Chapter 5
War in the West
Indian Country
 By 1850, 360,000
American Indians lived
west of the Mississippi
River
 1851 Treaty of Fort
Laramie had guaranteed
American Indians land
rights on the Great Plains
 However, as white settlers
moved west, the US
government tried to get
more land
Bureau of Indian Affairs
 Government agency responsible
for managing American Indian
issues
 Reservation system
 Today’s BIA Bureau of Indian
Affairs
Sand Creek Massacre
 Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes refused to live on reservations
 In Colorado Territory these tribes clashed with the local
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militia through the summer of 1864
Cheyenne chief, Black Kettle, went to the militia to make
peace
While most Cheyenne men were away hunting, John M.
Chivington and 700 men came and opened fired on the
Cheyenne camp
Over 200 Cheyenne died, mostly women and children
American Indians responded with attacks
Sand Creek Massacure, Colorado
The Battle of Little Bighorn
 Sitting Bull emerged as a leader of the Sioux
 He was committed to traditional ways of life
 He was completely against moving to reservations and urged
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other American Indians to stay away from reservations
By 1876, he got thousands of Sioux and Cheyenne allies
together (2,500)
June 25, 1876 George Armstrong Custer and 600 members
of the U.S. Army attacked Sitting Bull’s men and his
Cheyenne allies
This would be the last victory for the Sioux and their allies
The Battle of Little Bighorn
The Ghost Dance
 Many American Indians began a religious movement called the
Ghost Dance
 A dance ritual designed to bring Indian ancestors back to life
 BIA agents dismissed this Ghost Dance and felt it would inspire
rebellion
 Dec. 15, 1890 skirmishs broke out around Sitting Bull’s cabin and 14
Indians and Sitting Bull were killed
The Battle at Wounded Knee
 After Sitting Bull’s death, many American Indians banded together
 Another Sioux leader, Big Foot, feared he would be arrested by the
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US government
Therefore, he led a group west to the Pine Ridge Reservation in
SD and made camp along Wounded Knee Creek
Dec. 28, 1890, army troops found Big Foot
The next day, Colonel James Forsyth ordered the seizure of the
Sioux rifles
Tensions ran high and shots were fired
By the end of the day, 150 Sioux and about 30 U.S. soldiers were
dead
This was the end of the bloody conflict between soldiers and
Am.In.
Hotchkiss gun
 U.S. army member
used this gun to open
fire during the Battle
of Wounded Knee
Assimilating American Indians
 “white America”
 U.S government set up schools
 Forced to speak English, wear “proper” clothes, and change
their names
 Dawes General Allotment Act-Am. In. families were given
160 acres of reservation land for farming
Trail of Tears
 Trail of Tears