CH. 13 THE AMERICAN WEST

CH. 13-1 THE FIGHT FOR THE WEST AMERICAN HISTORY

STAGE SET FOR CONFLICT

  White settlers began streaming into the West Clashes between Native Americans and white settlers over control of the land      CULTURE OF THE PLAINS INDIANS Northern Plains--Sioux, Blackfoot, Cheyenne Southern Plains—Kiowa, Comanche Thrived due to abundance of wild buffalo Food, clothing, shelter, supplies

    Plains Indians were nomadic following the migration of the buffalo They did not believe land should be bought and sold Most white settlers were farmers or town dwellers The believed the land should be divided and given to people to establish farms or businesses

 Native American land would be available for the taking if it was vacated    GOVERNMENT POLICY Before mid-1800s—Army forcibly removed Native Americans from the East and relocated them further west 1850s—US Government began seizing Indian lands and sending Indians to reservations

 The goal was to break the power of the Indians and open up land for settlement     DESTRUCTION OF THE BUFFALO Reservations threatened the buffalo-centered way of life Vast buffalo herds were being driven to extinction 1800—60 million buffalo lived on the plains

 1894—as few as 25 buffalo remained  Several causes to loss of buffalo:  1) reduced grazing land  2) migration routes cut off  3) disease from settlers’ livestock  US Army encouraged the destruction of the buffalo to wipe out Indian food supplies and force them to reservations

 Most dramatic cause was hunting buffalo for sport and profit  Expansion of railroads allowed buffalo hides to be shipped east  Hides were used to make belts for factories and fashionable robes  Railroads offered “hunting specials”  Riders could shoot buffalos from the train

 Slaughter was so massive that some railroads canceled their specials because the stench of buffalo carcasses sickened passengers  Tensions between settlers and the Plains Indians escalated into decades of violence  This violence became known as the Indian Wars

THE INDIAN WARS

     THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE Colorado territory—Cheyenne raided nearby ranches in 1864 Army offered amnesty if they would return to the reservation at Sand Creek Chief Black Kettle wanted peace and led his people back Nov. 29, 1864—before dawn Col. John M. Chivington arrived with 700 men

 Black Kettle raised American and white flag as a sign of peace  Chivington did not want peace  “It is not possible for Indians to obey or even understand any treaty. To kill them is the only way we will ever have peace…in Colorado.”  Chivington’s men opened fire—about 150 people, mostly women, children, and elderly were killed.

 They burned the camp to the ground

 The troops returned to Denver with scalps to a cheering crowd  Congressional investigation condemned the attack but Chivington was not punished  TREATIES  After Sand Creek, Cheyenne and Sioux Indians stepped up raids

 Settlers were traveling through sacred Sioux hunting ground along the Bozeman Trail  Sioux Chief Red Cloud tried to negotiate an end to white encroachment  December 1866—Sioux attacked a supply wagon train outside Fort Kearny  Army patrol of 80 soldiers tried to drive off the Indians but were all killed in the attack

 Government agreed to close Bozeman Trail  Officials pressured Sioux to sign the Second Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868  Sioux agreed to live on a reservation along the Missouri River  Comanche, Kiowa, Cheyenne, and other southern nations forced to sign the Medicine Lodge Treaty  Those nations would live on a reservation in what is now western Oklahoma

     BATTLE OF LITTLE BIGHORN Lakota Sioux conducted raids on white settlers who moved into Sioux lands All Lakota Sioux ordered back to the reservation by January 31, 1876 but they refused The matter was turned over to the military About 2,000 Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho gathered neat the Little Bighorn River

     Sioux Chief Sitting Bull conducted a ceremonial sun dance and said he had a vision of a great victory over soldiers Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer also had visions of a great victory June 25, 1876—Custer led his troops into battle against superior numbers of Indians Custer and his troops were quickly encircled and slaughtered US Government more determined to put down the Indian threat.

