US Depth Study - Native Americans Gilded Age 1875 - 1895

What was the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty?

Most Plains’ tribes agreed to accept definite limits to their hunting grounds and annual repayments in return for accepting boundaries of their land - it did guarantee their rights to these lands in exchange for their safe passage on the Oregon trail and so did recognise their sovereignty in the region but it also reduced NA land, undermining culture and self-determination.

What policy began in 1865 and how did it affect NA culture and land?

The policy of reservations and concentration began in 1865, guaranteeing NA’s to reservation lands - this began the process of undermining NA nomadic culture, forcing them onto reservation lands, forced them to live off US food rations which often, they didn’t receive. There also began attempts to educate and ‘civilise’ NA’s - being re-made in their reformer’s image — undermines rights to self-determination and culture through assimilation into the vision of white America and reliance on federal government for food and money.

What was the Red Cloud’s War 1865-67?

NA reistance to incursions onto reservation lands on the Northern Plains and hunting grounds, with the Sioux Chief Red Cloud leading resistance to the army’s attempt to build the Powder River Road which would have cut across Lakota hunting grounds, violating the terms of the 1851 FLT. Red Cloud’s men harassed the soldiers so effectively that the road couldn’t be built. Indians’ greatest success was in 1866 when 82 soliders under Captain Fetterman were killed near Fort Phil Kearny.

What treaty came as a result of the Red Clouds War?

The Fort Laramie Treaty 1868 - established the Great Sioux Reservation in the Black Hills of Dakota - concentration of Northern tribes onto a single reservation with federal government providing supplies and preventing settlers entering the area. Compared to the 1851 Treaty, land occupied by the Northern tribes was significantly reduced.

How did the 1867 Medicine Lodge Treaty affect NA land?

Agreement that the Kiowa, Comanche and Arapaho tribes would accept lands in Western Oklahoma - concentration of Southern Plains Tribes onto a single reservation with federal government providing supplies. Reduced land and reduced self-determination, with NA’s more reliant on federal government. Contributed to a signficant loss of land by 1880, with all land in Texas transferred to whites and a majority of land in the West transferred to Whites aside for some small and isolated patches of land.

What was involved in Grant’s ‘Peace Policy’ beginning in 1869 and how did it affect NA rights?

It begins forced concentration as a precursor to assimilation. Grant favoured the Reservation policy, wanting NA’s to become, in time, American citizens.
- In 1869, Congress set up the the Board of Indian Commissioners to supervise conditions on the reservations, moulding reservation life along the lines of the reformers and not NA’s — reduced self-determination. Indians only allowed to leave reservations if they had a permit - undermines nomadic culture and reduces access to land.
- Grant replaced present Indian agents first with Quakers and then with nominess of other Protestant demoninations - threatens NA culture - Christian religion forced onto them — assimilation
- 1880 Instruction to Indian Agents - see to it that Indians can farm successfully and provide and supervise English education and Industrial training for Indian children — these were all attempts to mould NA’s to American ways of life

When was the Indian Appropriations Act?

1871

What was the Indian Appropriations Act and how did it impact self-determination?

It was an Act of Congress and so impacted all NA tribes. It involved the elimination of self-determination by no longer recognising NA’s as tribes, but as individuals and designating NA’s as wards of the state with the BIA to implement policy — limits self-determination as it meant Congress would now determine everything about the lives of NA tribes, their lives now determined by the state. This lasts up until the 1970s — long-term impact.

How did the Indian Appropriations Act impact NA cultural rights?

Undermined and obliterated NA tribal sovereignty by no longer recognising NA’s as tribes but as individuals. Before 1871, reservations were set up as the outcome of a treaty with tribes and after the IAA reservations were being decided by congress without consultation of NA’s. Clear change in policy of federal government.

How did the IAA impact NA rights to land?

NA’s no longer allowed negotiation or even consultation about land reduction via treaties as prior to 1871 - reservation policies and NA needs in relation to land now completely controlled by the government and the state

What were the responsibilities of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in terms of reservation policy?

They were responsible for implementing policies on reservations - provided an agency to administer the reservation; provided payments, resources (seeds, tools, clothing, food) ands education; provide teachers and doctors.

What was the role of the BIA in the move towards focusing policy on assimilation?

From the 1870s onwards, the BIA focused on increasingly implementing assimilation. They did this through education in farming and in English as well as the eradication of communal living (detribalisation)

What was the Red River War 1874-75? How were NA’s resisting reservation incursions and what was the response of the US military?

