Dispersal of the Tribes

1. Conquest of the Far West Dispersal of the Tribes

2. Concentration Policy • Concentration policy evolved from a series of broken treaties due to whites settlers’ pressure for access to Indian land • To accommodate these demands, the U.S. government adopted the concentration policy • Each tribe was assigned its own defined reservation, negotiated through questionable treaties

3. Administration of Reservations • Indian Peace Commission • Organized to establish a permanent Indian policy • Recommended to replace tribal reservations two large reservations in Oklahoma and the Dakotas • Used trickery to establish treaties • Bureau of Indian Affairs • Part of the Department of the Interior • Responsible for distributing land, making payments, and supervising supplies • Riddled with incompetence and dishonesty • Little understanding of the tribes or their customs

4. Slaughter of the Buffalo • Migrating white settlers strained the buffalo population • Buffalo hides became a fad after the Civil War • Railroad companies would hire hunters to kill the buffalo that obstructed the track, often shooting the buffalo directly from the train • Some Indian tribes even tried to take advantage of the demand for buffalo in the East • The closing of the Open Range greatly reduced the buffalo’s grazing territory • In 1865 there were at least 15,000,00 buffalo, but 1875 there were less than 1,000 • Destroyed a major source of food and supplies for the Plains Indians, instilling a need to fight to preserve their way of life

5. The Sand Creek Massacre • Bands of Indians were attacking stagecoaches and settlements to regain lost territory in eastern Colorado • A territorial militia was formed, and the governor encouraged all friendly Indians to gather at army posts before the militia began its campaign to reclaim their settlements • In November 1864, one band camped near Fort Lyon at Sand Creek • There were some warriors there, but not hostility was displayed • The militia, mostly unemployed miners, descended on the camp and massacred 133 people (105 women and children)

6. “Indian Hunting” • Vigilantes engaged in indiscriminate killing of Indians throughout the West • Sometimes these killings were in response to raids on white settlements, but often it was in pursuit of the goal of eliminating native tribes • Bounties were offered to these vigilantes for proof of their deeds, so they often kept scalps or skulls as trophies

7. The Battle of Little Bighorn • Under the leadership of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, Sioux in Dakota Territory left their reservation, gathering in Montana • The army mobilized to round up the Sioux and force them back onto the reservation • As the Seventh Cavalry advanced under Colonel George A. Custer, 2,500 Sioux warriors surrounded them, killing Custer and all 264 of his men • This was one of the largest Indian armies ever encountered • This organization didn’t last long, and soon they warriors broke into bands to escape pursuit by the army • Both Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull were eventually killed by reservation police

8. “From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.” • As the Nez Perce were moving to a reservation from their traditional territory in Oklahoma, several of the younger members of the tribe attacked and killed 4 settlers • Chief Joseph urged his followers to flee from American troops toward Canada • Some escaped, but Chief Joseph and a large portion of his followers were captured just south of the border • While on the journey, many of his followers died of disease and malnutrition • Chief Joseph surrendered in exchange for permission to return to the Idaho reservation

9. Massacre at Wounded Knee • In 1890, the Sioux were experiencing a spiritual revival • They began to perform the Ghost Dance ritual, believing that it would lead to a restoration of life before white settlement • When white settlers saw this ritual, they were confuse by it and assumed that it was a war dance • In December of 1890, the Seventh Cavalry went to round up 350 Sioux at Wounded Knee • The Sioux resisted, and in the end, 40 white soldiers and 300 Sioux (including women and children) were dead

10. Assimilation • Process of transforming the people of one culture into another, usually dominant, culture • This was a key goal of the Bureau of Indian Affairs • How is the Dawes Act (1887) an example to U.S. attempts to assimilate Native Americans?

11. The Dawes Act