The Fight for the West
The Main Idea
Native Americans fought the movement of settlers
westward, but the U.S. military and the persistence of
American settlers proved too strong to resist.
Reading Focus
• How was the stage set for conflict between white
settlers and Native Americans in the West?
• What were the Indian Wars and their consequences?
• How did Native American resistance to white
settlement end?
• What was life like on the Indian Reservation?
Stage Set for Conflict
Culture of the Plains Indians
Buffalo provided food, clothing, and shelter for the nomadic lifestyle
of the Indians. They did not believe land should be bought and sold,
and white farmers felt it should be divided.
Government Policy
Instead of continuing to move the Indians westward, the government
changed its policy. Indian land was seized, and they were forced onto
reservations.
Destruction of the Buffalo
The buffalo-centered way of life was threatened, with vast herds
driven to extinction by reduced grazing lands and hunting for sport
and profit.
BUFFALO HUNT, UNDER THE WOLF SKIN
1830's
- by George Catlin
Importance of the Buffalo to the Indians
The Indian Wars: An Overview
Sand
Creek
Massacre
Treaties
The
Battle of
the Little
Bighorn
Army troops attacked and massacred surrendering
Cheyenne. Congressional investigators condemned
the Army actions, but no one was punished in the
Sand Creek Massacre.
After the massacre, Cheyenne and Sioux stepped up
their raids. In return for closing a sacred trail, the
Sioux agreed to live on a reservation. Other nations
signed the Medicine Lodge Treaty and were moved to
reservation lands in western Oklahoma.
George Armstrong Custer led his troops in headlong
battle against Sitting Bull and lost. The Battle of the
Little Bighorn was a temporary victory for the Sioux.
The U.S. government was determined to put down
the threat to settlers.
The Indian Wars: An Overview
Palo Duro
Canyon
The
Ghost
Dance
Wounded
Knee
The Battle of Palo Duro Canyon ended the Indian
Wars on the southern Plains. With their ponies killed
and food stores destroyed, surviving Comanches
moved onto the reservation.
The Ghost Dance was a religious movement that
inspired hope among suffering Native Americans.
Newspapers began suggesting that this signaled a
planned uprising. The military killed Sitting Bull
while attempting to arrest him in a skirmish.
The Wounded Knee Massacre occurred the day after
the surrender. Shooting began after a gun went off,
and the fleeing Sioux were massacred. This action
marked the end of the bloody conflict between the
army and the Plains Indians.
The Buffalo Soldiers on the Great Plains
•The Buffalo Soldiers,
comprised of former slaves,
freemen and Black Civil War
soldiers, were the first to serve
during peacetime.
•Once the Westward movement
had begun, prominent among
those blazing treacherous trails
of the Wild West were the
Buffalo Soldiers of the U.S.
Army.
•These African Americans were
charged with and responsible
for escorting settlers, cattle
herds, and railroad crews.
The Buffalo Soldiers on the Great Plains
•Throughout the era of the
Indian Wars, approximately
twenty percent of the U.S.
Cavalry troopers were Black,
and they fought over 177
engagements.
•The combat prowess, bravery,
tenaciousness, and looks on
the battlefield, inspired the
Indians to call them "Buffalo
Soldiers." Many Indians believe
the name symbolized the
Native American's respect for
the Buffalo Soldiers' bravery
and valor.
•Buffalo Soldiers, down
through the years, have worn
the name with pride.
The Buffalo Soldiers on the Great Plains
The Buffalo Soldiers & the Indian Wars
Buffalo Soldiers: A Romantic View
Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851)
• The U.S. government promised control of the Great
Plains which was the bulk of Native American territory,
for "as long as the river flows and the eagle flies".
• The Native American Nations:
– guaranteed safe passage for settlers on the Oregon Trail in
return for promises of an annuity in the amount of $50,000 for
50 years.
– allowed roads and forts to be built in their territories.
• The United States Congress later unilaterally cut
appropriations for the treaty to ten years' annuities,
and several tribes never received the commodities
promised as payments.
• Significance: The treaty produced a brief period of
peace.
Treaty of Fort Laramie
(1851)
Colorado
Gold Rush (1859)
Colonel John Chivington
Kill and scalp all, big
and little!
