Compare the ways Native Americans and white settlers viewed and used the land.

Objectives • Compare the ways Native Americans and white settlers viewed and used the land. • Describe the conflicts between white settlers and Indians. • Evaluate the impact of the Indian Wars.

How did the pressures of westward expansion impact Native Americans? As American settlers continued to push west, they increasingly came into conflict with Native Americans. Such conflict often led to violence, with tragic results.

After the Civil War, about 250,000 Indians lived in the lands west of the Mississippi. • Had different belief systems • Spoke different languages • Lived in different types of houses • Ate different foods Native Americans came from many diverse cultures.

The diverse Indian peoples, however, shared a common view toward nature—a view that conflicted with that of many white Americans. Native Americans saw themselves as part of nature and viewed nature as sacred. Many white Americans viewed the land as a resource to produce wealth.

During the 1800s, the government carried out a policy of moving Indians out of the way of white settlers. At first, Indians in the East were moved west, into the Indian Territory of the Plains. Indians were forced into reservations,no longer free to roam the Plains. As frontier settlers continued pushing west, however, this plan changed.

Two other crises also threatened Native American civilizations. Settlers introduced diseases to which Indians had no immunity. Disease Settlers slaughtered buffalo herds. Loss of the buffalo

Some Native Americans fought to defend their lands. The Sand Creek Massacre saw an unarmed camp of Indians under the U.S. Army protection killed by Colorado militia. But attacks and retaliation led to distrust—and to tragedy. Promises were made and peace treaties were signed, but they often were broken.

Frustration turned to violence as the government moved to crush Indian resistance. • The Red River War led to the defeat of the Southern Plains Indians. • The Sioux were victorious at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. • Chief Josephand theNez Percés surrendered after attempting to retreat to Canada.

As their way of life slipped away, some Indians turned to a religious revival based on the Ghost Dance. The ritual preached that white settlers would be banished and the buffalo would return. Fearful of insurrection, government officials tried to ban the practice.

In an effort to end the Ghost Dance, the government attempted to arrest Sitting Bull. However, he was killed in a confrontation with U.S. troops. More than 100 Indians who fled were killed at Wounded Knee. The Indian Wars were over.

Some critics attacked government policies and defended the Indians’ way of life. Most leaders, however, hoped that Native Americans would assimilate into American life.

In 1887, Congress passed the Dawes General Allotment Act to encourage assimilation. • Replaced the reservation system with an allotment system • Granted each Indian family its own plot of land • Specified the land could not be sold for 25 years

Compare the ways Native Americans and white settlers viewed and used the land.