1 / 15

Cowboys vs. Indians: Struggle of the western Native Americans

Cowboys vs. Indians: Struggle of the western Native Americans. Mining Grows. Discoveries of precious metals in the West causes the explosion of boomtowns No established gov’t, vigilance committees enforce the “law” Boomtowns cause territorial populations to grow, qualify for statehood

courtney-erickson
Download Presentation

Cowboys vs. Indians: Struggle of the western Native Americans

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Cowboys vs. Indians:Struggle of the western Native Americans

  2. Mining Grows • Discoveries of precious metals in the West causes the explosion of boomtowns • No established gov’t, vigilance committees enforce the “law” • Boomtowns cause territorial populations to grow, qualify for statehood • Mining tech improves as mines exhausted, hydraulic mining allows for exaction of minerals • Mining has devastating effects on environment

  3. Ranching & Cattle Drives • Texas Longhorn: breed of cattle adapted to life in Amer. West with little water, eat prairie grass • Open range: vast gov’t owned land for grazing • Ranchers take their cattle on long drives to R.R. • Over time the open range is bought up by farmers and fenced with barbed wire

  4. Settling the Southwest • Mexican land owners in Southwest owned large tracts of land called haciendas • Americans move west and quickly outnumber Hispanics who lived there since Spanish times • Resulting culture clash, Hispanics marginalized • As railroads reach SW, pop. Grows • El Paso, Albuquerque, Los Angeles develop barrios

  5. Native American Tribes

  6. The Plains Indians • Many tribes of the Great Plains were nomads • Followed buffalo herds for food, shelter, tools • Americans forced natives to relocate, or move off lands that were promised to them through treaties • Sometimes in exchange for money, or annuities • Many natives forced to live in poverty • Many tribes, esp. Dakota tribe, fight back

  7. Western War • A Sioux tribe called the Lakota go to war against U.S. troops under the leadership of chiefs Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse • Trick troops into ambush under Capt. Will Fetterman • The army abandons Bozeman Trail post in 1868 • Chief Black Kettle of the Sand Creek tribe, after much war, rides to army post in CO • U.S. troops massacre Sand Creeks riding under American and White Truce Flag

  8. Attempts At Peace • 1867: Congress forms Indian Peace Commission • Plan: create two reservations, if Indians refuse the army will attack • Chiefs forced to sign treaties, Americans ignored the terms, settlers occupied “Indian Land” • Americans kill buffalo to get rid of Indians

  9. Big Battles • Battle of Little Big Horn: US Lt. Col. Custer lead troops against Lakota & Cheyenne against orders, slaughtered • Newspapers paint battle as a massacre on the part of the Indians, the army is dispatched to deal with them • Battle of Nez Perce: Indians refuse to leave southern land for a smaller reservation in Idaho, army attacks, tribe relocated to Oklahoma • Wounded Knee: Chief Sitting Bull defies U.S. orders, continues Ghost Dance, and is attacked—200 Lakota dead

  10. The Dawes Act • 1881: A Century of Dishonor published • Changes American thinking about Indians • New goal is to assimilate Indians • 1887: Congress passes the Dawes Act—Fails • Divides reservations into individual farm lands • 1924: Citizenship Act • 1934: Indian Reorganization Act • Reversed Dawes Act, restored reservation lands, allow Indians to elect their own governments

More Related