Title: Aim: Why did settlers come into conflict with the Native Americans in the Western US?
1Aim Why did settlers come into conflict with the
Native Americans in the Western US?
22. Conflict With the Indians
- The coming of so many settlers to the frontier
led to conflict with the Indians. - With the movement of settlers to the West in the
1840s, Indian life began to change. - The coming of miners, ranchers and farmers into
the last frontier caused even greater changes. - As a result, a long series of conflicts, lasting
until the late 1880s, took place between the
Indians and the settlers. - These conflicts resulted in the defeat of the
Indians and their traditional way of life.
3Native Americans (1800)
42.1 The Plains Indians
- Nearly 200,000 Indians lived in the Great Plains.
Many of the Indian groups who lived there were
nomadic hunters who depended on the buffalo for
survival. - The buffalo provided these groups with food,
clothing, housing and shelter.
5Native Americans (2008)
6Map of the Plains Indians
7Buffalo
8The Many Uses of Buffalo
9- The Plains Indians followed herds of buffalo over
a large area and they believed that the land
belonged to everyone. - However, the treaties of the 1850s between the
government and certain Indian groups had set
boundaries on Indian hunting lands. - As miners, ranchers, and homesteaders moved into
the West, the treaties were broken and more
Indian land was taken. It became difficult for
the Indians to find the buffalo they needed. - The final blow came when whites began killing off
large numbers of buffalo. Hunters working for
railroad companies shot thousands of buffalo to
feed survey and track-laying teams. Other were
killed for sport, as their hides became popular
in the Eastern United States. By 1889, only a few
hundred buffalo were left.
102.2 The Last Indian Wars
- The last wars between the Indians and settlers
occurred during the last half of the 1800s. - The major reason for this conflict, you guessed
it, land. The same reason we fought the Indians
in the 1600s, 1700s and early 1800s. - In 1861, some Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians
attacked miners while they were moving through
Indian lands towards Colorado. - This ended in the defeat of the Indians after a
massacre of 450 of their number by the Colorado
state militia.
11- In 1862, many soldiers were pulled from the west
to join the Civil War conflict. This allowed for
many Plains Indians to rise up against white
settlers. - When the war was over, more soldiers were placed
in the west. This conflict between the federal
government and Indians continued soon after.
12Map of Indian Tribes, Battles and Settler Posts
1860-1890
13The First Sioux War
- The First Sioux War began in 1865 when the United
States Army tried to build a road across Sioux
land through central Wyoming to the gold mines of
Montana. - The Sioux, led by Chief Red Cloud, attacked many
of the soldiers and miners along the road. - The government finally agreed to give up the
project in 1868. The Sioux were also guaranteed
reservation lands west of the Missouri River and
hunting rights.
14Map of the Sioux Indian Lands c.1865
15Chief Red Cloud
16The Second Sioux War
- The Second Sioux War began as a result of gold
being discovered on the Sioux reservation in the
Dakota Territory. - In 1874, after gold was discovered, miners by the
hundreds arrived in the Black Hills seeking gold. - In 1875, the United States government broke its
promise to the Sioux and opened the Black Hills
to settlement.
17- Many Sioux left their lands and camped near the
Little Bighorn River in Montana. They were joined
by members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. - These tribes were led by Chief Sitting Bull and
Crazy Horse-2,500 warriors in all. - The government ordered the tribes to return to
their lands. When they did not do so, troops were
sent to force them to move.
18- One group of 264 troops, led by Lt. Colonel
George Custer, advanced against the Indians in
the Battle of Little Bighorn. - Custer and his troops were surrounded by the
Indians and killed. - When news reached the East about this defeat,
more soldiers were sent to the West and the Sioux
fled the area.
19The Black Hills-South Dakota
20Gold Discovered in the Black Hills
21Lt. Colonel George Custer
Lt. Colonel George Custer and his men were among
the first Americans to find gold in the Black
Hills. He soon would gain notoriety when he and
his 264 men were killed at the Battle of Little
Big Horn in 1876.
