservations took away Native American culture. The glory that the men had gained through hunting and fighting was gone and farming was a poor replacement. They had no wish to become farmers and felt great despair at their loss. The Native Americans tried one last attempt to gain their freedom. They performed ‘ghost dances’ in the hope that the ghosts of their ancestors would appear and help drive the white man out. The whites even outlawed this and at Wounded Knee Creek the US army opened fire on those who tried to do the dance.

Chief Big Foot lies dying in the snow after the US Cavalry massacred over 300 Sioux men, women and children at Wounded Knee. In many reservations, the soil was poor and many Native Americans were put off farming by early crop failures. They saw these failures as a sign from nature or the Great Spirit that they were not meant to farm. Ploughing up the land in this way went against their beliefs in the sacredness of mother earth.

Poor soils and a lack of farming knowledge meant very few could provide enough for food for their families. Without the buffalo they were unable to make their own clothes and tools. For all these things they depended on rations from the government. The tribes could no longer look after themselves, but depended on gifts from their former enemies. Gap Fill Summary Answers

1) Copy and complete the following: The Battle of the Little Bighorn had meant Nothing. After the Whites final victory they forced all Native Americans to live on reservations. Living in these conditions meant the men lost their glory that they had received through hunting and fighting. Native Americans now had to work as farmers but where put off by early crop failures. They could not provide enough food for their families. Without the buffalo they could no longer make clothes and tools. The tribes were humiliated and forced to live on rations given to them by their former enemies. Plain Wars 1850-1890 – Brought about due to the creation of Reservations, and several new policies by US Army officials who ‘shot Indians on sight’. The Dakota War More commonly called the Sioux Uprising of 1862, it was the first major armed engagement between the U.S. and the Sioux (Dakota). After six weeks of fighting in Minnesota, led mostly by Chief Little Crow, records conclusively show that more than 500 U.S. soldiers and settlers died in the conflict, though many more may have died in small raids or after being captured. The number of Sioux dead in the uprising is unknown. After the war, 303 Sioux warriors were convicted of murder by U.S. military tribunals and sentenced to death. Most of the death sentences were altered by President Lincoln, but on December 26, 1862, in Minnesota, 38 Dakota Sioux men were hanged in what is still today the largest mass execution in U.S. history. After the expulsion of the Sioux, some refugees and warriors made their way to Lakota held lands in what is now North Dakota. Battles continued between Minnesota regiments and combined Lakota and Dakota forces through 1864, as Colonel Henry Sibley pursued the Sioux into . Sibley's army defeated the Lakota and Dakota in three major battles in 1863: the Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake on July 26, 1863, the Battle of Stony Lake on July 28, 1863, and the Battle of Whitestone Hill on September 3, 1863. The Sioux retreated further, but again faced an American army in 1864; this time, they were decisively defeated at the Battle of Killdeer Mountain on July 28, 1864. Colorado Wars

• On November 29, 1864, the Colorado army responded to a series of Indian attacks on white settlements by attacking a Cheyenne tribe encampment on Sand Creek, under orders to take no prisoners. The militia killed about 200 of the Indians, two-thirds of whom were women and children, taking scalps and other grisly trophies of battle. • Following the massacre, the survivors joined the camps of the Cheyenne on the Smokey Hill and Republican Rivers. They smoked the war pipe and passed it from camp to camp among the leaders, and they planned an attack on the fort at Julesburg in the January 1865 called the Battle of Julesburg. This attack was followed up by numerous raids. The bulk of the Indians then moved north to the Black Hills and the Powder River. In the spring of 1865, raids continued along the Oregon trail in . Indians raided the Oregon Trail along the North Platte River and attacked the troops stationed at the bridge across the North Platte at Casper, in the Battle of Platte Bridge. Black Hills War

• In 1875, the Great Sioux War of 1876–77 erupted when the Dakota gold rush penetrated the Black Hills. The government decided to stop evicting trespassers from the Black Hills and offered to buy the land from the Sioux. When they refused, the government decided instead to take the land and gave the Lakota until January 31, 1876 to return to reservations. The tribes did not return to the reservations by the deadline, and Lt. Colonel George Custer found the main encampment of the Lakota and their allies at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Custer and his men were separated from their main body of troops, and they were all killed by the far more numerous Indians led by Crazy Horse and inspired by 's earlier vision of victory. • As the Native Americans increasingly looked destined to lose, the Lakotas conducted a Ghost Dance ritual, attempting to bring back the spirits of those who had died, on the reservation at Wounded Knee, in 1890, and the Army attempted to subdue them. Gunfire erupted on December 29 during this attempt, and soldiers killed up to 300 Indians, mostly old men, women, and children in the Wounded Knee Massacre. Several soldiers achieved medals for their actions that have not been revoked to this day. What happened to Native Americans under European Control up to modern times? Indians Today

By the early 1880s, groups like Friends of the Indians began campaigning on behalf of the Indians. They believed that Indians needed to become US citizens and be protected by the Constitution. They were successful in this, but Indians could only be citizens if they gave up their old lands and accepted 160 acres instead. Vast amounts of Indian lands went to the government and were sold to white settlers.

