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Overview of Native American History in the Late 19th Century

  • Discussion based on the contrasting views of happiness and hardship presented by Dos Santos.
  • Examination of important events and legislation affecting Native Americans following the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Timeline of Events

  • Battle of Little Bighorn (1876)

    • A significant victory for Native Americans against the US government.
    • Marked a peak in Native American armed resistance.

  • Crazy Horse's Surrender (1877)

    • Following the battle, Crazy Horse surrenders to the US government.
    • This marks a decline in organized Native American resistance.

  • Great Spirit Bull's Flight to Canada

    • Another key figure, Great Spirit Bull, flees to Canada as resistance dwindles.

Legislation Impacting Native Americans

  • Dawes Act (General Allotment Act)
    • Introduced by the US government as a means to assimilate Native Americans.
    • Key points of the Dawes Act:
    • Divides reservation lands into individual plots allocated to Native American families.
    • Aims to enforce individual land ownership, contrasting with the communal land ownership traditionally held by Native Americans.
    • Each family is expected to become a subsistence farmer on their allocated plot.

Implications of the Dawes Act

  • Cultural Assimilation
    • The act aims to further assimilate Native Americans into Western cultural practices by enforcing individualism.
  • Management of Land
    • The act led to the reduction of reservation land size.
    • Excess land not allotted to families was sold on the open market.
    • Funds generated from the sale were directed toward education for Native American children, primarily through the establishment of boarding schools.
Issues Arising from the Dawes Act
  • Subsistence Farming Challenges
    • Depending on the quality of their plots, some families struggled significantly.
    • This dependent on the arability of land that was already deemed undesirable by settlers.
  • Cultural Adjustment
    • Transitioning from a nomadic lifestyle, which was predominant among Plains Native Americans who hunted buffalo, to sedentary farming posed immense challenges.
    • The necessity to adapt to agriculture was particularly taxing due to the abrupt change in lifestyle and skillsets.

Ghost Dance Movement

  • Overview
    • Emerged as a nonviolent religious movement among various Native American tribes.
    • Represents a cultural response to the loss of traditional lifestyles and an attempt to reconnect with spiritual practices.

Beliefs of the Ghost Dance Movement

  • Spiritual Rejection of Western Influence
    • Followers believed that the Native American gods were angered by the encroachment of Western culture and customs (e.g., alcohol use, Western weapons).
    • The movement emphasized the need to reject these adaptations.
  • Vision of Renewal
    • The central tenet was that once the gods were appeased, the world would end, followed by a new beginning where only Native Americans would survive.
    • A belief in the restoration of their traditional way of life, including the return of the buffalo.

Government Response to the Ghost Dance Movement

  • Perceived Threat
    • The government viewed the Ghost Dance as a potential resurgence of armed resistance.
    • Notable due to the historical tension surrounding previous conflicts, especially the Sioux after the Little Bighorn defeat.
  • Context of the Movement
    • The Ghost Dance movement gained traction in the late 1880s and posed challenges for the assimilation policies set by the US government.
    • The Sioux, who had previously lost their military resistance, became focal in governmental anxiety about native uprisings.

Conclusion

  • Summary of the impacts of the Dawes Act and the emergence of the Ghost Dance as significant developments in Native American history during the late 19th century.
  • These events reflect the struggle for identity, survival, and adaptation within changing sociopolitical landscapes.