Sandy Creek, CO
Massacre
November 29, 1864
Red Cloud’s War or Fetterman’s Massacre
80 soldiers massacred on December 21, 1866
Captain William J.
Fetterman
He found himself facing approximately 2,000 Indians. Within 20
minutes, Fetterman and his command had been wiped out. He had
allegedly once boasted that with 80 soldiers, he could "ride through
the Sioux Nation.“
The Battle of Little Big Horn
1876
Gen. George
Armstrong
Custer
Chief Sitting Bull
• Sitting Bull and his followers were
living happily and peaceably in the
Valley of the Little Big Horn.
• Though the winters were cold and
hard, they enjoyed life, as they
hunted abundant game. But
because of the U.S. government's
new policy, all the renegades from
other tribes flocked to this location.
• The wild and angry Ogalalla,
Brule, Blackfoot, and Sans Arc
warriors all made a home here, and
then set about to attack pioneers,
settlers, surveyors and prospectors.
Chief Sitting Bull
• Sitting Bull's followers quickly
grew.
• The Interior Department found
it useless to delay any longer.
– The army received orders to either
bring in Sitting Bull, or Snuff Him Out.
– Early in March of 1876 General George
Crook was sent into Sioux country with
a strong force of cavalry and infantry.
– Crook's forces struck a big Indian
Village on the snowy shores of the
Powder River.
– It was thirty degrees below zero; the
troops were poorly led by the officer
entrusted with the duty, and the Sioux
had recently developed impressive new
fighting tactics under a new and daring
leader, "Choonka-Witko" -- known as
Crazy Horse.
Chief Sitting Bull
• Crazy Horse received word that
if he surrendered, his people
would have a reservation of their
own in the Powder River
country.
• On May 8, he knew too well that
his people were weakened by
cold and hunger, so he
surrendered to United States
soldiers at Fort Robinson on the
Red Cloud Agency in
northwestern Nebraska.
• In September 1877, Crazy
Horse's wife became critically ill,
and Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy
went to his camp to treat her.
Chief Crazy Horse
• Crazy Horse then decided to take
her to her parents at Spotted Tail
agency.
• He left the reservation without
permission, so General Crook,
fearing that he was plotting a
return to battle, ordered him to
be arrested.
• Crazy Horse did not resist arrest
at first, but when he realized that
he was being led to a
guardhouse, he began to
struggle, and while one of the
arresting officers held his arms, a
soldier ran him through with a
bayonet.
Chief Crazy Horse
• Brevet Major-General
George Armstrong
Custer, a daring, dashing,
impetuous soldier, who
had won high honors as a
division commander
during the Civil War
• He had developed a
reputation as an Indian
Fighter when he led his
gallant regiment against
the Kiowas and the
Cheyennes on the
Southern plains.
General George A. Custer, Commanding the
7th Cavalry at Little Big Horn
• Custer had entered the Sioux
country two times in recent
campaigns.
• While Custer no doubt had
experience, there were those
who were superiors and
subordinates who feared that
Custer lacked the judgment
needed to face a man like
Sitting Bull on the Battlefield.
• He had experienced conflict
with both his commanders in
the Dakota Department, and
within his regiment.
• It is clear, however, that
everyone honored his bravery
and daring.
General George A. Custer, Commanding the
7th Cavalry at Little Big Horn
Custer’s Last Stand!
Custer’s Last Stand!
Custer’s Last Stand!
Significance of the Battle of Little Big Horn
•The Battle of the Little Bighorn was the most
successful action fought by the American
Indians against the United States Army in the
West.
•It was part of the Campaign of 1876, an effort
by the United States Government to force the
Sioux tribes onto their Reservations.
•The Indians' defeat of the finest cavalry unit in
the United States Army was shocking because it
simply was not supposed to happen.
Remembering the Battle of Little Big Horn
Remembering the Battle of Little Big Horn
2nd Treaty of
Fort Laramie (1868)
Treaty of Medicine
Lodge Creek (1867)
Reservation
Policy
Treaty of
Medicine Lodge
Creek (1867)
• Though commonly referred to in the singular, the
Medicine Lodge Treaty actually consisted of three
separate treaties.
