Unit 1 Day 3: Native Americans on the Plains

Questions of the Day: 1.How were American Indians pushed to the Great Plains and forced onto reservations? 2.How did westward expansion and settlement impact various ethnic groups during the 19 th Century? 3.What events were key turning points in the relationship between the Plains Indians and the US government? 4.Why and how did the federal government adopt a policy of assimilation of American Indians and what was its impact? 5.How did the Americanization of the American Indian lead to the break up of the reservation system and the disintegration of American Indian culture? 6.How did westward settlement and expansion lead to the Indian Wars of the Great Plains, culminating in the conflict at Wounded Knee? 7.How did American Indians view westward migration and its effects on their lives?

Part I A few notes and review

What Do You Remember About the Plains Indians? Take a few minutes and write down as much as you can remember in your notes.

The Second Great Removal & Indian Wars The United Sates government began to sign treaties & establish reservations for Indians. Problems: 1.RR companies always wanted more land 2.Indians many times didn’t really agree to deals. 3.Reservations were not well supplied 4.Natives resisted changes to their way of life..S. Government Breaks Treaties

A Quick Timeline of the Indian Wars 1864-Sand Creek Massacre, Colorado militia attacked 700 Cheyenne. Over 450 killed, mostly women and children Battle of Little Bighorn 1877-Nez Perce of Idaho led by Chief Joseph were forced to surrender near Canadian border 1870’s-Geronimo led the Apaches in raids against the Government throughout Arizona and New Mexico. He eventually fled to Mexico Wovoka, the Ghost Dance-Sioux 1890-Wounded Knee, South Dakota-U.S. Army rounded up 350 starving and freezing Sioux. 250 Sioux killed, 25 whites killed

Part II Reading Like a Historian

Background In the decades following the Civil War, the United States engaged in a number of conflicts with Native American tribes living west of the Mississippi. Some historians refer to these conflicts as “The Indian Wars.”

The primary issue of the Indian Wars was land The United States government made several treaties with Native American tribes to define Indian lands As more Americans moved through and settled on, Native American territory, these treaties were ignored or broken by the government

Native Americans fought the United States for decades. They ultimately lost because of superior numbers and weapons technology of the United States Army. On several occasions Native Americans defeated American troops in individual battles. One of the most famous of those Native American victories occurred at the Battle of Little Bighorn in Montana.

On June 25, 1876 Civil War veteran George Custer attacked over 2000 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors with a few hundred men Custer and his men where overwhelmed and everyone of them were killed.

Now look at 3 different documents: a textbook version of the battle a letter to the President from the Secretary of War a month after the battle recollections of a Native American woman about the battle from 1922.

Once you read the sources… Answer the questions on your handout. Please use complete sentences and give thoughtful and sufficient answers.