      THE BATTLE OF PALO DURO CANYON Texas Panhandle—Col. Ranald McKenzie caught Comanches, Kiowas, Cheyennes preparing a winter camp in fall 1874 The cavalry was sent in. Some Indians fled and some defended their camp McKenzie’s men slaughtered 1,000+ Indian ponies and destroyed all food stores Starving Comanches moved onto the reservation the following spring The Indian Wars in the southern plains were over.

     THE GHOST DANCE Paiute shaman, Wovoka, received a powerful vision in1889.

He said the Indian dead would live, the buffalo would return, and the settlers would leave His vision turned into a religious movement known to outsiders as The Ghost Dance August 1890—newspapers said the Ghost Dance was a sign of an upcoming uprising

 A small but vocal group of whites asked the government for help  December 1890—military ordered the arrest of Sitting Bull  A skirmish broke out and Sitting Bull was killed  Many of Sitting Bull’s band fled west and surrendered to US troops.

 They were relocated to Wounded Knee Creek, in present-day South Dakota

     THE WOUNDED KNEE MASSACRE The next morning, Col. James Forsythe (7 th Cav.) ordered Sioux to give up rifles A young Indian, Black Coyote, would not give his up In the struggle the gun went off and instantly both side began shooting About half of the Sioux men were killed right away

       Women and children fled but were pursued By the end, about 300 men, women, and children lay dead.

Bodies of women and children were found 3 miles from the camp Wounded Knee shocked many Americans Gen. Nelson Miles was outraged and removed Forsythe from his command 3 officers and 15 enlisted men received the Medal of Honor for their actions The conflict between the Army and the Plains Indians was over.

RESISTANCE ENDS IN THE WEST

     RESISTANCE IN THE NORTHWEST 1855—The Nez Perce agreed to move onto a reservation in Idaho and Oregon 1863—gold miners and settlers began streaming into the area and the government took back 90% of the Nez Perce land 1877—Nez Perce ordered to give up the remaining land and move onto a small section of Idaho Nez Perce Chief Joseph reluctantly agreed

 Hostilities broke out between settlers and young Nez Perce  The Indians were forced to flee with the army in pursuit  The Nez Perce fled toward Canada fighting battles along the way  40 miles from the border the Army forced them to surrender

   “I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed…It is cold, and we have no more blankets. The little children are freezing to death…My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever”—Chief Joseph’s surrender (1877) The Nez Perce were taken to eastern Kansas and then to Indian Territory (OK), where many died.

Some went back to Idaho but Chief Joseph and others were sent to northern Washington state

 RESISTANCE IN THE SOUTHWEST  1870s—Apache had been moved to San Carlos Reservation  1881—Soldiers forcefully stopped a religious gathering  Apache leader Geronimo and other fled  Geronimo’s band led raids on both sides of the AZ-Mexico border for years

 Geronimo briefly returned to the reservation in 1884 but then resumed raiding settlements  Geronimo was captured in September 1886 and sent to an Apache internment camp in Florida as prisons of war  This ended the resistance in the Southwest

LIFE ON THE RESERVATION

   2 reasons for reservations: 1) the government wanted control of all western territories 2) many Americans wanted Indians to abandon their native culture and live like white men    AMERICANIZATION Government should adopt a policy of Americanization Indians should give up their culture and live like white men

    Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)—federal agency that managed Native American reservations “You are therefore directed to induce your male Indians to cut their hair, and both sexes to stop painting [their faces]…The wearing of citizens’ clothing, instead o the Indian costume and blanket should be encouraged.”—BIA Government built Indian schools miles away from their homes Students could only speak English and they could not wear traditional clothing

      THE DAWES ACT 1877—siginificant step toward Americanization Reservations broken up and Native Americans turned into individual property owners Each head of family received 160 acres Each single person, aged 18+, received 40 acres Any land left over would be sold

     The BIA thought land ownership would provide Indians incentive to succeed Indians got less productive land and the best land was sold off Most received desert-like land unsuitable for farming If Indians received good land, they couldn’t afford tools, animals, or seed THE END