Native American History and U.S. Westward Expansion: Key Events and Policies

Why was the Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1851 important?

It established boundaries for tribal lands and promised peace along trails, but future conflicts arose when both sides broke terms.

How were Native Americans affected by the Civil War?

With the army pulled east, militias replaced them on the Plains, leading to violence and massacres like Bear River and Sand Creek.

What was the Bear River Massacre?

In 1863, California volunteers killed over 200 Shoshone in Idaho, one of the deadliest attacks on Native people.

Who was Black Kettle? What happened at Sand Creek?

Black Kettle was a Cheyenne peace leader whose village was attacked by Colorado militia in 1864, killing about 270 mostly women and children.

What happened at the Washita?

In 1868, Custer attacked Black Kettle's Cheyenne village, killing Black Kettle, his wife, and many others in what is seen as both a battle and massacre.

Who was Red Cloud? What was his war about?

Red Cloud was a Lakota leader who fought to stop forts on the Bozeman Trail (1866-68), winning the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie which closed the forts.

Who was George Custer? What happened at Little Bighorn? When did it happen? What happened to Sitting Bull by the end of that year?

Custer was a Civil War hero turned cavalry officer; at Little Bighorn (June 25-26, 1876) he and all his men were killed. By year's end, Sitting Bull fled to Canada.

Who was Chief Joseph? What happened to him and his people in 1877?

Joseph led the Nez Perce in a retreat toward Canada but, after several battles, was forced to surrender just 30 miles from the border.

Who was Standing Bear? Why was his case important?

A Ponca leader who in 1879 won a court case recognizing Native Americans as 'persons' under the law with basic rights.

What was the Long Walk?

The 1864 forced removal of the Navajo to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico, where many died from disease and harsh conditions.

Who was Geronimo? What happened to him?

An Apache leader who resisted U.S. and Mexican forces for decades but eventually surrendered and spent his life under U.S. military custody.

Who was Wovoka (aka Jack Wilson)?

A Paiute prophet who started the Ghost Dance in 1889, teaching peace and the return of ancestors with the disappearance of whites.

What was the Ghost Dance? How did it affect Sitting Bull?

It was a religious movement offering hope, but whites feared it; Sitting Bull was suspected of supporting it and was killed during an arrest in 1890.

What happened at Wounded Knee?

In 1890, U.S. troops massacred about 300 Lakota, mostly women and children, ending the Ghost Dance and symbolically the Indian Wars.

What factors led to efforts to help the Indians?

Sympathy grew after confinement to reservations, inspired by stories like Standing Bear's and reformers who exposed mistreatment.

Who was Helen Hunt Jackson? What was A Century of Dishonor about?

Jackson was a writer who exposed the U.S. government's broken treaties and mistreatment of Natives in her 1881 book A Century of Dishonor.

Who was Henry Laurens Dawes and what was the Dawes Act? How successful was it?

Dawes sponsored the 1887 Dawes Act, which allotted land to individuals to assimilate them; it failed, causing land loss and deepening poverty.

What was the Homestead Act? What was the Transcontinental Railroad Act? When were they passed? How did they change the West?

Both passed in 1862: the Homestead Act gave 160 acres to settlers, and the Railroad Act subsidized railroads; together they spurred western migration, farming, mining, and pressure on Native lands