Chapter 5 & 20

Ours for the Taking?

• For generations, Americans viewed the West as…– Wild--an empty expanse– Available to ambitious Americans– Ignored the presence of Native Americans and their claims

to the land

What Happened to the Native Americans?

• Prior to Columbus (1492), between 1-10 million people lived in present day U.S.

• By 1800, the number of natives dropped to about 600,000

• By 1850, the number was on 250,000—the population of most other groups was rising in America.

Causes….

• Disease & Starvation: Settlers brought diseases including smallpox, tuberculosis, diphtheria, & mumps.– Natives had no natural defenses/immunity

– Many starved because they lost hunting grounds & other food sources—buffalo heard was lost

• Warfare: Some contacts with settlers led to violence (settlers had modern weapons) over hunting land, religious practices, etc.

• Loss of Lands: Natives lost land to settlers through trades, treaties, & some was taken by force (by settlers & government)

U.S. Government PolicyRemoval Period:• Bureau of Indian Affairs was created in 1824, negotiates

treaties for the removal of natives• Indian Removal Act (1830): provided funds to cover the

cost of treaty negotiations & the removal of eastern tribes to lands west of the Mississippi River

U.S. Government Policy

Removal Period:• In 1830s, President Jackson supported the removal

of the 5 civilized tribes of the East to lands west of the Mississippi:– The Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and

Seminole– Were crowded into Indian Territory in present-day

Oklahoma—were promised a permanent home

Removal Period

– In 1848, the march of the Cherokee resulted in the death of 4,000 on the Trail of Tears

– Eventually, after the Civil War, surviving Native Americans lived throughout the Great Plains and the West

Railroads and Settlers• After Civil War, railroad companies expanded

further west—took up land

• The Plains became populated with settlers:– Settlers believed they had greater right to land

because they improved it by producing more food & wealth that did the Native Americans

– Native Americans viewed settlers as invaders—some tried to imitate friendly contacts while others resisted violently

– Native Americans wanted to continue to live on their lands without outsiders

The Reservation Period• Settlers continued to push westward between

1830-60 for land, settlement, & gold—disrupted ways of life

• Outgunned & outnumbered, many groups signed treaties that sold their lands—accepted federal government demands that they live within reservations:

– small areas of land within a group’s territory, land was reserved exclusively for their use

– Natives were encouraged to farm & have livestock—be more “civilized” & adopt Christianity

Indian Wars• Treaty Agreements often fell apart:

– Many were signed without the approval of full tribe

– Valued land differently– Violence broke out—native groups fell apart

leading to…

WAR!!!!!!!!!!

The Indian Wars

• Sand Creek Massacre (1864)– Around 450 Cheyenne men, women, & children killed in

village– One year later: Cheyenne surrender all claims & agree to

move onto reservations—turning point in resistance

Battle of Little Bighorn

• 1876, in present-day Montana

• Between Sioux (put up greatest resistance) led by Chief Sitting Bull and U.S. cavalry led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer

Battle of Little Bighorn• Custer & more than 200 soldiers killed• Marked the Indian’s final victory • Sioux returned to reservations

Battle of Little Bighorn also known as “Custer’s Last Stand”

React to these two pictures: Are they the same person? Is one more acceptable, why? How would you feel if you were asked to change who you are?

Native Culture Destroyed• Buffalo disappeared—

encouraged by the U.S. Government.

• Becoming “Civilized”:– Christian missionaries

ran schools on reservations

– In 1884, the U.S. Government forbid Indians to practice their religion

Reformer Support Emerges– Found treatment horrifying

– National “Indian Movement” arose

– Protested broken promises, treatment

Allotment Period• Worked to assimilate natives into American

society:– Practice of traditional spiritual ceremonies

forbidden– Children sent to day & boarding schools

In the White Man’s ImageGroup of Omaha boys in cadet uniforms, Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania, 1880.

• In 1875, Captain Richard Pratt escorted 72 Indian warriors suspected of murdering white settlers to Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida. Once there, Pratt began an ambitious experiment which involved teaching the Indians to read and write English, putting them in uniforms, and drilling them like soldiers. "Kill the Indian and save the man," was Pratt's motto.

Carlisle School

A Cultural Experiment• News of Pratt's

experiment spread. With the blessing of Congress, Pratt expanded his program by establishing the Carlisle School for Indian Students to continue his "civilizing" mission.

Apache children on arrival at the Carlisle Indian School (Pennsylvania) wearing traditional clothing.

Apache children at the Carlisle School four months later.

