The Indian Wars

1. The Indian Wars Exlcudes pictures Ms.Troidl

2. War for the Plains • In 1874 Quannah Parker and 700 Indians attacked a group of hunters • The hunters had been killing thousands of buffalo for their hides • The hunters had superior weapons so they easily won the fight • Quannah Parker was wounded in the shoulder and his horse was killed • One of the many battles the Plains Indians would fight for their land Ms.Troidl

3. The Sand Creek Massacre • In 1859 100,000 miners were trespassing on land promised to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians • What Treaty promised them land? • The government tried to negotiate a new treaty but the Indians knew better and refused to sell their land • Indians attacked wagon trains, stage coaches, and mining camps • Government put together a military force Ms.Troidl

4. Sandcreek Massacre Cont. • Nov. 1864 Col. John Chivington led his soldiers in a surprise attack on a peaceful Cheyenne village camped at Sand Creek • Chief Black Kettle waved an American flag and then a white flag of truce, but Chivington attacked. • More than 200 men, women, and children were killed Ms.Troidl

5. Reservations • 1860’s Indians continued to attack and settlers continued to ignore the established borders • 1867 Congress decided to end the attacks; can you guess what they did? • Only way was to separate Indians and Settlers You guessed it! RESERVATIONS!!!!!!! (areas of land set aside for Indian nations. Ms.Troidl

6. Reservations • Indians were forced to move on these plots of land • This would totally change the Indians way of life. How? • Could no longer be nomads and hunt the buffalo • Had to learn how to raise crops • Learn the customs of settlers Ms.Troidl

7. Reservations Ms.Troidl

8. Red Clouds War • 1863 Gold discovered in Montana miners flocked • Miners cut through on Teton Sioux land • Angry Teton Sioux attacked trespassing miners • Government built three forts in the area to protect the traveling miners • Red Cloud a strong chief was determined to protect the Teton Sioux’s homeland Ms.Troidl

9. Red Cloud’s War Cont. • He and Crazy Horse led their warriors in repeated attacks on travelers along the trail • After months of fighting and 80 dead soldiers the government abandoned the forts • As soldiers left the forts Red Cloud signed a peace agreement-The Second Treaty of Ft. Laramie Ms.Troidl

10. Red Clouds War Continued • Although Red Cloud’s War was a victory for the Plains Indians the treaty he signed was not • It established a reservation for northern Plains Indians located in Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas-The Great Sioux Reserve Ms.Troidl

11. Red Cloud’s War Cont. • Red Cloud hated to move his people onto a reservation but he was happy with the thought that he had preserved his people’s homeland forever • Does that word forever ring a bell? • Do you think the treaty was observed by the government? Ms.Troidl

12. The Battle of Little Big Horn • The peace brought by the Second Treaty of Ft. Laramie was short lived • When miners found gold in South Dakota what do you think happened? • You guessed it…the miners invaded the boundaries of the Sioux and Cheyenne’s hunting ground • Angry warriors attacked mining camps and so the government sent the Army to fight Ms.Troidl

13. Battle of Little Bighorn Cont. • June 25 1876 General Custer led his men to war • He ignored his scout who said they were way outnumbered and pushed on • Sioux and Cheyenne warriors led by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Two Moons, and Lame White Man defeated General Custers army and it would later be known as CUSTER’S LAST STAND! Ms.Troidl

14. Battle of Little Big Horn Cont. • It was a great victory for the Indians however it would be their last • Before a year had past most of the Sioux and Cheyennes had been defeated in battle or had moved onto reservations • Crazy Horse was captured and murdered • Sitting Bull escaped to Canada with a few followers Ms.Troidl

15. Chief Joseph’s Retreat • Nez Perce Indians-French for Pierced Noses • They were under pressure from settlers to leave their land • Most signed a treaty and moved to a reservation • Four young Nez Perce refused to go and killed four white settlers • Their Chief, Chief Joseph, wanted to avoid war at all costs Ms.Troidl