Military conflict between the US Army and the Southern Plains tribes. NA’s were resisting incursions onto reservation lands and hunting grounds, which was in contravention of the Medicine Lodge Treaty 1867 — Renegade Kiowas, Comanches and Cheyennes attacked freight wagons and trading posts of US military. In response, US soldiers destroyed Indian supplies and slaughtered scores of Cheyenne fugitives near the Sappa river in Kansas in a fierce winter campaign.

How did the outcome of the Red River War impact resistance of the Southern Plains tribes?

Ended resistance on the Southern Plains - no member of the tribes ever freely roamed the region below the Platte River again and neither did they ever challenge concentration with armed force again.

How did the outcome of the Red River War impact Native American rights to land and how did this relate to the hunting of the buffalo?

None of the Southern Plains Tribes ever roamed the region below the Platte River freely again.
Tribes effectively restricted to their reservations and white settlers and buffalo hunters free to move onto the southern Great Plains — within three years, the remaining millions of buffalo had effectively been eradicated. Eradication of the buffalo destroys the need for extensive land, giving federal government the excuse to confine them to even smaller reservations and further force NA’s off the Southern Plains.

What was the impact of this eradication of the Buffalo on NA culture?

NA's nomadic culture was entirely based around following the Buffalo herd throughout the year and the eradication effectively stops the point of NA’s being nomadic, which gives the federal government an excuse to confine them to even smaller reservations. The buffalo was a key part of NA’s tribal culture — hunting, key resource for food, clothing and for religious ceremonies.

What was the impact of the eradication of the Buffalo on self-determination?

It justified the confinement of tribes to reservations and destroyed economic autonomy, depriving NA’s of their primary resource for clothing and food, forcing NA’s into even more dire poverty.

What were the causes of resistance of the Northern tribes in the Great Sioux War 1876?

Reservation Sioux Indians were unhappy with the poor supplies they were receiving and the advance of the North Pacific Railroad, which threatened Sioux hunting grounds, threatening NA right to land and self-determination. They were also unsettled by Colonel Custer’s exploring expedition for minerals in the Black Hills, which was Sioux land. NA’s wanted to resist these incursions as they were in contravention of the Fort Laramie Treaty 1868.

What was involved with the Great Sioux War? How did NA’s resist and how was NA resistance eventually suppressed?

8000 NA’s gathered on a Sioux and Cheyenne encampment on the Little Bighorn River. This was attacked by Colonel Custer, sending Major Reno to attack the village while he headed north with over 200 men.
Sioux Warriors forced Reno to retreat and 2500 NA’s attacked Custer’s force, killing him and his entire command.
Reno held out for 2 days until US troops arrived and the Sioux were forced to withdraw. The shortages of food and ammunition soon forced most of the Sioux to surrender and return to reservation life.

What was the impact of the Great Sioux war on rights to land, self-determination and culture?

The federal government confiscated the Black Hills of Dakota, forcing the Sioux onto even smaller reservations.
The Great Sioux Reservation was divided into five smaller reservations, further diminishing land.
Began the gradual dismantling of the Great Sioux Reservation which would occur throughout the period, with land being lost in 1889 and 1910.
Further limits to NA nomadic culture - no freedom to roam - and hunting culture of NA’s was also threatened as the advance of the North Pacific Railroad went into Sioux hunting grounds. Indian ability to defend and sustain their way of life was decimated.

What was the impact of the Great Sioux War on Northern Plains NA resistance?

Proved to be the last stand of the Sioux, ending Sioux resistance to concentration on the Northern Plains, ending centuries of struggle and armed resistance. Their military power was broken, never to revive. Ends all NA resistance, not only that of the Sioux.

By 1876, how much land which was granted to NA’s under the FLT 1868 had been lost?

33% of the land

When did the policy of Americanization begin and how long did it last?

From 1877 to 1934, however NA ‘boarding schools’ last well into the 1960s

What was the impact of the reservation policy, as part of americanization, on self-determination?

