1. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee The West

2. Culture of Plains Indians
The Horse and the Buffalo
Spanish explorers in the late 1600’s introduced horses, guns, & buffalo
Great Plains Indians roamed the vast, open lands to hunt buffalo
Family Life
Young men—hunters & warriors
Women—butchered game, prepared hides
Children—educated with stories, myths, games
Spirits of the natural world
Rule by counsel, land was for common use

3. Settlers Push Westward
Whites wanted to “claim” land—start businesses, farm, mine
Believed had a right to the land, Native Americans had failed to “improved”
Search for gold drew settlers to boom towns—shacks, on dirt roads, wood sidewalks—dotted the landscape of the west

4. The Government Restricts Native Americans
Massacre at Sand Creek
In the 1830s, Native American conflicts increased
By the 1850s, Native Americans were coming into conflict with the building of the railroad
Cheyenne and Arapaho were camped at Sand Creek in Colorado for the winter when the U.S. Army attacked and killed 150 inhabitants, Nov. 29, 1864
The U.S. Government tried a peaceful conflict with Treaty of Fort Laramie—trying to separate Sioux and settlers

5. The Fort Laramie Treaty lasted less than 4 years
War broke out between Plains Native Americans when Colonel Custer reported gold in the Black Hills
Sioux, Cheyenne, & Arapaho tried to protest settlers moving into the Black Hills
June of 1876, Native Americans lead by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull made their stand and Colonel Custer with his cavalry were attacked at the Little Big Horn River
Custer and all his troops were killed, but this was a lone victory for the Native Americans

6. Assimilation Sioux and Cheyenne were totally defeated by 1881
People were divided over the Dawes Act
Plan for Native American assimilation
Passed in 1887
Land was taken from Native Americans, sold to whites, no compensation was given to Native Americans
By 1932, two-thirds of the land was originally set aside for Native Americans was settled by whites

7. Destruction of the Buffalo
The destructive blow was the slaughter of the buffalo for fur traders and tourists for sport
Buffalo was main source of food, shelter, clothing, & fuel
million buffalo
herd protected in Yellowstone National Park

8. Ghost Dance
Attempting to gather a resistance against whites, hundreds joined the Ghost Dance following
A prophet said if Native Americans joined in this ghost dance, their deceased ancestors would rise to help the tribes fight off the whites
Also, they would unaffected by the guns & bullets of the army

9. The Battle of Wounded Knee
Native Americans were suffering from disease, poverty, and unfair treatment
Hundreds were rounded up and taken to Wounded Knee, South Dakota
U.S. Army soldiers demanded the Sioux give up their weapons—shots were fired—soldiers opened fire with deadly force
300 men, women, & children were killed—corpuses were left to freeze on the ground
Wounded Knee brought an end to the Indian Wars of the West