native americans

How long had Native Americans been living on the continent?

for thousands of years before white settlers arrived

How many tribes were there at the beginning of the 19th century?

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, 86 independent tribes had been identified across the USA

Who was responsible for Native Americans making the least progress of any ethnic group?

The federal government’s policies were largely responsible, although Native Americans also resisted assimilation

Why was the Great Plains area left to the Native Americans?

Explorers believed the Great Plains was a desert incapable of sustaining civilised life, so settlers did not want it

What did it mean that most tribes were nomadic?

meant tribes moved constantly, following the buffalo herds that provided everything they needed.

How was the life of Native Americans different to white settlers?

They lived in tepees, worshipped nature, followed tribal laws and customs, and practised rituals seen as pagan.

How do you think white settlers viewed this difference?

White settlers viewed Native American lifestyles as uncivilised and pagan.

What was the consequence of the Indian Removal Act of 1830?

Around 70,000 Native Americans were forcibly moved to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

What factors drew settlers west across the Great Plains?

Wagon trails to Oregon and the discovery of gold in California in 1849 encouraged westward movement.

What did the tribes of Oregon and California rely on for subsistence and what happened to them?

They relied on fishing, but many were displaced and those who remained lost fishing rights.

How would this westward expansion impact the traditional way of living of Native Americans?

It displaced tribes, cut them off from food sources, and destroyed their traditional lifestyles.

Why would it be advantageous for the government to put Native Americans on reservations?

Reservations freed land for settlers and allowed the government to control Native Americans more easily.

Which tribes were hostile to white settlers in this period?

Sioux and Cheyenne

What was the initial purpose of US soldiers being in the Great Plains

protect settlers and wagon trains.

How was the relationship between soldiers and Native Americans

mixed, with some trade and cooperation but also violence and atrocities

How did treaties with the Sioux affect their traditional way of life?

restricted their movement and prevented them from following buffalo herds

Why did the government fail to deal with this problem

funding was stretched, and corrupt agents stole food supplies

What was the problem of soldiers being taken East in the Civil War

replaced by untrained volunteers who often committed brutal atrocities.

What did the federal government do during the Civil War to secure control of western lands

created federal territories and encouraged settlement through homesteading

homestead act 1862`

It offered 160 acres of free land to settlers who farmed it for five years

What happened to the Navajo and Apache

They were moved to reservations, with the Navajo forced to walk nearly 300 miles

impact of the Union Pacific Railway

disturbed buffalo herds and brought more settlers, weakening Native American positions further

were NA citizens

no and remained subject to their own tribal laws rather than US law

government policy towards NA

Americanise Native Americans and destroy their tribal way of life

3 ways white Americans wanted to ‘Americanise’ the Native Americans?

• education

• conversion to Christianity

• training them to become farmers

consequences for NA culture of being on reservations

tribal customs, religion, laws and communal living were deliberately destroyed or banned

NA subject to

Department of the Interior and the US Army

1868 fort laramie treaty

established the Great Sioux Reservation for the Sioux tribes

in 1871 NA lost the right to (very WRONG answers only) 3

be consulted about reservation boundaries and relocation decisions

how did ‘manifest destiny’ influence

justified taking Indian land if white Americans needed it for farming, railways or settlement

consequence of the 1876 battle of little bighorn

Great Sioux Reservation was broken up and reduced to 6 small reservations

education

used to destroy tribal culture and assimilate NA

reservation boarding schools

separated children from their families and banned tribal languages and customs

boarding school kids

often alienated from their families and mistrusted by their communities

NA denied civil rights

classed as dependent wards of the state and were not taxpayers

NA effectively segregated as

Reservations physically separated them from the rest of American society

reservations allowed NA to keep some of traditional life

together sustained tribal identity and cultural practices

why NA farmers failed in reservations

land was poor, supplies were inadequate, and many agents were corrupt

situation in 1880s

• drought

• disease

• cuts to government meat supplies

caused mass starvation

NA would die from

• starvation

• diseases such as measles and influenza

NA population 1860-1900

240,000 to 100,000

significance of massacre at wounded knee 1890

symbolised the final destruction of Native American resistance and hopes

Navajo were successful because

they adapted to farming, expanded livestock herds, and were rewarded with more land

indian rights association

reform group that aimed to assimilate Native Americans and criticised government mistreatment

the challenge America faced having people from different cultures

how to assimilate people from many different nationalities, languages, religions and cultural traditions into one American nation, while creating a shared national identity

process of ’Americanisation’ was supposed to

assimilate diverse groups into a single American identity by encouraging them to abandon their original languages, cultures and traditions and adopt American values and loyalty to the nation

how NA saw ’Americanisation’

resisted Americanisation and assimilation, continuing to claim their right to remain separate and to live according to their own laws, traditions and culture.

obstacle to Native Americans making any gains before WW1

lack of a sense of common purpose among Native American peoples, which weakened their ability to resist government policies effectively

result of Lone Wolf v Hitchcock (1903) for NA

gave Congress the power to revoke all treaties with Native American tribes and declared that Native Americans were not US citizens and therefore had no rights, leading to further loss of land

society of american indians (SAI)

• a group of 50 educated Native American men and women formed in 1911 to campaign for improvements in education and healthcare

• disagreed over whether assimilation or resistance was the best route forward

• failed due to lack of funds, communication difficulties, and internal divisions, and collapsed by the 1920s

NA fighting in WW1

• 10,000 NA men

• gained recognition for bravery and were not segregated, allowing them to integrate with white Americans