Westward Migration and Wars with Native Americans

• 1830s• Indian Removal Act- legal to remove Indians

from their land• Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

• US Supreme Court says Indians have a right to the land

• Trail of Tears• Pres. Andrew Jackson will ignore the court case

and forcefully remove Indians onto reservations in Oklahoma

Review

• Introduction of Horse• Introduced by Spanish• Change life of Plains Indians

• Greater movement- follow Buffalo herds• Create war among tribes

• Buffalo• Indians are nomadic- follow Buffalo herds• Rely on Buffalo for everything

• Food, clothing, shelter, tools, weapons

Life of the Plains Indians

• Westward migration will lead to destruction of Buffalo• Railroad tracks will replace grazing land• Settlers will hunt Buffalo for sport

• Lead to ultimate destruction of Indian tribes• Be forced to adapt to new way of life

Destruction of Buffalo

• Sand Creek Massacre (1864)• US army (led by Gen. Chivington) attacked

and massacred Indians in Colorado• About 70-150 Indians killed, mainly women

and children• “I saw the bodies of those lying there cut all to pieces, worse mutilated than any I ever saw

before; the women cut all to pieces ... With knives; scalped; their brains knocked out; children two or three months old; all ages lying there, from sucking infants up to warriors ... By whom were they mutilated? By the United States troops ...” quote by John Smith

• Fingers and ears were cut off the bodies for the jewelry they carried. The body of White Antelope, lying solitarily in the creek bed, was a prime target. Besides scalping him the soldiers cut off his nose, ears, and testicles-the last for a tobacco pouch ... Quote by Stan Hoig

Indian Wars

• Most famous Battle- June 25, 1876• Fought in Montana• Indians led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse

• Combined group of Cheyenne and Sioux Indians• US Army 7th Cavalry- led by General George

Custer• Custer and his men will be defeated and

completely wiped out by Indians

Battle of Little Bighorn

Gen. Custer

SittingBull

CrazyHorse

• Battle of Wounded Knee• Fought December 29, 1890• South Dakota• Sioux warriors, women and children

slaughtered• Signal end of wars with Plains Indians• Most will be moved to reservations

End of Indian Wars

• Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)• First formed in 1820s• Became BIA in 1840s• Be involved in many events to assimilate Indians

• Sending children to boarding schools to learn English and culture

• Century of Dishonor• Written by Helen Hunt Jackson in 1881• Book will discuss the injustices of the US

government toward Indians (show that the US govt. often broke treaties made with Indians)

Other Events with Indian Wars

• Passed by Congress in 1887• Goal- assimilate Indians into American society

• Assimilate means to change (in this case under force) the culture of someone or a group

• Ways Dawes Act will assimilate• Force Indians to become farmers• Force children to learn English and attend boarding

schools• Indians will start to attend Protestant faiths and forget

their tribal languages and religions

Dawes Act

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