Western Expansion After the Civil War: Dawes Act, Wounded Knee, and Carlisle School

Post-Civil War Western Expansion

• Expansion resumes after the Civil War; focus shifts to how white expansion interacts with Native Americans already in the West.

• The era studied centers on native populations, the policy shift toward assimilation, and the political/military events that define this period.

The Dawes Act and Assimilation Policy

• Dawes Act (General Allotment Act) enacted in $1887$; authorized the president to break up tribal reservations into individual allotments.

• Land impact: about $138{,}000{,}000$ acres were to be broken up; around $90{,}000{,}000$ acres ended up unclaimed, with the rest allocated to individuals.

• Consequence: land not claimed or allocated was sold to white settlers; the best lands often went to whites.

• Citizenship path: taking the allotted land was tied to becoming a US citizen; those who accepted land could pursue citizenship.

• Last Arrow ceremony: ceremonial transition from “Indian” to “American” identity; clothing, name changes, and adoption of American tools and farming practices symbolized assimilation.

• Preface to assimilation included Christianization, English education, and integration into American economy; the act reflected paternalistic views of the era.

Native Concepts of Land and Resistance

• Native land ownership differed: many tribes did not view land as something to be owned; land was communal and not alienable in the same sense.

• Frontier policy and resistance culminated in armed conflict with the Lakota in the Dakotas.

Wounded Knee and Frontier Closure

• December 1890: Wounded Knee Massacre in present-day South Dakota; around $500$ Lakota were involved; estimates of casualties near $300$.

• Accounts vary widely (multiple perspectives exist from military and Lakota sources).

• Aftermath: frontier declared closed in early $1891$; the US government characterized this as the last armed native resistance.

• Significance: closing the frontier enabled the US to pivot toward overseas expansion and imperial reach beyond continental borders.

Carlisle Indian Industrial School and Assimilation in Practice

• The Carlisle School (PA) was the first federal Indian boarding school project in the East.

• Purpose: take Native children from families and reservations, eradicate Indigenous culture, and teach them to be American (dress, language, religion, customs).

• Emphasis: English language, Christianization, Western-style clothing, and American schooling; assimilation framed as best for both whites and Native peoples.

Key Figures and Concepts

• Henry L. Dawes: US Senator from Massachusetts; leader among the “Friends of Indians” who argued for civilizing/Americanizing natives.

• “Friends of Indians”: claimed to promote peace and assimilation rather than warfare; supported the Dawes Act framework.

• Reservation system: previously created to confine native groups; Dawes Act redirected that land into individual ownership.

Quick Recap for Exam Review

• Dawes Act as a turning point in policy toward Native Americans; land allotment, citizenship tied to land, and assimilation ceremonies.

• Wounded Knee as the symbol and practical end of armed Native resistance; frontier era ends.

• Carlisle School as a tangible example of assimilation policies in action.

• Overall consequence: shift from continental expansion to internal reorganization and later overseas expansion.