How important was the Battle of Little Bighorn? Starter: Work out the sentence below Challenge: What else can you remember about this? Red Cloud’s War protected Black Hills (due to the Fort Laramie Treaty (1868))

The Battle of Little Bighorn In 1874, a small force of the 7th Cavalry discovered gold in the Black Hills (led by General George Armstrong Custer (left)) This brought thousands into the Black Hills in search of gold, this violated the Fort Laramie Treaty (1868) The U.S. government offered $6 million per year for the rights to mine the land for gold – the Indians refused. The Sioux continued to attack settlers, angered by the US governments violation of the treaty. Thousands of warriors left their reservations and joined up with Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. President Grant (right) ordered all Indians back to reservations within 60 days or face attack.

Before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull had a vision in which he saw many soldiers, "as thick as grasshoppers," falling upside down into the Lakota camp, which his people took as a foreshadowing of a major victory in which a large number of soldiers would be killed. This acted as inspiration for the young warriors! Sitting Bull, as his arms were so sore, would look after the women and children. The army would be led by Chief Crazy Horse. To help them win, they would use the landscape to their advantage.

Custer is meant to follow, but gets drawn off course by Indians. Reno sent to lead charge into camp. Frederich Benteen, sent West to scout. Custer goes through the Wolf Mountains, rather than round them – exhausting his men and preventing him from bringing Gatling guns with him.

What happened? As Custer rode into the valley, he saw the women and children fleeing from Reno’s attack – he decides to go after them (if he can capture them, he can use them as hostages and force the Indians onto reservations) However, Custer could not find a crossing of the river. When his 200 men tried to cross they were fired upon by Crazy Horse’s troops. Under heavy fire, Custer retreats his men to the top of a hill. Indian women wave blankets to scare away Custer’s horses (with supplies) Crazy Horse, by himself, charges Custer’s line and performes a Counting Coup. This inspires the men to fight on – eventually all of Custer’s men were slaughtered by over 2,000 Indians. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDxXvwJosaU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM4eQBpfGIg

Why was the battle so significant? The battle changed public opinion. Until them, most had been in favour of working with the Plains Indians to reach agreements. Now they were seen as a real threat to manifest destiny – they had to assimilate or die. Changes to policy: Plains Indians must be kept on their reservations. By the end of the year most had drifted back to the reservations. There, they were completely dependent on the government for food and shelter. Previous treaties could be ignored. The government felt the Plains Indians had given up their right to a treaty. Some were removed to smaller, worse reservations. They were told if they did not give up the Black Hills they would stop receiving food. Military control over the Plains Indians. Weapons and horses were taken from the Sioux and they had to live under military rule.

What happened next? Due to the massive pressure put on tribes by the US government following Custer’s defeat, many Indians felt defeated. Many turned to a Paiute Indian, Wovoka, for salvation as he offered hope. Wovoka claimed that he had a vision that if Indians rejected white ways of life and performed a Ghost Dance, a great sand wave would carry away the white people and the land would return to the way it was before Europeans arrived. It spread throughout the reservations, radicalising many Indians. President Harrison ordered the army into reservations to show US force, fearing a possible Native rebellion. At this point, Sitting Bull was killed in an attempt to arrest him.

The Wounded Knee Massacre When he heard of Sitting Bull's death, Chief Big Foot led his people south to seek protection at the Pine Ridge Reservation. The army brought them to the edge of the Wounded Knee to camp. To show that they were peaceful, Big Foot planted a white flag in the middle of the camp. The army surrounded the camp with large artillery guns. They then demanded all weapons be dumped next to the American flag. At some point, one of the Indians fired a shot. In confusion, the US army opened fire. During the shooting, many fled and took shelter. The US soldiers stopped and told them that those who came out would be taken peacefully – when this happened they shot them dead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc7fZonjD1M (SKIP TO 4 MINUTES IN)

It was later believed to have been by a deaf man, Black Coyote, who presumably did not hear the command to put down his rifle. 153 Indians were killed, most of which were women and children. The bodies were dumped in a mass grave.

Learning Tasks All Read the information on pp.86 – 88 on these three events: Battle of Little Bighorn Ghost Dance Wounded Knee Massacre Complete your “chain of events” diagram to show how one event lead to another (like falling dominoes!) Write a narrative account analysing the conflict between the Plains Indians and the US government in the years 1876 – 1890. You may use the following in your answer: The Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876) The Ghost Dance (1890) You must also use information of your own. (8 marks)

Wounded Knee (1890) The Ghost Dance (1890) The Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876) Why? What? Impact Wounded Knee (1890) Why? What? The Ghost Dance (1890) Why? What? Result?

Wounded Knee (1890) The Ghost Dance (1890) Why? The story of Sitting Bull’s murder spread throughout Native tribes by 1890. One of these tribes was led by Chief Big Foot. Keen to work with the US army, Big Foot led his people to the Wounded Knee Creek in collaboration with the US army. Due to the fear of the Ghost Dance radicalising the Indians, the army were ordered to take the weapons off all men in the camp. What? Whilst taking the weapons off them, one Sioux warrior resisted being disarmed and others began to dance. In confusion, a shot was fired. In retaliations, the US army opened fire. Over 250 Sioux were dead – half were women and children. The Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876) Why? Under the Fort Laramie Treaty (1868), the Sioux Nation was promised a huge area of land including the Black Hills. In 1874, the Northern Pacific Railroad hired US Army commander George Custer led an expedition to protect their workers building track in Dakota hunting grounds. Custer used this expedition to prospect gold which brought thousands into the Black Hills. The U.S. government offered to buy the land for $400,000 a year but this was rejected. The Sioux continued to raid and attack prospectors. Thousands left their reservations and joined Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. In December 1875, the government gave them 60 days to return to their reservations or face war. By Spring, more than 8,000 had joined this large army and were camped between the Powder and Rosebud River. What? The US Army planned to attack the Sioux and force them back to their reservations. Custer’s scouts found a camp of 2,000 warriors in the Little Bighorn valley. Custer only had 600 cavalrymen with him so he was told to wait for reinforcements. Instead, he divided his forced: 200 were sent west to scout for more Indians, 200 were sent to lead the charge and Custer would follow behind with another 200. Custer’s men were overwhelmed by Crazy Horse’s forces on Last Stand Hill and were killed. Impact Custer’s story was reported in newspapers across the country which changed public opinion of the Indians. Many rejected reaching agreements and believed they should assimilate or die. The U.S. government sent more troops into the region to keep them on reservations. By the end of 1876, most Sioux and Cheyenne were back on their reservations and were dependent on the US government for food. Due to their hostility, the government claimed that Indians had forfeited their rights to have treaty deals so previous deals could now be ignored. Tribes were moved onto smaller reservations and were told if they didn’t give up the Black Hills food would be stopped. Reluctantly they gave up the Black Hills, Powder River Country and the Big Horn mountains. The Indians were forced to give up weapons and horses. The Ghost Dance (1890) Why? Due to the massive pressure put on tribes by the US government following Custer’s defeat, many Indians felt disullionsed and defeated. Many turned to a Paiute Indian, Wovoka, for salvation as he offered hope. What? Wovoka claimed that he had a vision that if Indians rejected white ways of life and performed a Ghost Dance, a great sand wave would carry away the white people and the land would return to the way it was before Europeans arrived. Result? It spread throughout the reservations, radicalising many Indians. President Harrison ordered the army into reservations to show US force, fearing a possible Native rebellion. At this point, Sitting Bull was killed in an attempt to arrest him.