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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 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.
