Native Americans
Introduction




The term, “Native American” applies to a variety refers to
dozens of unique societies, each with its own history and
cultural heritage
Native Americans include Eskimos, Cherokee, Sioux,
Mohawk, Incan, Apache, Aleuts, and Zuni to name but a
few
It is estimated that before European settlers arrived,
Native Americans may have numbered as many as 112
million
Today about 1.9 million people in America identify
themselves as Native Americans...
Territory of the Sioux
The Plains Indians



For centuries the plains were home to several
tribes of Native Americans.
Most of these were nomads-following herds of
buffalo from one hunting ground to the next.
Despite some differences, the groups of Plains
Indians were similar in many ways.
They lived in extended family networks and had a
close relationship with nature.
The Sioux Uprising


In the 19th century, as the railroads hired hunters to exterminate the buffalo
herds, the Indians' primary food supply, in order to force all tribes into
sedentary habitations, the Dakota and Lakota were forced to accept whitedefined reservations in exchange for the rest of their lands, and domestic
cattle and corn in exchange for buffalo, becoming dependent upon annual
federal payments guaranteed by treaty.
In 1862, after a failed crop the year before and a winter starvation, the federal
payment was late to arrive. The local traders would not issue any more credit
to the Dakota and the local federal agent told the Dakota that they were free
to eat grass. As a result on August 17, 1862, the Sioux Uprising began when
a few Dakota men attacked a white farmer, igniting further attacks on white
settlements along the Minnesota River. The US Army put the revolt down,
then later tried and condemned 303 Dakota for war crimes. President
Abraham Lincoln remanded the death sentence of 285 of the warriors,
signing off on the execution of 38 Dakota men by hanging on December 29,
1862 in Mankato, Minnesota, the largest mass execution in US history.
The Sand Creek Massacre


(Nov. 29, 1864) Surprise attack by U.S. troops on a
Cheyenne camp. A force of 1,200 men, mostly Colorado
volunteers under Col. John M. Chivington, attacked
several hundred Cheyenne camped on Sand Creek near
Fort Lyon in southeastern Colorado Territory.
The Indians had been conducting peace negotiations with
the fort's commander; when the attack began, they raised
a white flag, but the troops continued to attack,massacring
more than 200 of them. The slayings led to the Plains
Indian wars.
Battle at the Little Bighorn
The Laramie Agreement


In late 1875, Sioux
and Cheyenne Indians
were angered at the
whites travelling into
their sacred lands in
the Black Hills.
Gold had seen many
miners entering the
sacred land
Promises Broken


The US Government had
promised Red Cloud that
white settlers would not
be allowed to settle here.
This was part of the Fort
Laramie Treaty.
The Sioux gathered with
Sitting Bull to fight for
their lands.
CUSTER


To force the large Indian
army back to the
reservations, the Army
sent Lt. Colonel George
Custer and the Seventh
Cavalry.
Spotting the Sioux
village about fifteen
miles away along the
Rosebud River on June
25, Custer also found a
nearby group of about
forty warriors.
Out Numbered


Ignoring orders to
wait, he decided to
attack before they
could alert the main
party.
He did not realize
that the number of
warriors in the village
numbered three
times his strength.
Crazy Horse


Cheyenne and Hunkpapa
Sioux together crossed the
river and slammed into the
advancing soldiers, forcing
them back
Meanwhile, another force,
largely Oglala Sioux under
Crazy Horse's command,
surrounded Custer and his men
in a pincer move. They began
pouring in gunfire and arrows.
Last Stand


As the Indians closed in,
Custer ordered his men to
shoot their horses and
stack the carcasses to
form a wall, but they
provided little protection
against bullets.
In less than an hour,
Custer and his men
were killed in the worst
American military
disaster ever.
REVENGE


Little Bighorn
showed the Indians'
power. They had
achieved their
greatest victory
Outraged over the
death of a popular
Civil War leader the
US Government
fought back
The Massacre at Wounded Knee
Fall of the Lakota Sioux