• The treaties negotiated at Medicine Lodge Creek were
similar in their terms, involving surrender of traditional
tribal territories in exchange for much smaller
reservations in Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma
and allowances of food, clothing, equipment, and
weapons and ammunition for hunting.
Treaty of Medicine Lodge Creek (1867)
• Under the first of the three Medicine Lodge treaties, the
Kiowa and Comanche were compelled to give up move
than 60,000 square miles (160,000 km²) of traditional
tribal territories in exchange for a 3 million acre
(12,000 km²) in the southwest corner of Indian
Territory (present-day Oklahoma), most of it lying
between the North Fork of the Red River and the North
Canadian River
• The tribes would also be provided houses, barns, and
schools worth $30,000, which the tribes did not
actually want.
• Through second treaty, the Plains or Kiowa-Apache
were incorporated into the first treaty; this treaty was
signed by all the Kiowa and Comanche signatories of
the first treaty, along with several Plains Apache chiefs.
nd
2
Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
• Guaranteed the Lakota
ownership of the Black
Hills, and further land and
hunting rights in South
Dakota, Wyoming, and
Montana.
• The Powder River Country
was to be henceforth
closed to all whites.
• It ended Red Cloud's War.
Treaty signing by William T. Sherman
and the Sioux at Fort Laramie,
Wyoming. Photo by Alexander
Gardner, 1868.
nd
2
Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
• The treaty included articles intended to "ensure the
civilization" of the Lakota; financial incentives for
them to farm land and become competitive - and
stipulations that minors should be provided with an
"English education" at a "mission building".
– To this end the US government included in the treaty that
white teachers, blacksmiths, a farmer, a miller, a carpenter,
an engineer and a government agent should take up
residence within the reservation.
• Repeated violations of the otherwise exclusive rights
to the land by gold prospectors led to the Black Hills
War.
• The U.S. government seized the Black Hills land in
1877 in violation of the treaty.
Resistance Ends in the West
Resistance in the Northwest
The government took back ninetenths of the Nez Percé land
when gold miners and settlers
came into the area.
Fourteen years later they were
ordered to abandon the last bit
of that land to move into Idaho.
Chief Joseph tried to take his
people into Canada, but the
army forced their surrender less
than forty miles from the
Canadian border.
Resistance in the Southwest
• The Apache people were moved
onto a reservation near the Gila
River in Arizona.
• Soldiers forcefully stopped a
religious gathering there, and
Geronimo and others fled the
reservation.
• They raided settlements along the
Arizona-Mexico border for years
before finally being captured in
1886.
• Geronimo and his followers were
Chief Joseph and many others
sent to Florida as prisoners of war.
were eventually sent to northern
His surrender marked the end of
Washington.
armed resistance in the area.
Chief Joseph
I will fight no more
forever!
Nez Percé tribal
retreat (1877)
Geronimo (right) and his warriors in 1886
Geronimo, Apache Chief:
Hopeless Cause
Helen Hunt Jackson
A Century of Dishonor (1881)
Susette La Flesche
Omaha Indian  lecture tour on
Native American issues in the 1870s
Life on the Reservation
The government wanted control over all the western territories
and wanted Indians to live like white Americans.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs began to erase the Indian culture
through a program of Americanization. Indian students could
speak only English and could not wear their traditional clothing.
They learned to live like Americans.
The Dawes Act of 1887 broke up many reservations and
turned Native Americans into individual property owners.
Ownership was designed to transform their relationship to the
land. The Indians received less productive land, and few had the
money to start farms. Most of the land given to the Indians was
unsuitable for farming.
Dawes Severalty Act (1887):
Assimilation Policy
Carlisle Indian School, PA
Native American Religious
Ceremonies
Native American’s continued to practice their religions &
perform religious ceremonies (the Sun & Ghost Dances) despite
orders from the U.S. government to move to designated Indian
Reservations.
Resistance to U.S. Government’s Reservation & Assimilation
Policy Prompts the United States to take Action
“The Sun Dance”
How do you think Americans reacted when they saw this
religious practice by the Indians?
“The Sun Dance”
• Was a very important ceremony among the
Plains Indians & lasted for several days.
