Conflict Between Peoples Native Americans & The United States Government

Broken Promises In the 1830s the U.S. government forced Native Americans to move onto the Great Plains. New western settlers pressured the U.S. government to take land away from the Native Americans to be used for farming – Government called tribes – Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and others – together near Fort Laramie in Wyoming. Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851) – government officials set boundaries for tribal lands – many tribes signed because they had no other choice.

Native Americans Resist Some Sioux resisted signing the Laramie Treaty – they chose to fight for their land. Sand Creek Massacre – 1864, Colorado militia opened fire on peaceful Cheyenne village along Sand Creek. 200 Cheyenne men, women, and children were killed. Plains tribes responded by attacking settlement and soldiers – 2 nd Treaty of Fort Laramie signed giving large reservation in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Battle of Little Bighorn – 1874 white prospectors found gold in Black Hills – two (2) Native chiefs – Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse – fought to push back intruders. George A. Custer commanded U.S. Calvary in battle with Natives – Custer and all his men were killed.

Conflicts Nez Perce (Idaho, east Oregon, Washington) – taken from their land and forced onto reservation in Idaho. Chief Joseph led tribe over 1,000 miles seeking refuge in Canada U.S. Army caught up with tribe forcing surrender Navajos and Apaches in Arizona fought removal but were ultimately defeated in 1863 after U.S. Army burned Navajo crops and homes. Most were then forced to take “Long Walk” – brutal 300 mile journey to reservation in New Mexico – hundreds died.

End of the Buffalo Up to 60 million buffalo once roamed the Plains Hired hunters killed buffalo to feed railroad crews and supply eastern factories with leather People travelling West would purposely shoot buffalo from trains – knew it was important to the Native Americans. Starting in 1870 – 1 million buffalo killed per year: by 1880s the buffalo were dying out

Assimilation Forced assimilation – adopting the dominant culture – was the way many whites believed Native Americans would survive. U.S. government sent N.A. children to boarding schools in hopes of “Americanizing” them. Dressed in European clothing, learned English, spent part of day farming or other manual labor Disease spread quickly, hundreds died Dawes Act of 1887 – divided tribal lands into plots that Native Americans could farm in cooperation with settlers. Not all Natives wanted to be farmers – some could not afford it and did not have the right tools