The Lakota Sioux Indians were nomadic plains
dwellers who followed herds of Buffalo
By the year 1860, the American government had
built roads and forts on the Sioux land
In 1877-1879 the Sioux Indians were subjugated
by the U.S. government
By 1890 the Sioux Indians found their previous
life destroyed, the Buffalo gone, themselves
cramped in minute reservations
The Ghost Dance




In 1888 an Indian holy man
called Wovaka began the
Ghost Dance Religion
The Ghost Dance touched
upon elements of traditional
Native American culture and
Christianity
It foretold of freedom for all
Indians from white domination
Members of the Ghost Dance
movement included Chiefs
Sitting Bull and Big Foot
The Ghost Dance



During the fall of 1890, the
Ghost Dance spread to the
Sioux villages in the Dakota
reservations
Members of the Ghost Dance
wore shirts emblazoned with
eagles, which they believed
could deflect bullets
White officials became
alarmed and in December
banned the practice of the
Ghost dance on Lakota
reservations
The death of Sitting Bull




The order was sent out to
capture Chief Sitting Bull, one
of the leaders of the Ghost
Dance
Sitting Bull attempted to seek
sanctuary in the South
Before he could leave
Standing Rock Reservation, an
attempt was made to arrest
Sitting Bull on December 15th
Sitting Bull and 7 of his
warriors, as well as 6
policeman, were killed in the
ensuing scuffle
The flight of Big Foot



When he heard the news of
Sitting Bull’s death, Chief Big
Foot rallied his followers and
attempted to flee to the
protection of Chief Red cloud
Sitting Bull fell ill from
pneumonia during the trip, and
was forced to ride in the back
of a wagon
A detachment of the 7th U.S.
Cavalry under Major Samuel
Whitside were tasked with
intercepting Chief Big Foot
Capture




On December 28th, the 4
troops of cavalry intercepted
the Indians, who surrendered
Major Whitside almost
attempted to disarm the
Indians on the spot, but was
dissuaded by one of his staff
In a moment of compassion,
Whitside ordered a field
ambulance to transport Big
Foot
The Indians were escorted to a
temporary camp on the banks
of Wounded Knee Creek
Wounded Knee camp




When the Indians reached the
camp at dusk, they were counted
and given rations and shelter
In total the Indians numbered
about 120 men, and 230 women
and children
To ensure the Indians did not
escape, Whitside placed two
Hotchkiss guns on a ridge
overlooking the Indian lodges
During the night, more cavalry
and Hotchkiss guns arrived under
Colonel Forsyth who assumed
command, bringing the number of
soldiers up to 500
Disarming the Indians




The next day, Colonel Forsythe called all the
Indian men to the center of the camp
Informing the Indians that they were to be
disarmed, he ordered them to surrender their
weapons
The Colonel ordered the camp searched for
hidden weapons, but he only found two rifles
When attempting to take a rifle from a deaf
Indian, Black Coyote, The soldiers accidentally
discharged the weapon
The Massacre begins…





The cavalrymen immediately
opened fire with their carbines
Most of the casualties were in
the first 10-20 minutes of
fighting
The Indians then attempted to
attack the soldiers at close
quarters
Few of the Indians had
weapons, and soon they had to
flee
The Hotchkiss guns opened
fire, systematically destroying
the Indian encampment
Aftermath




When the slaughter had ended,
Chief Big Foot and 153 of his
tribesman lay dead in the
snow, many more died of their
wounds
About 300 of the original 350
Indians had died as a result of
the massacre
The 7th Cavalry suffered 25
dead and 37 wounded, mostly
caused by ‘friendly fire’
The surviving Indians were
rounded up, spending the
freezing night in a Church
Conclusion

Black Elk-one of the
survivors of
Wounded Knee

“I did not know then how much
was ended. When I look back now
from this high hill of my old age, I
can still see the butchered women
and children lying heaped and
scattered all along the crooked
gulch as plain as when I saw them
with eyes still young. And I can
see that something else died there
in the bloody mud, and was buried
in the blizzard. A people's dream
died there. It was a beautiful
dream . . . . the nation's hoop is
broken and scattered. There is no
center any longer, and the sacred
tree is dead”
---- Black Elk