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Homestead Act of 1862
When a settler lived on a piece of land for five years and then paid a filing fee, they were given 160 acres of free land. The Homestead Act brought thousands of settlers (including farmers) to the west. A portion of the new settlers included immigrants who may now file for land, and women who were single or widowed, thus able to claim land. -
Fetterman Massacre
On December 21, 1866, one of the most vicious battles between the U.S. Army and Native Americans occured. While Army troops were using a base on the Bozeman Trail, a military leader of the Sioux tribe (known as Crazy Horse) lured the troops into a trap. The fort's commander sent about 80 soldiers to pursue Crazy Horse into an ambush of several hundered Sioux warriors. Every U.S. troop who was pursuing Crazy Horse was killed in the battle known as the Fetterman Massacre. -
Treaty of Fort Laramie
In the Treaty of Fort Laramie, which was signed during the spring of 1868, the U.S. agreed to bring peace to the Sioux tribes who agreed to settle in the Black Hills reservation located in the Dakota Territory. The Black Hills area was recognized as the Sioux tribe's sacred land, until 1874 when General Custer led a group of miners into the Black Hills in search of gold. The Black Hills reservation is still a legal dispute between the U.S. Government and the Sioux to this day. -
Discovery of 1874
In the Discovery of 1874, General George A. Custer was leading an expedition into the Black Hills to confirm that there was gold in the area. Once General Custer was able to successfully find gold there, prospectors and miners flooded into the Black Hills. When the government found out, they attempted to buy the land from the Sioux instead of defending the Sioux's rights. Sitting Bull, one of the Lakota Sioux's leaders, refused to sell their sacred territory to the U.S. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
After the discovery of 1874, the Battle of Little Bighorn occured. Sitting Bull, along with Crazy Horse, gathered the Sioux and Cheyenne warriors along the Little Bighorn River. In order to move the Native Americans to another reservation, George Custer and the Seventh Cavalry was ordered to investigate the encampment. Although Custer was not ordered to confront the Indians, he attacked anyways, underestimating the Native American's strength and numbers. George Custer's entire unit was defeated. -
Ghost Dance
After the Dawes Act, the Native Americans were spiritually broken, as their culture and way of life were dramatically changed. Desperate for help, the Sioux tribes turned Wovoka, a prophet. Wovoka told them they could reclaim their greatness if they performed the Ghost Dance. Through the Ghost Dance the Sioux were able to express their culture, and soon enough reservations across the U.S. were performing it. Since Sitting Bull, a Soiux chief, started the ritual, the police shot and arrested him. -
Wounded Knee
After the police shot and arrested Sitting Bull, hundreds of the Lakota Sioux fled in terror. They all gathered at a nearby creek in South Dakota known as Wounded Knee. When the U.S. Army went to collect the Lakota Sioux's weapons on December 29, 1890, a fight broke out between the two groups. Over 200 Sioux and 25 soldiers were killed, and Wounded Knee marked the end of fights between the Indians and whites. The Native Americans had lost.
