How were reservations used to control the Plains Indians?

Lesson Objectives To identify the key features of the Reservations To analyse the policies introduced by the Government to destroy Indian Culture To describe and explain the Ghost Dance movement

1825 system of Indian Reservations developed on Great Plains. Indians supervised by Government appointed Indian Agents Intended to keep Indians apart from Homesteaders. Indians were expected to live as farmers but at first were allowed to leave their reservations to hunt buffalo After conflicts 1860s and 1870s lost this right. ‘Double process of peace within their reservation and war without.

Reservation conditions By mid-1870s, Indians virtually prisoners on reservations Conditions very bad Very poor quality land, sometimes in unhealthy places Very difficult for Indians to feed themselves, therefore they were dependent on Government handouts Demoralising – no way for warriors to gain or maintain status Some Indian agents dishonest, housing monies stolen, food rations inadequate, medical treatment not available.

Not all Indian Tribes found the change in lifestyle hugely traumatic Eg. Pawnee were already farmers as well as hunters in contrast to the Sioux.

Destruction of Indian Culture Government followed a deliberate policy of destroying all aspects of Indian Culture

1) Territorial Government created a series of laws that reduced the size of Sioux nations and split up the Sioux into smaller groups

2) Political At first, rations on the reservations were given to chiefs This was then changed so that heads of families collected their own rations as this undermined and weakened the leadership of the chief 1885 Government took control of all legal matters – Indians lost any power to judge and punish members of their bands. Dawes General allotment Act 1887 – communal reservations could be broken into smaller plots. Indians became land owning farmers. No need for chiefs.

3) Economic Sioux banned from leaving reservations to hunt or make war on enemies destroyed their economy No buffalo meat for food, no buffalo hides for tipis, clothing etc, no chance to increase wealth by stealing horses

Religious Feasts, dances, ceremonies were banned Power of medicine man undermined. No need for young men to seek visions Spiritual gap was then filled by Christian Missionaries

Educational Children were taken from their families and sent to boarding school – ‘preparation for the White Man’s World’ ‘Kill the Indian in him and save the Man’ Not allowed to speak Indian language. Taught to have no respect for way of life Sioux unable to stop children being taken – rations would be stopped if they did

Ghost Dance Movement

Problems on Reservations led to atmosphere of despair New Year’s Day 1889 Paiute holy man called Wovoka received a vision – An Indian Messiah was coming If Indians remained peaceful and danced the Ghost Dance all whites would disappear, buffalo would return and dead Indians would come back to life Coincided with great hunger, ration cuts and crop failure Ghost Dance had great appeal and spread quickly amongst the Sioux.

1) ‘Father have pity on us, We are crying for thirst All us gone Father we are poor The Buffalo are gone They are all gone Take pity on us, Father We are dancing as you wished Because you commanded us. We dance hard We dance long 2) Have pity Father help us You are close by in the dark Hear us and help us. Take away the white men Send back the buffalo We are poor and weak We can do nothing alone Help us be what we once were Happy Hunters of buffalo’

Indian Agents seriously worried, tried to ban Ghost Dance When that failed, called in Army to help, army treated it as a war situation Attempt made to arrest Sitting Bull, but he was shot dead by one of his own people Many of his followers fled to join the band of Big Foot, another of the chiefs leading the dance ‘Battle of Wounded Knee’ Army went to disarm Sioux, shots were fired, men, women children babies were slaughtered This massacre marked the end of the Plains Wars