1. Section 2 – pg 458 Native Americans Struggle to Survive
Chapter 13
Section 2 – pg 458
Native Americans Struggle to Survive

2. Pg 458
People of the Plains
At the end of the Civil War, about 360,000 Native Americans lived in the west
Most lived in the Great Plains and had been there for centuries

3. Pg 458
Life in Transition
People in the Plains lived by gathering wild foods, hunting, and fishing
Some raised crops
Hunted buffalo and other animals on foot
Arrival of the Europeans transformed their lives
Learned to tame herds of horses (decedents of tough breeds brought by the Spanish)
Traded with the French and British for guns

4. Many nations followed the buffalo herds
Pg 458
With guns and horses, NAs could kill more game and travel farther and faster
Some groups became wanderers
Carried belongings on travois (small sleds)
Lived in tepees (cone-shaped tents made of buffalo skins)
Many nations followed the buffalo herds
Ate the meat, used horns and bones for tools, used tendons to make thread

5. Pg 459
Division of Labors
In many Plain nations, women managed village life
Cared for children, prepared food, carved tools, made cloth and tepees
Some rode to war
Some ruled their nation
Men were hunters and warriors
Led religious life
Sun Dance: 4-day ceremony
that brought together thousands
of NAs from many nations
Men would make pledges to
the Great Spirit, ruler of the
universe

6. Broken Treaties US treaties promised to safeguard NA lands Pg 459
Miners and railroad crews broke those treaties as they pushed west

7. Pg 459
Fort Laramie Treaty
In 1851, 10,000 people from many Plains nations gathered near Fort Laramie in Wyoming to talk with US officials
Officials wanted the nations to stop following the buffalo and settle permanently
The US promised to protect their lands
As soon as the NAs signed the Fort Laramie Treaty, settlers began to move onto their lands
1859, a gold strike at Pikes Peak in Colorado sent miners swarming to the region

8. Pg 460
Sand Creek Massacre
In the early 1860s, new treaties forced NAs to give up land around Pikes Peak
Many warriors resisted by attacking supply trains and homes
In response, Colonel John Chivington and 700 volunteers attacked a band of Cheyennes at Sand Creek in eastern Colorado in 1864
Raised a white flag of peace then attacked killing more than 100 men, women, and children

9. Buffalo Soldiers Pg 460 The Sand Creek Massacre ignited an era of war
The most feared soldiers in the Plains were the African American veterans of the Civil War
NAs called them Buffalo Soldiers
Fought on the Plains for 20 years
Captured bandits from Texas to the Dakotas

10. Pg 460
End of the Buffalo
The giant herds of buffalo began to shrink in the 1870s
Railroads had hunters kill buffalos to feed the crews
Others killed buffalos b/c buffalo robes were in high demand in the east
One hunter might kill 2,000 buffalo in a month

11. Last Stand for Custer and the Sioux
Pg 460
Last Stand for Custer and the Sioux
New treaties in the late 1860s sought to end the wars on the Plains
Federal officials urged Plains nations to settle down and farm

12. Pg 460
Reservations
Southern Plain nations (Kiowas, Comanches, Arapahos) moved to reservations in Oklahoma
Reservation: land set aside for Native Americans to live on
Poor soil in Oklahoma made farming difficult
Many Sioux and Cheyennes gathered on reservations in the Black Hills of the Dakotas
1874 gold strike brought a flood of miners
Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse led attacks to keep whites out

13. Pg 460
Little Bighorn
In June 1876, Colonel George Armstrong Custer was ordered to force the NAs onto reservations
Entered Little Bighorn Valley in Montana Territory and engaged a large band of Sioux and Cheyennes in battle
Custer and all of his men died there
Soon after more US troops arrived and forced the NAs to move

14. Other Efforts at Resistance
Pg 461
Other Efforts at Resistance
Other NAs in the west were under pressure to move
Nez Percés in the north
Manajos and Apaches in the South

15. Pg 461
The Nez Percés
The Nez Percés lived where Idaho, Oregon, and Washington meet
Bred horses and cattle in the Snake River valley
Many agreed to go to a reservation
Chief Joseph fled toward Canada with a large band in 1877
The US Army followed them and caught them near the Canada border where Chief Joseph surrendered

16. The Navajos Pg 461 Navajos raised sheep, horses, and cattle
Raided settlements for livestock
To stop raids, white settlers called the army
After a series of wars, the Navajos were defeated in 1864 in Arizona
Forced them to move to
a spot near Pecos River
where they suffered years
of disease and hunger

17. The Apaches Fierce resistance came from Apaches like Geronimo Pg 462
Refused to go to a reservation
From Mexico, Geronimo and his men attacked settlers in Arizona and New Mexico for 10 years
When he was captured in 1886, he was sent to a reservation in Oklahoma

18. The Ghost Dance Pg 462 In the late 1880s, NAs started
performing a unique swaying
dance called the Ghost Dance
Dancers fell into a trance and they believed they were talking to the ghosts of their ancestors
Dancers believed their ancestors and the buffalo would return and the white people would leave
Soldiers guarding the reservations saw the dance as an uprising
In Dec 1890, NA police went to a Sioux village to stop the dances and in a struggle to arrest Sitting Bull, he was killed

19. Fearing further violence, a band of Sioux tried to flee to safety
Army troops surrounded them at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota
As the Sioux were giving up their guns a shot was fired
Troops opened fire with machine guns and rifles
Nearly 200 Sioux men, women, and children were killed
30 soldiers died
The Battle of Wounded Knee marked the end of the era of Indian Wars
Pg 462

20. Pg 463
The Failure of Reform
Reformers criticized the gov’t for its harsh treatment of NA nations
Criticism grew as more groups were forced onto reservations in the late 1800s

21. Pg 463
Calls for Reform
Susette La Flesche was the daughter of a Omaha chief
Gave lectures and wrote articles about the destruction of native culture
In 1881 the poet Helen Hunt Jackson felt inspired by La Flesche and wrote A Century of Dishonor
The book recorded the many treaties violated by the gov’t
Alice Fletcher became an agent for the US Bureau of Indian Affairs

22. Pg 463
The Dawes Act
Hoping to improve NA life, Congress passed the Dawes Act in 1887
It tried to end NA wandering and turn the into farmers
NA males each received 160 acres to farm
The act set up schools for NA children
The Dawes Act failed
Few NAs took to farming
Many sold their land cheaply to dishonest whites
Federal agents replaced native leaders
NAs had to give up many traditions like buffalo hunting
Many grew dependent on the gov’t for food and supplies