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III. Native Americans: Cultures and Conflicts

At the Carlisle School Native American children as young as seven years of Teaching Idea age were sent to become Christians and English speakers. They were to forget Pictures of students at the Carlisle their traditional ways and embrace the values of mainstream society. The school School, as well as documents describ- taught both academic subjects and preprofessional skills. Students learned read- ing the school, are available on the ing, writing, and arithmetic. Boys studied carpentry, tinsmithing, and black- web. Student may also be interested in smithing. Girls studied cooking, sewing, and baking. The boys wore uniforms learning about Jim Thorpe, a champi- and the girls wore Victorian-style dresses. Long hair was cut short. Shoes were onship runner educated at the Carlisle required and no moccasins were allowed. Students were not allowed to speak School. their native languages. All of this was well intentioned, but in the attempt to assimilate children to a new culture, the educators at Carlisle were also systemat- ically destroying the culture into which their students had been born. C. Conflicts The Plains Wars The period from the 1850s to the 1880s on the narrowing frontier saw a num- ber of conflicts between settlers and soldiers and the increasingly desperate and dwindling Native American population. These conflicts are sometimes called the Plains Wars. It was not surprising that some Indians resisted westward expansion. As United States General Philip Sheridan said: We took away their country and their means of support, broke up their mode of living, their habits of life, introduced disease and decay among them, and it was for this and against this that they made war. Could any- one expect less? Sand Creek Massacre In the 1850s, the Arapaho and Cheyenne in Colorado had been forced to accept a small area of land near Sand Creek for their reservation. Within ten years, gold had been found on the reservation and settlers and miners wanted Sand Creek. A conflict began and scattered fighting continued for three years until Chief Black Kettle and his band camped near Fort Lyon asking to negotiate for peace. In November 1864, militia under the command of “Colonel” John Chivington, a Methodist minister, led an attack against Black Kettle’s camp. Chivington and his men claimed to be seeking revenge on the Native Americans for an earlier attack on white miners. They attacked Black Kettle and his camp even though it was flying both a U. S. flag and the white flag of truce. Chivington and his force carried out their attack on a camp of sleeping men, women, chil- dren, and elderly. It is estimated that up to 500 Native Americans were killed (and in some cases mutilated) by Chivington’s men. Some Americans applauded Chivington’s actions, but many others were dis- gusted. A Congressional committee investigated the attack and ultimately con- demned Chivington’s massacre. Crazy Horse Crazy Horse (Ta-sunko-witko), a chief of the Oglala Sioux, was one of the strongest leaders of the Native American resistance on the Great Plains. During the 1850s, he acquired a reputation as a great warrior, based on the bravery he displayed in conflicts with other groups of Native Americans. Later, Crazy Horse would turn these skills against the white men. 308 Grade 5 Handbook