22Little Big Horn
23Custers Last Stand
24Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse
Sitting Bull
Crazy Horse
25The Nez Perce
- The United States also used force against the Nez
Perce. - In 1877, the government ordered the Nez Perce
Tribe of eastern Oregon to move to a smaller
reservation in Idaho. They refused. - Led by Chief Joseph, 800 men, women and children
traveled for 15 weeks over 1,500 while being
chased by US troops. - The tribe was caught 40 miles before they would
have escaped into Canada.
26Movement of the Nez Perce Tribe 1877
27Chief Joseph
28The Apache
- One of the longest Indian wars was fought between
the US Army and the Apache tribe of the
southwest. - The Apache continued to fight the US Army after
many other tribes went to reservations. This was
due to the Apache being warriors. - The Apache knew the rugged lands of Arizona, New
Mexico and Texas gave them the advantage over the
US forces. - The wars with the Apache went on until the
capture of Geronimo in 1886.
29Apache Homelands of the 1800s
30Geronimo
31Wounded Knee
- The Indian Wars finally came to a close at
Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Reservation
in the Dakota Territory. - In the late 1880s, a religious movement spread to
the Plains Indians. As part of it, a special
dance called the Ghost Dance was performed. - The Indians believed that the dance would return
the buffalo and their lands.
32- These beliefs alarmed settlers, who demanded the
army take action. - In December 1890, soldiers tried to stop the
Ghost Dance. There was a brief fight and more
than 150 Sioux were killed.
33Wounded Knee
34Hotchkiss Gun-1st Machine Gun
35Images of Wounded Knee
36Images of Wounded Knee
37Wounded Knee Memorial
382.3 Changes in Federal Indian Policy
- Federal policy towards the Indians changed during
the 1800s. - At first, the government wanted the Indians to
move out of the way of white settlement. - During the 1850s, boundaries were set that
concentrated some Indian groups in certain areas.
In 1868, Indian lands were divided into two
separate reservations.
39- Throughout this time, the government had treated
Indian groups as separate nations. - After 1871, the government moved to Americanize
the Indians. Efforts were made to pressure the
Indians into accepting the white settlers way of
life. - As a first step, Congress said that all Indians
were to be wards-people under the care of a
guardian-of the government. - The governments treatment of the Indians over
the years drew the attention of reformers and led
to further changes.
40Reformers Speak Out
- Many reformers, such as Helen Hunt Jackson and
Sarah Winnemucca, spoke out against the
governments treatment of Indians. - In 1881, Jackson wrote A Century of Dishonor.
This book documented the governments harsh
treatment of the Indians. - In 1884, Winnemucca wrote Life Among the Paiutes
Their Claims and Wrongs, also criticized the
governments handling of the Indians. As a
Paiute, she witnessed the treatment firsthand.
41Helen Hunt Jackson
42Sarah Winnemucca
43The Dawes Act (1887)
- To answer the reformers demands, Congress passed
the Dawes Act in 1887. - The act marked a change in the governments
reservation policy. - Up to 1887, Indians had been forced to live on
reservations and the lands were owned by the
different Indian groups.
44- Under the Dawes Act, the government divided
reservation lands and gave Indian families plots
to farm. - The plots were held in trust by the government
for 25 years. At the end of the time, the Indians
would become full owners of the land and United
States citizens. - However, those Indians who agreed to this
decision had to break away from their traditional
groups. This helped the government in
successfully ending many tribal groups.
45- Most Indians DID NOT fare well under the Dawes
Act. - Reservation lands that were not divided into
plots for the Indians were given or sold to
settlers. - As a result, the Indians lost 60 of their native
lands. - Many Indians were not farmers and they did not
believe in individual ownership of property. - For the most part, Indians found it very
difficult to adapt to white ways.
46Division of Lands Under the Dawes Act (1887)
47Native Americans (1800)
48Native Americans 2008