Untitled Flashcards Set

1. Sand Creek Massacre

• Date: November 29, 1864

• Leaders: Colonel John Chivington (U.S. Army) vs. Black Kettle (Cheyenne leader)

• Outcome/Impact: A massacre where over 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho people, mostly women, children, and the elderly, were killed by U.S. troops. This event sparked outrage and helped ignite further conflict between Native American tribes and the U.S. military.

2. Fetterman Massacre (Battle of the Hundred Slain)

• Date: December 21, 1866

• Leaders: Captain William J. Fetterman (U.S. Army) vs. Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, and other Lakota leaders

• Outcome/Impact: A decisive victory for the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. The entire U.S. detachment (81 men) was killed. This was one of the worst defeats of the U.S. Army in the Indian Wars and led to the closing of the Bozeman Trail.

3. Wounded Knee Massacre

• Date: December 29, 1890

• Leaders: U.S. Army (led by Colonel James W. Forsyth) vs. Lakota Sioux (led by Sitting Bull's followers, including Big Foot)

• Outcome/Impact: The U.S. Army killed about 300 Lakota Sioux, marking the end of the Indian resistance in the Great Plains. It is seen as the symbolic end of the Indian Wars.

4. Dakota War (or Sioux Uprising)

• Date: August – December 1862

• Leaders: Little Crow (Dakota Sioux) vs. U.S. Government

• Outcome/Impact: The Dakota people, facing starvation and broken treaties, revolted. The U.S. Army crushed the resistance, and many Dakota were killed or exiled to reservations. The war ended with the largest mass execution in U.S. history—38 Dakota men were hanged.

5. Long Walk of the Navajo

• Date: 1864

• Leaders: Navajo (led by Manuelito and others) vs. U.S. Government (led by General James H. Carleton)

• Outcome/Impact: The U.S. forced around 8,000 Navajo people to walk 300 miles to a reservation at Bosque Redondo in New Mexico, resulting in severe suffering and loss of life. After years of resistance, they were finally allowed to return to their homeland in 1868.

6. Chief Joseph's Route

• Date: 1877

• Leaders: Chief Joseph (Nez Perce) vs. U.S. Army (led by General Oliver O. Howard)

• Outcome/Impact: Chief Joseph led his people in a remarkable 1,300-mile retreat across the Pacific Northwest to escape U.S. forces. Eventually, they were caught at Bear Paw Mountain and forced to surrender. The Nez Perce were relocated to reservations.

7. Bear Paw Mountain

• Date: September 30, 1877

• Leaders: Chief Joseph (Nez Perce) vs. U.S. Army (led by General Oliver O. Howard)

• Outcome/Impact: The Nez Perce were cornered by the U.S. Army at Bear Paw Mountain, and after a fierce battle, Chief Joseph surrendered. This effectively ended the Nez Perce War and led to their forced relocation.

8. Skeleton Canyon

• Date: August 13, 1881

• Leaders: Geronimo (Apache) vs. U.S. Army

• Outcome/Impact: A decisive loss for the Apache. Geronimo's band was captured by the U.S. Army, effectively ending the Apache resistance in the Southwest. Geronimo and his followers were imprisoned, and many were sent to Florida.

9. Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma)

• Date: Established in 1830s and onwards, became Oklahoma in 1907

• Leaders: Various Native American leaders, including tribal chiefs like Sequoyah (Cherokee) and others.

• Outcome/Impact: The Indian Territory was designated as a place where Native American tribes were forcibly relocated after the Indian Removal Act. It became the site of numerous conflicts and hardships for tribes like the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole. Eventually, it became the state of Oklahoma in 1907.

10. Black Hills

• Date: 1870s – ongoing (specifically tied to the Great Sioux War)

• Leaders: Lakota Sioux (led by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse) vs. U.S. Government

• Outcome/Impact: The discovery of gold in the Black Hills led to illegal settler incursions, which violated previous treaties. This ultimately led to the Great Sioux War (1876–1877) and the Battle of Little Bighorn. The U.S. government’s seizure of the Black Hills remains a contentious issue, with the Sioux seeking compensation for the land.

11. Little Bighorn (Battle of the Little Bighorn)

• Date: June 25–26, 1876

• Leaders: Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (U.S. Army) vs. Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse (Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne)

• Outcome/Impact: The Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne decisively defeated Custer’s 7th Cavalry. Custer and his 210 men were killed, marking one of the most famous defeats of the U.S. Army in history. However, it also led to an increased military presence and a more determined effort to suppress Native resistance.

12. Bozeman Trail

• Date: 1863–1868

• Leaders: Various U.S. military leaders vs. Red Cloud, Crazy Horse (Lakota Sioux)

• Outcome/Impact: The Bozeman Trail was a key route for settlers moving west. It passed through lands sacred to the Lakota Sioux, leading to conflict. After the Fetterman Massacre, the U.S. Army abandoned its forts along the trail, and the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) closed the trail to settlers.

13. Red River War

• Date: 1874–1875

• Leaders: U.S. Army (led by General Philip Sheridan) vs. Southern Plains tribes (Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, Arapaho)

• Outcome/Impact: The U.S. Army's campaign crushed the resistance of the Comanche and other Plains tribes. It led to the forced relocation of Native tribes to reservations and the end of major Plains Indian resistance.