It was not until 1924 that the US government began to recognise the rights of Native Americans as individual people. In that year they were given citizenship of the United States. This meant that they could vote and be fully protected by US law. This was largely because of the part played by many who fought in the American army during the First World War.

The Sioux of South Dakota were recently given 122.5 million dollars by a law court. This was in return for the land of the Black Hills that was taken from them in 1877. Other tribes have also sued the US government for broken treaties of the past. These court cases are a sign of the increased power of the tribes today.

Some tribes are now making money from their reservations. The Mescalero Apache reservation is sited on some of the highest mountains in New Mexico. On this difficult land they run a number of successful businesses; they own a multi-million dollar logging company and cattle ranch and have recently build luxury ski and leisure resorts. Most of the people live in new two story houses.

While a few tribes have been able to make money, most have remained in a state of poverty as the reservations are on lands that are infertile or find people unwilling to do business with them. Many rely on the interest in their culture as a tourist attraction to earn a living. Most reservations have tourist shops where such things as traditional rugs and jewellery are sold. The conditions on some reservations have resulted in many Native Americans moving to the cities where work is not easy to find and housing is expensive. Some have done well in their new city lives, while others have ended up in the slums. On the reservations, there is widespread poverty and a lack of prospects for the youth on the land. This leads to substance abuse such as alcoholism and drugs due to the lack of opportunities and sense of hopelessness.

Perhaps the greatest problem for Native Americans today is the feeling of being split between two cultures. Many speak of their sadness for the culture that has been lost. they cannot live as traditionally but they do not really feel a part of modern American culture. This is not the only problem. Many Native Americans face health problems. See Left. Protest at Standing Rock

What are people protesting about?

In 2016, More than 1.4 million people "checked in" on Facebook to support protesters fighting against the new oil pipeline in Standing Rock, a Sioux Native American reservation in North Dakota by camping on site and blocking the excavation.

The $3.7bn (£2.8bn) Dakota Access pipeline has drawn huge protests in North Dakota where thousands of people are trying to halt its construction, most notably the Sioux Native Americans.

The tribe says the pipeline will traverse over their sacred ancestral burial grounds, archaeological sites, and could pollute their main source of water. Protesters are worried police might be tracking them on social media, igniting concerns over digital privacy. How are people protesting? How have the oil company responded?

• Environmental activists have shown solidarity with the Sioux tribe saying the pipeline, which can transport up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil a day, will greatly increase fossil fuel emissions. • The company behind the pipeline, Energy Transport Partners, has said the project will boost local economies and is much safer than transporting oil by rail or road. • Native Americans in Standing Rock say they are committed to being unarmed. Meanwhile the Oil Company ahs hired armed private security with attack dogs to attack the protestors. • The protest lasted for months and ended when the company were forced to make compromises to build the pipeline around the sacred land. What were the controversies?

• Critics say the police have used unnecessary force on activists. The local police have arrested nearly 150 activists. • They have contrasted the police treatment of North Dakota protesters to the recent acquittal of seven members of an armed militia who led a 41-day standoff at a wildlife refuge in Oregon over federal land ownership. • Some Native American activists have criticised the acquittal saying the Oregon protesters were given special privilege because they were white. Quiz Answers - Score out of 20

• 1) What was the name of the forced walk of Native American Tribes to their new home in Oklahoma? Approximately how many died? (1 mark) Trail of Tears • 2) Give 2 examples of why people of the colonies wanted to expand West? (2 marks) Gold Rush, New Land to own, Power, Wealth, Religion. • 3) Who was killed at last stand hill at the battle of little bighorn? (1 mark) Colonel Custer. • 4) What percentage of the Native American population was left by 1990? (1 mark) 95% • 5) Why did the population decrease so dramatically? Give 3 reasons. (3 marks) Disease, War, Poverty. • 6) What two benefits did the Buffalo bring to the Natives? (2 marks) Clothes, Tools, Food, Hunting tradition • 7) What is the name of the area of land given to the Native Americans where they were forced to live? (1 mark) Reservations • 8) What are three consequences of the Native Americans being forced to live on these lands? (3 marks) Poverty, Loss of tradition, Loss of freedom, Health problems, Addiction, Lack of opportunities, Loss of land • 9) Give 2 ways that the protesters fought against the pipeline at Standing Rock? (2 marks) Social Media, Sit in • 10) Explain in 1 PEEL paragraph whether the Native Americans are considered equal today based on all you have learnt? Point…Evidence…Explain...Link… (4 marks) • One point for each P-E-E-L section you have included. The example below is worth 4 marks: Native Americans are not considered equal in America today. This is shown most recently through the Dakota pipeline. The reason this shows inequality is because it demonstrates again the US placing profit above the traditions and rights of the Native Americans just as they did in the 19th century with the first reservations and forced relocations. Therefore it is clear that Native Americans are not equal in the US as their rights and lands are constantly being taken when it suits the US.