What were some of the major events of the Indian Wars post Civil War?

 Native American Society- 8 to 9 million pre Columbian: by ,000  History of destruction: settlement, disesase, King Philip’s War, Tecmuseh, Trail of Tears, now Gilded Age  Organization- male dominate, chiefdom etc.  Rights of Passage- earning of stripes  Religion- polytheistic- shamanism  The Horse- nomadic and warlike  Displacements: These lands once belonged to the Kiowas and Crows, but we whipped those nations out of them and in this we did what white men do when they want the lands of the Indians

 Scissors- rough square of 1000 miles. Few white settlements by Bent’s fort, Mormon settlements, trading posts, gold camps, Spanish/Mexican missions  Treaty of Fort Laramie- establish two colonies- Indians do not recognize large tribes outside of individual families  Forced to settle in the Dakotas and Oklahoma: food needs  Bureau of Indian Affairs- notoriously corrupt (moth eaten blankets, spoiled beef, inflated salaries)

 Civil War Uprising in Minnesota- Sioux attack a settlement and kill several hundred settlers (leads to a mass execution of 40 Sioux)  Sand Creek Massacere- 1864: Colonel John Chivington led a militia to Sand Creek, CO. Drunken soldiers kill 400 innocent (mistaken for a more war like tribe). Atrocities range from shooting praying women, smashing children’s brains, torturing and scalping.

 A cycle of violence in which each side escalates acts of violence against the other side.  Bozeman Trail- Big Horn mountain of WY- Sioux party kills 81 soldiers and leave no survivors (one soldier had several dozen arrows in his face)  William Fetterman

 Advantages of Both Sides- US battled hardened soldiers- Indians have better rifles and horsemanship  George Armstrong Custer- vet of the Civil War (youngest General- very brash and bold)  “Scientific” expedition into the Black Hills… find gold  Sitting Bull- vision quests: predicts a Lakota Sioux victory.  Crazy Horse: leads an ambush of 2500 braves against an unscouted force of 200- only one lives to tell the tale  Eventually becomes the last gasp of Lakota Sioux- later will be hunted down.

 Nez Perce Indian Tribe- traditionally peaceful- goaded into fighting by US government who had found gold in their territory in Idaho and Oregon (shrinks size of territory by 90%).  Chief Joseph- military evasion of 1400 miles trying to hook up with Sitting Bull in Canada… but betrayed an agreement with the Federal government- would be given back their land in Idaho/Oregon  Fight No More Forever: “Our chiefs are killed… the old men are all dead… the little children are freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children… hear me my chiefs. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun know stands I will fight no more forever.”  Later the Nez Perce will be forced to Oklahoma/Kansas- 40% will die from disease and never return to Idaho.

 Little Big Horn  Sand Creek CO  Chief Joseph  George Custer