• Before the ceremony the Indians would fast.
• The camp was set up in a circle of teepees.
• A tree was cut and set up in the center of the space
to be used for the dance.
• Ropes made of hair or leather thongs were fastened
to the top of the pole.
• Men tied these ropes to sticks which were stuck
through the flesh of their chests or backs.
• The men danced, gazing at the sun, whistling
through pipes, and pulling back on the ropes
until the sticks torn through the flesh.
American Reaction to “The Sun Dance”
• As the 19th century progressed, more and
more Indian groups who practiced the rite
kept whites from watching their sacred ritual.
• Many Christian missionaries who were often
critical of Indian rituals advocated the banning
of the ceremony, and the United States
government outlawed the sun dance in 1904.
• Some Native American groups continued the ritual
without fanfare after the ban, or have taken it up in
recent decades, without the self-mutilation.
• It is sometimes practiced today as part of Fourth of
July celebrations.
The Ghost Dance
1890 conditions were so bad on the reservations,
nationwide, with starvation conditions existing in
many places.
The Ghost Dance
Representatives from tribes all over the nation came to
Nevada to meet with Wovoka and learn to dance and to
sing Ghost Dance songs
The Ghost Dance
•Dance, painted
themselves, and wore
shirts and also sang.
•Sioux performed it
out of need of help
from poverty, disease,
and poor land
•Taught by Paiute
prophet Wovoka.
The Ghost Dance: Purpose
•Killed warriors that would return from the dead.
•Land would become green
•White men would die
•There would be buffalo roaming and horses.
Arapahoe “Ghost Dance”, 1890
Arapahoe “Ghost Dance”, 1890
Ghost Dance of the Oglala Sioux, Frederic Remington,
Harper’s Weekly, December 1890
Impact of Ghost Dance
•Dance had spread
•Military leaders become
nervous
•Dec. 15, 1890, 43 police
surround Sitting Bull’s
cabin
•Arrest Sitting Bull
•Ghost dancers
surrounded police as they
are leaving
•Catch–the–Bear shot a
policeman
•Policeman tried to fire
back and shot Sitting Bull
in the head by mistake
•Sitting Bull dies
Battle of Wounded Knee
Battle of Wounded Knee
Opening of the Battle of Wounded Knee, Frederic Remington, Harper's
Weekly, January 1891.
Battle of Wounded Knee
On December 15, 1890, Sitting Bull was killed by
Indian police as they attempted to take him into
custody.
Some of the Sioux then fled in fear, with about
100 joining Chief Big Foot on the Cheyenne
River.
Chief Big Foot, suffering from pneumonia and
coughing up blood which would then freeze in
the snow, sought to lead his tattered band of
approximately 120 men and 230 woman and
children to the agency at Pine Ridge.
Battle of Wounded Knee
Battle of Wounded Knee
Chief Big Foot’s Lifeless Body
Wounded Knee, SD, 1890
The Aftermath of Wounded Knee
Frozen bodies being removed at Wounded Knee.
Indian Reservations Today
Crazy Horse Monument:
Black Hills, SD
Lakota Chief
Korczak Ziolkowski, Sculptor
Crazy Horse Monument
His vision of the finished
memorial.
Review Questions:
1. Before the arrival of the American settlers, what was life
like for Native Americans on the western plains?
2. Explain the characteristics of the Native American religion
on the plains.
3. How did Americans feel about Native American religious
ceremonies? How did this belief influence United States
government policy regarding the Indians?
Review Questions:
4. What was significant about the Indian Wars on the
Western Plains?
5. What caused the Indians to stop resisting removal?
6. What did the Dawes Act, the Treaty of Medicine Lodge
Creek, the Treaties of Fort Laramie, and other treaties
signed between the United States government and the
Indians have in common? Were there any differences?
Did the U.S. government and settlers honor these treaties?
Review Questions:
7. What was significant about the Indian Wars on the
Western Plains? What caused the Indians to stop resisting
removal?
8. What was the purpose of establishing “Indian
Reservations”?
9. What was life like on the reservation for Indians?
10. How did life on Indian reservations prove to be detrimental
to the survival of Native American culture?