SS Grade 8

People of the Plains
Totally dependent on the buffalo to survive.
They had great respect for nature:
A. Sundance
  1) 4-day religious ceremony attended by thousands of Native Americans to thank the Great Spirit for a good harvest

Broken Treaty and Massacres
A.. Fort Laramie Treaty-an agreement between the United States government and leaders of several Plains Indians tribes.
  1) Signed at Fort Laramie, Wyoming
  2) Terms- If Plains Indians agreed to stop following the buffalo and settle permanently, the government would protect their lands and they would live undisturbed forever!!
***THIS TREATY WAS TOTALLY IGNORED BY SETTLERS****

B. Sand Creek Massacre- More than 100 Cheyennes lost their lives when Colonel Chivington and his men ignored the white flag raised by Native Americans
THIS BEGAN AN ERA OF FIGHTING BETWEEN THE SETTLERS AND THE NATIVE AMERICANS

C. Battle of Little Bighorn
   1) June 1876- Colonel George Custer attacked a group of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in an attempt to force them onto a reservation.  Custer and his men were all killed.
   2) Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull won the Battle.

D. Ghost Dance
    1) Represented a way for Native Americans to return to their old ways.  They believed they were talking to the ghosts of their ancestors.
     2) The dancers went into a dreamlike trance that they believed would make their ancestors and the buffalo return to the plains, and the white people would leave.
     3) The white settlers were afraid of the dance because they thought it was going to cause an uprising.
      4) Native American police were sent to stop the dance, but in the struggle, Sitting Bull was killed.

E. The Battle of Wounded Knee   

       1) A band of Sioux tried to flee to safety.
       2) Army troops surrounded them at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota.
       3) About 200 Sioux were murdered  when army troops opened fire while the Sioux were                           surrendering.
       4) This marked the END of the era of the Indian Wars.


The Nez Perces
      1) Chief Joseph fled with his people to Canada in an effort to spare them the humiliation of being  sent to a reservation. 
       2) The United States army caught them at the Canadian border

F. The Navajos
        1) Bands of Navajos raided farms for livestock.  After a series of small wars, the soldiers                          defeated the Navajos and took them to a spot near the Pecos River to settle.  This was not a              successful time for them as they suffered many years of disease and hunger.
G. The Apaches
        1) Geronimo refused to be sent to a reservation.  He evaded captivity for 10 years, however, he                was finally stopped and sent to a reservation.
H.  Failure of Reform
         1) The United States government was criticized for the harsh treatment of the Native                               Americans.
         2) Helen Hunt Jackson wrote a book telling of the destruction of Native American culture

I. Dawes Act
         1) Purpose: Tried to end Native Americans wandering and turn them into farmers.  Schools                     were set up for Native American children to make them learn American ways.
          2) Effects: FAILED because few Native Americans learned to farm and many remained poor                     and depended on the government for food and supplies.