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Government Restricts Native Americans
the federal government had passed an act that designated the entire Great Plains as one enormous reservation, or land set aside for the Indians -
Government Changed its Policies
government changed it policies and created treaties and continued to hunt on their traditional lands, fighting with settlers and miners. -
Massacre at Sand Creek
Cheyenne thought they were under protection of U.S government while they returned to the to CO Sand Creek Reserve for the winter. Genera S. R. Curtis said "I want no peace till the Indians suffer more." Chivington and his troops descended on the Cheyenne and Arapaho- about 200 warriors and 500 women and children- camped and Sand Creek.The attack at dawn on November 29, 1864 killed over 150 inhabitants, mostly women and children. -
Death on the Bozeman Trail
Crazy Horse ambushed Captain William J. Fetterman and his company at Lodge Trail Ridge. Over 80 soldiers were killed. Natives called it Battle of the Hundred Slain.Whites called it the Fetterman Massacre. Skirmishes continued until the government agreed to close the Bozeman Trail. -
Red River War
The Treaty of Fort Laramie, in which the Sioux agreed to live on a reservation along the Missouri River, was forced on the leaders of the Sioux. Sitting Bull, had never signed it. Although the Ogala and Brule Sioux did sign the treaty, they expected to continue using their traditional hunting grounds. In late 1868, war broke out again as the Kiowa and Comanche engaged in six years of raiding that led to the Red River War. -
Gold Rush
4 years after the Treaty of Laramie, miners began searching the Black Hills for gold. The Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho protested the encroachment on their lands to no avail. Colonel George A. Custer reported that the Black Hills had gold "from the grass roots down," a gold rush was on. Red Cloud and and Spotted Trail, another Sioux chief, vainly appealed again to government officials. -
Custer's Last Stand
In early June 1876, the Sioux and Cheyenne held a sun dance, during which Sitting Bull had a vision of soldiers and some Native Americans falling from their horses. Colonel Custer and his troops reached Little Bighorn River, the Natives were ready for them. Crazy Horse, Gall, and Sitting Bull crushed Custer's troops. Within an hour, Custer and all of his men of the Seventh Calvary were dead. The Sioux were beaten, they took refuge and remained in Canada. -
The Dawes Act
Congress passed the Dawes Act aiming to "Americanize" the Native Americans. The act broke up the reservations and gave some of the reservation land to individual Native American. The rest of the land was sold to settlers, and the resulting income would be used by Native Americans to buy farm implement. Later settlers took about 2/3 of of the territory. -
The Battle of Wounded Knee
December 1890, about 40 Native American police were sent to arrest Sitting Bull. The police ended up killing him. Later December ,the Seventh Calvary, Custer's old regiment- rounded up 350 starving and freezing Sioux and took them to a camp at Wounded Knee. The soldiers demanded the Natives to give up their weapons. A shot was fired from which side, it was unclear. Then war broke out about 300 mostly unarmed Natives, including children died. The Battle brought Indian wars to a bitter end.
