Native American Experience Flashcards

How Did the Native American Experience Change Over Time?

  • Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce fought against the loss of Native American lands.
  • He refused treaties and led his people on a 1300-mile march towards Canada before surrendering.
  • Chief Joseph: "Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

Westward Expansion Impact on Native Americans

  • After the Civil War, settlers moving into the South and West impacted Native Americans.
  • The West was seen as the final American frontier, leading to land grabs by miners, farmers, and businesses.
  • The federal government made guarantees of reserved land to Native Americans, but these were often broken.
  • Native Americans were forced westward, lost possessions and land, and were sometimes massacred.
  • By the start of the 20th century, Native American land holdings were greatly reduced.
  • Their ability to fight was diminished, and they were confined to reservations.
  • Eastern Native American tribes were moved to the Great Plains, considered the "Great American Desert."
  • The term "reservation" implied land reserved for Native American use, but this was often violated.
  • Fur trappers, traders, and explorers continued to encroach on these lands.
  • The Bureau of Indian Affairs, created in 1824, managed the reservations but failed to protect Native American interests.
  • Treaties were renegotiated when settlers wanted reservation land, forcing Native Americans to move again.
  • Settlers brought diseases like smallpox, leading to about 50,000 Native American deaths after gold was discovered in the West.

Life on Reservations

  • Life on reservations was difficult due to displacement and placement near traditional enemies.
  • Economic and social obstacles included poor farmland and lack of farming skills.
  • The destruction of the Plains buffalo further complicated reservation life; the buffalo was central to Native American culture, providing food, clothing, and materials for tools and shelter.
  • The buffalo population declined from approximately 65 million in 1800 to fewer than 1,000 by 1890.
  • Tourists, railroad workers, fur traders, and sportsmen caused this decline.
  • Military leaders like George Custer organized buffalo hunts, aware of the harm to Native Americans, sometimes encouraging destruction.
  • U.S. Secretary of the Interior Delano stated, "the buffalo are disappearing rapidly, but not faster than I desire."
  • Reservations also suffered from high rates of suicide, alcoholism, poverty, and illiteracy.
  • Some argued for assimilation as a better alternative to the reservation system.

Federal Legislation Impact

  • The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged settlers to move into tribal areas by offering 160 acres of land free to any head of household over 21.
  • Ownership could be claimed after paying a small registration fee and occupying the land for five years, or the land could be bought for 1.25 per acre after six months.
  • Many homesteaders began farms on over 80 million acres of land in the West.
  • The Homestead Act created push-pull factors, enticing settlers westward while displacing Native Americans.
  • The promise of reservations was used to move Native Americans away from land settlers wanted.
  • Much of the public domain land was taken over by wealthy investors, railroads, and large businesses by the end of the 19th century.

Native American Resistance

  • In the 1830s, the federal government considered the Great American Desert as one giant reservation, but specific boundaries were defined for each tribe in the 1850s.
  • Native Americans often ignored these boundaries to continue hunting on traditional lands.
  • Key events:
    • Sand Creek Massacre, Colorado: Cheyenne chief Black Kettle and tribesmen were killed; around 150 Native Americans died on November 29, 1864 due to Colonel John Chivington's troops attacking Native Americans at Sand Creek.
    • Battle of Little Big Horn/Custer's Last Stand, Montana: General Custer attempted to round up remaining Native Americans in the Black Hills but was met with resistance and died with his entire 7th Cavalry.
    • Battle of Wounded Knee, South Dakota: After Sitting Bull's murder, the 7th Cavalry collected the 350 remaining Sioux and took them to a camp at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. When soldiers demanded that Sioux tribesmen hand over their weapons, a shot was fired (source unknown), and by the end of the conflict, around 300 Native Americans had been killed.
  • Due to the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, the Cheyenne and Arapaho signed treaties giving up claim to most of their land.
  • Miscommunications at Fort Lyon and a hostile army led to the Sand Creek Massacre on November 29, 1864, resulting in over 150 Native American deaths.
  • By 1874, the Black Hills of South Dakota were swarmed by miners searching for gold.
  • The Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho protested but received no support.
  • Colonel George A. Custer and the 7th Cavalry attempted to round up the remaining Native Americans.
  • The 7th Cavalry met resistance at Little Big Horn River, where Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull led Native American warriors to victory, destroying Custer's troops.
  • The victory at Little Big Horn was short-lived as the Sioux suffered from poverty, hunger, and disease.
  • They followed Wovoka, a Paiute shaman, and his Ghost Dance religion, which promised the restoration of their lands.
  • American leaders viewed the Ghost Dance Movement as rebellious, leading to the order to arrest Sitting Bull.
  • Sitting Bull was killed in a firefight that started when his bodyguard fired at arresting police.
  • Later that month, the remaining Sioux were taken to a camp at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
  • Soldiers demanded the Sioux give up their weapons; a shot was fired, leading to the death of around 300 Native Americans.
  • The Battle of Wounded Knee is considered the end of Native American resistance.

Assimilation: The Dawes Act of 1887

  • Assimilation was seen as a way to deal with Native American issues: adopting the culture, language, and attitudes of the majority group.
  • Congress passed the Dawes Act in 1887 to Americanize the Native American people.
  • The act aimed to make independent farmers by giving them land from reservations.
  • Each head of household received 160 acres, and each unmarried adult male received 80 acres.
  • Any remaining land was to be sold by the federal government, with proceeds used for seed, farm machinery, and other expenses.
  • Native Americans received little to no money from the sale of excess lands.
  • Speculators bought land for low prices from desperate Native Americans.
  • Some Native Americans refused to sign up for individual plots, believing the land should be owned by the tribe as a whole.
  • Those who didn't register forfeited their rights to land and payment.
  • The Dawes Act stripped the tribes of most of their land and destroyed the reservation system within 20 years.

Assimilation: Education of Native Americans

  • Indian Commissioner Thomas Morgan said, "It's cheaper to educate Indians than to kill them."
  • From the 1880s to the 1920s, Native American children were removed from their families and enrolled in government-run schools to immerse them in dominant culture, away from native aspects such as tribes, land, and language.
  • Captain Richard Henry Pratt, founder of the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, sought to "kill the Indian and save the man" by transforming Native American children.
  • At Carlisle, students had to cut their hair, change their names to American names, and dress in American clothing.
  • Boarding schools combined vocational training with academics.
  • Girls learned laundry, cooking, cleaning, and sewing, while boys learned carpentry, blacksmithing, and shop-keeping.
  • Christian missionaries opened schools that focused on religious training as well as academics, discouraging tribal beliefs.
  • Native Americans were pressured to leave their culture behind and adopt the ideas of the dominant culture in many ways.
  • Even with assimilation, they were not guaranteed a safe and peaceful life.