The Close of the Frontier
The Struggle of the Plains
Indians
The Struggle of the Plains
Indians
• Over 200,000 Indians lived in the Plains
following the Civil War
• Conflict with settlers in the East before the
Civil War resulted in the removal policy
which placed Indians in the trans-Mississippi
west, most in Oklahoma territory.
• Peace Commissions (army and Indian agents)
sent to meet with Plains Indians in 1867 and
1868 promised aid and non-interference
Plains Culture
• Did not believe land
could be owned
• Most tribes were
nomadic
– Moved from place to
place following the
buffalo herds
– Lived in Tepees
– Arrival of the horse on
to the plains in the late
1400’s had a major
impact on their ability to
hunt
Destruction of the Buffalo
• Buffalo was sacred to the
Plains Indians
• Used all parts of the
buffalo
– Buffalo hide for clothing
and shelter
– Bladder for water
containers
– Sinew for ropes and lashing
– Bone for tools and weapons
– Meat for food
• Nomadic lifestyle was
based on the buffalo hunt
Destruction of the Buffalo
 The Plains Indians had millions of
buffalo to supply their needs.
 After the Civil War, American
hunters hired by the railroads began
killing the animals to feed the crews
building the railroads and for sport.
 William Cody claimed to have killed
more than 4000 buffalo in 18 months.
 The loss of the buffalo helped lead
to the loss of a way of life for the
Plains Indians.
 Buffalo nearly hunted to extinction
Decline in Bison Population
Year
Bison
Population
1800
1850
1865
40,000,000
20,000,000
15,000,000
1870
1880
1889
14,000,000
395,000
1,091
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Conflict between the U.S.
Government and Native Americans
 In 1867 the federal
government began moving
the Indians to a few large
reservations.
 Managing the reservations
would be the job of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs.
 Most reservations were on
poor land and the Indians
were often tricked to move
there.
 Many Natives moved to the
reservations but some
resisted.
The Battle of Little Big Horn
The Battle of
the Little
Bighorn
•In 1874. General George A. Custer led an
army to check on rumors of gold in the Black
Hills of South Dakota, a land promised to
the Sioux Indians.
•Gold was found and prospectors flooded the
area.
•The Sioux protested but the government
did not honor its promise The Sioux leader
“Sitting Bull” refused and gathered Sioux
and Cheyenne warriors at Little Bighorn
River where they were joined by another
Chief Crazy Horse and his followers.
•Custer divided his forces and attacked with
250 soldiers against thousands of Natives.
•Custer an all his men were lost. The defeat
shocked the nation.
•The Native victory was short lived as the
Army crushed the uprising soon after.
Geronimo
and the
Apache
• Geronimo fought against both Mexican and United States troops and
became famous for numerous escapes from capture.
• His 38 men, women and children evaded 5000 U.S. troops (and the
Mexican army for a year.
• His forces became the last major force of independent Indian
warriors who refused to acknowledge the United States Government
in the American West.
• This came to an end on September 4, 1886, when Geronimo
surrendered to United States Army in Arizona.
Chief Joseph and the Nez
Perce
 Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce
led his people in an attempt to
resist the takeover of their
lands in the Oregon Territory by
white settlers.
 In 1877, the Nez Perce were
ordered to move to a
reservation in Idaho.
 Chief Joseph agreed at first.
But after members of his tribe
killed a group of settlers, he
tried to flee to Canada with his
followers, traveling over 1500
miles through Oregon,
Washington, Idaho, and
Montana.
 Along the way they fought
several battles with the pursuing
U.S. Army. Chief Joseph spoke
these words when they finally
surrendered on October 5,
1877.
Chief Joseph Surrenders
• "Tell General Howard I know his heart.
What he told me before, I have it in
my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our
chiefs are killed; Looking Glass is dead,
Too-hul-hul-sote is dead. The old men
are all dead. It is the young men who
say yes or no. He who led on the young
men is dead. It is cold, and we have no
blankets; the little children are
freezing to death. My people, some of
them, have run away to the hills, and
have no blankets, no food. No one
knows where they are—perhaps
freezing to death. I want to have time
to look for my children, and see how
many of them I can find. Maybe I shall
find them among the dead. Hear me,
my chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick
and sad. From where the sun now
stands, I will fight no more forever."
Changing the Culture of the
Plains Indians
 The Dawes Act- 1887
 A law passed by congress
that sought to change the
culture of the Plains
Indians
 change Native Americans
view of private
ownership of land
 End the nomadic
tradition
 “Civilize” the Native
Americans
• Broke up Reservations
into private parcels of
160 acres
• Each member of the
tribe would get their
own parcel
• Extra land was sold to
settlers
• Goal was to get the
Native Americans to
become farmers and
then American citizens
Changing the Culture of the
Plains Indians
 Native American
Boarding Schools
 Schools that were
established to
“Americanize”
Native American
children
 Reservation lands
were sold to support
these schools
Wounded Knee
The Ghost
Dance
The Ghost Dance was a religious movement that inspired
hope among suffering Native Americans.
Believed the dance could reverse the events that occurred
on the plains
Newspapers began suggesting that this signaled a planned
uprising. The military killed Sitting Bull while attempting to
arrest him in a skirmish.
Wounded Knee
Wounded
Knee
The Wounded Knee Massacre, Dec. 29, 1890, 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.
Native American resistance on
the plains ends