The Indian
Wars
AHII Unit 1 Part A: Conflict
st
1
Treaty of Fort Laramie
1851
 8 Native American
groups agreed to
specific limited
geographic
boundaries in return
for the US
government
promising to honor
those boundaries
forever

Settlers Move Into the
Great Plains
Deprived natives of
their hunting grounds
 Ignored treaties
signed by US
government
 Forced the Indians to
move further west
 Occasionally, Indian
groups would resist or
retaliate

The Buffalo
Plains Indians relied
on the buffalo as their
primary source of
food, clothing, &
shelter
 As more settlers
entered the plains,
the buffalo hunting
grounds were
disturbed

The Buffalo Start to Disappear
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Settlers killed animals to
protect their crops
Professional hunters killed
many for their hides which
were popular in the east
Sport hunters killed many just
for fun
Railroad companies hired
sharpshooters to kill buffalo to
keep them from blocking the
tracks
The US Army killed many to
deprive the Indians of food
and force them onto the
reservations
Dakota Sioux Uprising
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Dakota Sioux had agreed
to stay on a reservation in
Minnesota
US government had
agreed to pay annuities to
Indians on the reservation
Corrupt traders and
officials often cheated
Indians out of their
annuities
In 1862, Congress delayed
paying the annuities due
to the Civil War, resulting
in widespread hunger
among the Sioux
Chief Little Crow
Asked traders to sell the
Sioux food on credit
until the annuities were
paid
 Traders refused; one
replied “let them eat
grass or their own dung”
 In desperation, the
Sioux took up arms
 Little Crow tried to limit
the violence, but angry
Indians killed hundreds
of white settlers before
federal troops arrived

Sioux Uprising Ends
Military courts
sentenced 307 Dakota
Sioux to death, but
President Lincoln
reduced the number
to 38
 Many of the Sioux left
Minnesota and took
refuge in the Dakota
Territory

Sand Creek Massacre (1864)
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US forced Cheyenne to give up
lands promised to them by
treaty
Cheyenne retaliated by attacking
settlements in Colorado
Colorado governor ordered the
Cheyenne to surrender at Ft.
Lyon or face the consequences
Cheyenne under Chief Black
Kettle arrived at Ft. Lyon to
negotiate a peace treaty and
made camp at Sand Creek
US forces attacked the
unsuspecting Cheyenne, killing
about 270, including women and
children in retaliation for the
Cheyenne’s earlier attacks on
settlers
Lakota Sioux Vow to
Defend Their Territory
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After the trouble with the
Dakota Sioux, US Army
began to patrol into the
Great Plains to prevent
other Sioux from
organizing
The nomadic Lakota
Sioux were determined to
defend their territory
against incursion by both
white settlers and the
Army
Several conflicts ensued
Red Cloud
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1822 – 1909
Lakota Sioux
Led Sioux in Red Cloud’s
War (1866-68)
Later traveled to
Washington and met with
Pres. Grant
Did not take part in later
Sioux uprisings, instead
pursuing more peaceful
efforts
Fetterman Massacre (1866)
Capt. William
Fetterman and 80
soldiers were lured
out of their fort along
the Bozeman Trail in
Wyoming by Lakota
Chief Red Cloud
 They walked into an
ambush and were
wiped out by the
Lakota
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Indian Peace Commission
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Formed by Congress in 1867,
toured the Great Plains
Concluded problems were
due to incursions by whites
into Indian territory
Proposed creating 2 large
reservations on the plains
which would be managed by
agents of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs
US Army would be given full
authority to deal with Indians
who did not move to the
reservations
Plan didn’t work due to
resistance from the Indians
2nd Treaty of Ft. Laramie (1868)
Also called the Sioux Treaty
of 1868
 Guaranteed the Lakota
ownership of the Black Hills
in the Dakotas, as well as
hunting rights elsewhere
 Gold miners would violate
the treaty, triggering later
uprisings
 The Lakota sued the US
government in 1980 for
violation of this treaty,
winning $120 million in
damages; Lakota refused
the money and continue to
press for return of their
lands
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Crazy Horse
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1840 – 1877
Lakota Sioux
Took part in the
Fetterman Massacre
Later led the Sioux in the
Battle of Little Big Horn in
1876
After surrendering to US
troops in 1877, he was
shot while “resisting” his
guards
George Armstrong Custer
1839 – 1876
Civil War veteran
Graduated last in his
class at West Point
 Flamboyant officer
whose career was
marked by scandals and
a failed effort to accept
command of the
Mexican Army under
Benito Juarez
 Sent to fight Indians to
get him away from
Washington
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Battle of Little Big Horn
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Custer’s Last Stand
June 25, 1876
Custer launched a cavalry
attack on a group of 2500
Sioux & Cheyenne
warriors
The Indians repulsed the
attack, then surrounded
Custer’s detachment and
killed him and all 210 of
his men
Last major Indian victory
The Ghost Dance
Lakota had finally relented in
1877 and settled on a
reservation under Chief
Sitting Bull
 Lakota had begun performing
a ritual known as the Ghost
Dance, a celebration of a
hoped-for day when the
white settlers would
disappear, the buffalo would
return, and all of the Indian’s
dead ancestors would come
back
 In 1890, federal agents
ordered an end to the Ghost
Dance, but the Lakota
ignored the order
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Sitting Bull
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1831 – 1890
Holy man, and one of the
Sioux leaders at Little Big
Horn
Sitting Bull was blamed
for the Lakota’s defiance
over the Ghost Dance
and ordered arrested
Police were sent to arrest
Sitting Bull, but his
supporters resisted his
arrest; a gun battle broke
out and Sitting Bull and
13 others were killed
Wounded Knee
Angered over Sitting
Bull’s death, the Ghost
Dancers left the
reservation, breaking
their treaty agreement
 US troops pursued
 Dec. 29, 1890: the two
groups met at Wounded
Knee Creek, resulting in a
battle
 25 US soldiers and about
200 Lakota (mostly
women, children, and the
elderly) died
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Chief Joseph & the Nez Perce
Nez Perce refused to give
up their assigned
reservation in Idaho in 1877
 US Army threatened to
forcibly relocate them;
violence broke out and the
Nez Perce fled, trying to
reach Canada
 Retreated 1300 miles and
got within 30 miles of
Canadian border before
being cut off by the Army
and surrendering
 Forced to relocate to the
Indian Territory (Oklahoma)
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Helen Hunt Jackson
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1830 – 1885
Wrote A Century of
Dishonor (1881)
Exposed the shameful
way the US government
and Army had treated the
Indians, chastised
Congress to make
amends
Created concern for the
plight, led Congress to try
to find a new approach to
Indian relations
The Dawes Act of 1887
Sponsored by Sen. Henry
Dawes of Massachusetts
 Abolished tribal organizations
 Broke up communally held
reservation land by allotting
each Indian head of
household 160 acres for
farming; single adults
received 80 acres, children
each received 40 acres
 Remaining reservation land
was sold to white settlers
with the money going into a
trust set aside for Native
Americans
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Assimilation
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Dawes Act was a failure
Land allotted was of poor
quality
Indians had little interest or
experience in farming, didn’t
want to be assimilated into
“American-style” of life
Many sold their allotments
Didn’t like loss of reservation
land to white settlers
Agents put in charge were
often corrupt or biased
Indian problem was solved by
the decrease in Indian
population due to hunger and
disease
Reservations Today