Significant undermining of NA nomadic freedom and civil rights - autonomy denied as NA’s were dependent ‘wards of the state,’ - controlled by the government.
The aims of the reservations were that US laws would replace tribal laws, such as by banning communal living, with the idea that NA’s would become Christian, farming families — again limits their ability to control their own lives. The power of tribal chiefs replaced by an Indian Agent appointed by the Indian Bureau, meaning that NA’s were subject to the Army and the Department of the Interior and their vision of how NA’s would live their lives.
NA’s were completely dependent on the government for food, clothing and shelter - this total dependence was completely humiliating

What were the impacts of the reservation policy on Native American culture?

On the Plains, NA’s were able to retain some of their nomadic lifestyle and therefore some level of pride, dignity and independence in terms of their cultural practises. This freedom was lost with the reservation policy, particularly as communal living and tribal chiefs were removed, with NA’s ‘wards of the state’ and tribes no longer recognised.

What occured at Wounded Knee in 1890?

• 200 unarmed men, women and children were shot by the Army

• Chief Sitting Bull’s followers retreated to Wounded Knee where they were rounded up by the Army who opened fire on them

What does the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 suggest about the impact of the reservation policy on Native American culture?

The massacre at Wounded Knee occured as white settlers in the region noticed the NA ritual called the ‘Ghost Dance’ and believed that there was a threat of a NA uprising — shows that there was a violent response to any signs of NA culture or traditional ritual. Holding onto the ‘Ghost Dance’ had been a desperate attempt by NA’s to regain a lost way of life and was responded to with aggression. It suggests that culture was being completely eradicated, with NA’s killed for displaying their traditions - showed there would be no tolerance for any expression of identity or culture.

In what ways did the policy of reservations inadvertantly ensure that NA culture was preserved?

Despite the intentions of the government, reservation life did ensure that tribal life was sustained to some extent - Indians were able to retain a sense of belonging and pride in their shared heritage and may have retained some of their tribal culture and customs. This did, however, mean that tribal rivalries persisted, which prevented their ability to unite against the theft of their lands and white injustice.

What was the impact of the reservation policy on land, poverty and the economic position of Native Americans?

Problems with land and farming - much of the allocated land was impossible to begin farming on, making NA’s dependent on food supplied by the government. The situation worsened in the 1880s as drought destroyed crops and disease wiped out the cattle that Indians now kept now that they were deprived of hunting the buffalo, further limiting their ability to use the land they had and grow their own produce. Close proximity on their land meant there was epidemics of diseases such as measles and influenza and by 1900, only around 100,000 of the 240,000 NA’s that had inhabited the Plains remained.

In terms of land, how can the Navajo be considered a successful example of reservation life?

The Navajo adapted quickly to farming, planting a range of crops and conserving the 15,000 sheep and goats they had been provided with — By 1892, the flock had grown to 1.7 million. Between 1878 and the 1930s, Navajo lands had been increased by the government to 10.5 million acres as a reward for their success and to enable them to increase their yields. By 1900, the population of the Navajo increased from 8000 (1868) to 22,000.

How did the Americanisation of education further undermine self-determination?

Aimed to remove self-identity as Indians, forcing NA children away from their families, forced to cut their hair short, punished for speaking in their native, tribal language and were harshly disciplined for breach of these rules. Taught western trades and skills, with girls taught western domestic skills like sewing and cooking and boys were taught western labour skills like carpentry and masonry — the clear aim here was to break the tribal ties of young American Indians —- their futures being decided for them, no self-determination in terms of living an NA lifestyle.

How did the americanization of NA education impact and undermine NA culture?

Education was seen to be essential to the process of ‘Americanisation’ and to destructing tribal culture and loyalties. The curriculum revolved around determining futures of NA’s as they were taught core Western subjects like English and Maths and literacy skills. Children’s hair cut short and they were harshly punished for speaking tribal languages. 8 years spent at these schools and three spent living with white farming families where boys laboured and girls became servants — intended to purge young Indians of their tribal ways. Taught to be ashamed of their culture.

What is some evidence of low-level resistance to americanization?

Children would keep hold of their native language and speak it in secret or when they were let out of school - this is why modern tribes can still speak the language today. They still wore traditional clothing, kept their hair long, continued to exist as Native Americans on these reservations. The federal government built them houses and they would instead decide to live in their own traditional teepees.

When was the Carlisle Indian Industrial School founded and what were its aims?

1879
It operated for nearly 30 years in an old military base. Its primary mission was to “kill the Indian” and “save the man.” The administrators forced students to speak English, wear Anglo-American clothing and act according to US values and culture. The model set by the Carlisle school spawned 24 more off-reservation schools.