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Homestead Act of 1862
Homestead Act of 1862 stated that each settler could be granted with 160 arches of land. They would be able to do this as long as they pay a filing fee, and if they live on the land for at least five years. It lured thousand of settlers into the land. Some were even immigrants who were in the middle of becoming citizens. Married woman were not allowed to buy the land, but single women and widows were giving the same rights as men. 12% of the land giving was to women. -
Fetterman Massacre
This was the bloodiest incidents out of the serious of attacks from 1865 to 1867. Troops waited at their fort on the Bozeman Trail. The Sioux leader was Crazy Horse. He acted as a distraction to the commander of the fort which also distracted about 80 other soldiers. Warriors waited and eventually attacked the entire detachment. -
Treaty of Fort Laramie
Within the years of the 1860-1870's, it was filled with many Indian attacks. So the congressional committee agreed to make an Indian Peace Commission. These stated that Indians must give up their lands and move farther west. Even though the Black Hills were important to the Sioux Indians, they signed it over and the military said it can be part of the Great Sioux reservation as long as the Indians promised to stop attacking the whites. -
Discovery of 1874
The word eventually spread around that there was gold in the secret area known as the Black Hills. So in 1874, General Custer led an army down to see if the rumors were true. They later confirmed that there was gold in the hills. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
The treaty 1868 was signed and was supposed to bring peace, . But unfortunately it left some tension and it eventually all came out a few years later. Only this time, the battle happened over the Black Hills. Rumors about gold had spread and many people traveled to see if it was true and the Sioux Indians were not happy about the outsiders. General George Custer was ordered to get the Indians. He attacked on June 25, 1875. Custer and all of his men lost their lives, which shocked the nation. -
Ghost Dance
In 1890, The Sioux Indians eventually turned to a prophet named Wovoka. He stated that if the Indians wanted to get their greatness back, they would have to perform a ritual called the Ghost Dance. The Ghost dance was a way of showing that their culture had been destroyed. As word spread about this, people became worried and wanted to ban the dance. So they went to the Indian leader, Sitting Bull, to arrest him, and he actually ended up being shot. -
Wounded Knee
After running away in fear because of their leader's death, the Sioux Indians decided to meet at a creek called Wounded Knee in South Dakota. On December 29, 2010 the army found out they were there and went to collect their weapons. Although they are unsure on how the fighting began, a pistol was fired, and the army returned with a fire. More than 200 Sioux Indians and 25 army soldiers were murdered. This was finally the end of the battles between whites and Indians.