16. Chief Joseph’s Retreat • He led 800 men, women, and children on an amazing retreat for 3 and a 1/2 months and almost 2,000 miles • Their goal was to reach Canada and join Sitting Bull • Traveled with honor; they paid for supplies and did little harm to settlers Do you think that they made it???? Ms.Troidl

17. Chief Joseph’s Retreat Cont. • They might have made it all the way had they not stopped to rest 40 miles from the border • Federal troops caught up with them • On a bitterly cold day Chief Joseph, surrendered. He told the soldiers: • “I am tired of fighting. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.” • The Nez Perce were sent to Oklahoma Ms.Troidl

18. Geronimo • By 1881 most Indians were living on reservations • Except for a small group of Apaches who were determined to hold onto their freedom • Led by Geronimo the band roamed the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico • Government soldiers tracked the group closely but it took them five long years to capture the group • By 1886 Geronimo’s group had declined from about 150 to a few dozen men, women, and children. Ms.Troidl

19. The End of the Indian Wars • When Geronimo’s group finally surrendered in 1886, a generation of Indian wars ended. • The group moved onto a reservation and Geronimo was imprisoned for two years and lived the rest of his life in exile in Florida and Oklahoma Ms.Troidl

20. The Ghost Dance Religion • Indians feeling defeated and depressed • Living on reservations and in poverty • Forced to accept a new way of life • Looking for a miracle=New Religion • Danced, chanted, and prayed • Wanted relatives, friends, and buffalo to come back to life Ms.Troidl

21. Death of Sitting Bull • Do you remember where he fled to? • Came back and joined Ghost Dance Rel • Govt. tried to talk him into banning the religion but he refused • So they arrest him • Police surrounded his house in ND and told him he was under arrest • At first he agreed to go with them but changed his mind • A scuffle followed and he was killed along with 7 followers and 6 policemen Ms.Troidl

22. Massacre at Wounded Knee • Alarmed by the death of their Chief Sitting Bull’s followers fled • Near Wounded Knee Creak they met the Seventh Cavalry • Troops decided to disarm the Indians when all of a sudden someone fired and nervous soldiers fired into the group • 150 Indian men, women, and children and 25 soldiers lost their lives Ms.Troidl

23. It was much like this massacre. Do you remember this one? Ms.Troidl BOSTON MASSACRE

24. Reformers • People were finally waking up to the tragic situation of the Native Americans • The govt kept on breaking promises • Eventually both Indians and whites began to call for reform • Helen Hunt Jackson was a huge reformer who wrote books and spoke out to try to stop the injustice Ms.Troidl

25. The Dawes Act • Some believed that the only way to help the Plains Indians was to convince them to adapt to American culture • So congress passed the Dawes Act • Ended tribal ownership of land and gave each family a plot of land • Do you think the Indians liked this? • Why or why not Ms.Troidl

26. Failure of the Dawes Act • Families assigned plots of land but they didn’t want to farm • What did they want to do? • Plus they were given the poorest farmland available so they had to rely on weekly food rations from the govt • Because they had never had land before they did not realize how much it was really worth • Settlers cheated them out of money by buying it for less Ms.Troidl

27. Changes on the Great Plains • Indians confined to reservations • Buffalo nearly extinct • Railroads reach westward across the continent • Cattle ranchers and farmers are soon to come and with them came new ways of life Ms.Troidl

28. Ghost Town in Montana Do you remember why this became a ghost town? Ms.Troidl

29. The Machine Invasion Ms.Troidl

30. The Invasion of the Settler Ms.Troidl

31. Answer the following questions using your notes • Define reservations. • What was the Dawes Act? • What happened at the Sand Creek Massacre? • Who won Red Cloud or the Government? • Where was Custer’s last stand? • What group of Indians was Chief Joseph the leader of? • What Chief led his people on a huge retreat and was later captured? • In what religion do they dance and chant in order to bring back the dead? • What act gave the Plains Indians individual plots of land? Ms.Troidl