Cheyenne woman named Woxie Haury in ceremonial dress, and, in wedding portrait with husband. Two studio portraits; on left she poses with her hair down, in a beaded & fringed dress, necklace, and beaded moccasins. On right she wears a western-style wedding dress

Before and After

Learning finger songs at Carlisle Indian School, ca. 1900.

Frances Benjamin Johnston photo

Allotment Period

In 1871 U.S. Government states Native American

tribal groups are no longer independent nations

General Allotment Act (Dawes Act)

• Passed in 1887

• Gave natives land to “civilize” them as farmers & ranchers

• Divided reservations & reduced amount of land controlled by natives Senator Henry Dawes

Dawes Act

Dawes Act• Gave separate plots of land to each

Native American family headed by a male

• Required them to farm individual plots—land was often not suitable

• Native Americans had little interest or experience

• Many sold their land to speculators

• Lost 65% of their land between 1887 & 1934

Sitting Bull• Proud Lakota Chief• Led Sioux in

resistance to U.S. Government policies designed to strip his people of their identity, their dignity and their sacred land -- the gold-laden Black Hills of the Dakotas

• Hope rose for the Sioux in the form of the prophet Wovoka (Studi) and the Ghost Dance– a messianic movement that promised an end of

their suffering under the white man.

• This hope is all but obliterated after the killing of Sitting Bull and….

Massacre at Wounded Knee(1890)

• Following the death of Sitting Bull, U.S. cavalry tried to arrest his followers

• While surrendering and handing over weapons, a shot rang out=soldiers opened fire

• Killed more than 200 unarmed Sioux, including around 70 women & children

Indian Reorganization Period:– All natives given U.S. citizenship in

1924

– John Collier becomes Commissioner of Indian Affairs—works to help their situation (health care, jobs, etc.)

– Indian Reorganization Act (1934) allowed for self-government & the return to tribal control over native lands

Termination Period:– 1946 Indian Claims Commission

Act allowed natives to sue the government over illegal transfer of tribal lands

– Federal government control over tribes slowly ended based on a tribe’s adoption of white culture & its economic condition

Self-Determination Period• Inspired by the civil rights movement,

Native Americans sought equality & control of their own lives

Self-Determination Period• In the summer of 1968, over 200 members of

the Native American community came together for a meeting to discuss various issues that Indian people of the time were dealing with on an everyday basis: – Police brutality, high unemployment rates, poverty,

alcoholism, suicide, low life expectancy, and the Federal Government's policies

– From this meeting came the birth of the American Indian Movement, commonly known as AIM.

American Indian Movement (AIM)

• Protested treatment of Natives & worked to protect rights

• Focused on problems in cities

• Organized patrols to monitor street activity & survival schools to encourage cultural & racial pride in young people

American Indian Movement (AIM)

• Fought for autonomy, or self-government with respect to local matters:– Use of natural

resources• Sought restoration of

lands they believed had been taken illegally

American Indian Movement marches in San Francisco October 1992, to

commemorate 500 years of resistance.

American Indian Movement (AIM)

• AIM became instrumental in Native American treatment

• Famous protests include:– Occupation of

Alcatraz– Trail of Broken

Treaties– Siege at Wounded

Knee

Occupation of Alcatraz

Occupation of Alcatraz1969

• 78 protestors claimed the 13-acre former federal prison under the terms of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868:– Allowed Native Americans to file homestead

claims on federal lands– Protestors attempted to establish an

educational & cultural center

• Occupation lasted 1 ½ years– Drew national attention to Native American

grievances

Question: Why did it occur?!?

Answer: AIM wanted to force the government to review broken treaties &

end severe poverty on Indian reservations

Wounded Knee Confrontation: 1973

• Lasted 71 days• Means, Banks, and over

200 AIM members took over village

• Occurred at site of Wounded Knee Massacre

• Conflict over the 1868 Sioux treaty of the Black Hills

• Pine Ridge reservation around the village was one of the country’s poorest– ½ living on welfare

Russel Means and Dennis Banks

• AIM refused to leave reservation until the governemtn agreed to investigate:– The treatment of Indians– The poor conditions on reservations– Review 371 treaties they believed had been broken

• Lasted 3 months, government agreed to review treaty rights

Government Response• Encouraged jobs on

reservations

• Great Society programs help with housing, health, & education

• Indian Self-Determination Act of 1974: Native American groups govern themselves

• Won legal battles to treaty rights to hunt using traditional methods, and to regain land, mineral, & water rights