5-2.4 Explain the social and economic effects of westward expansion on Native Americans; including opposing views on land ownership, Native American displacement, the impact of the railroad on the culture of the Plains Indians, armed conflict, and changes in federal policy.
At first, many Native Americans welcomed and cooperated with explorers of the West. However, federal policy changed in the post-Civil War period as a result of the transcontinental railroad, the discovery of rich mineral deposits on some reservations and continued movement west of white settlers. The destruction of the buffalo by sharpshooters, hired by the railroad companies, undermined the culture of the Plains Indians. In the second half of the 1800’s, farmers and miners claimed the lands that the Native Americans believed to be theirs. Pushed onto smaller and smaller reservations, some tribes went to war against the settlers and the soldiers who supported them. The Indian Wars were marked by massacres by white soldiers of Native American women and children such as the Sand Creek Massacre [1864]. After silver was discovered in the Black Hills, the Native Americans who lived there were driven out.
Although treaties between the United States government and Native American tribes granted the Native Americans reservations in their tribal lands and recognized tribal land ownership, these treaties were often not honored by the government. When gold was found in the Black Hills on a reservation, the Native Americans [Lakota Sioux under the leadership of Sitting Bull] were forced off the land against their will. The Battle of Little Bighorn, or “Custer’s Last Stand,” [1876] between the Native Americans and the United States army created public support for a much larger military force that crushed Native American resistance in the area.. A Native American tribe in Oregon [Nez Perce led by Chief Joseph, 1877] fled to Canada rather than be moved off of their traditional lands to Idaho in order to make way for white settlers. However, they were surrounded by the United States army. When they were promised to be allowed to return to Oregon, they surrendered. This promise was not kept and the tribe was taken to a reservation in Oklahoma. Plains Indians of the southwest also attempted to resist [Apaches led by Geronimo] but their leader was eventually captured and returned to a reservation. Soon resistance by other Native American tribes was also broken. Some Native Americans escaped the reservation and attempted to restore their old way of life but they were surrounded by the army at Wounded Knee, South Dakota [1890]. United States soldiers massacred approximately 300 men, women and children as they attempted to give up their weapons. Native American resistance to the reservation policy was over.
Life on the reservation was not easy. Native Americans were forced from their tribal homelands to much less desirable lands to which their culture was not adapted. Plains Indians, whose culture centered on hunting the buffalo, could no longer provide enough food for their families. Although the United States government had promised to supply the Native Americans with food, the corruption of the Bureau of Indian Affairs meant that many Native Americans did not get enough supplies. Poverty, starvation and despondency were prevalent on the reservations. Reformers of the late 19th century were concerned about the plight of the Native Americans and the unfairness of the many treaties broken by the United States government. These reformers believed that if Native Americans would give up their tribal traditions and adopt the ways of the white man they would prosper. A new federal policy took the tribal lands of the reservation and divided it up into farms for individual Native American families [Dawes Severalty Act, 1887]. However, Native Americans had different ideas of land ownership than whites. They believed that the land belonged to the group, not individuals. This policy violated those beliefs and the traditions of hunting that had sustained Native American culture for centuries. Many of the farms belonging to Native Americans failed (as did many farms in the late 19th century that belonged to whites) and the Native Americans lost their land. In addition, reformers believed that Native American children should learn the ways of the white man. Children were taken away from their families and sent to boarding schools faraway [ex. The Carlisle School in Pennsylvania] where they were taught to behave like white children, had their cut and learned to speak English]. The traditions and values of the Native American culture were not honored in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. Today, as a result of a civil rights movement among Native Americans in the 1960s, their culture is being preserved and their rights honored. However, life on many reservations is still difficult and many Native Americans live in poverty.
At first, many Native Americans welcomed and cooperated with explorers of the West. However, federal policy changed in the post-Civil War period as a result of the transcontinental railroad, the discovery of rich mineral deposits on some reservations and continued movement west of white settlers. The destruction of the buffalo by sharpshooters, hired by the railroad companies, undermined the culture of the Plains Indians. In the second half of the 1800’s, farmers and miners claimed the lands that the Native Americans believed to be theirs. Pushed onto smaller and smaller reservations, some tribes went to war against the settlers and the soldiers who supported them. The Indian Wars were marked by massacres by white soldiers of Native American women and children such as the Sand Creek Massacre [1864]. After silver was discovered in the Black Hills, the Native Americans who lived there were driven out.
Although treaties between the United States government and Native American tribes granted the Native Americans reservations in their tribal lands and recognized tribal land ownership, these treaties were often not honored by the government. When gold was found in the Black Hills on a reservation, the Native Americans [Lakota Sioux under the leadership of Sitting Bull] were forced off the land against their will. The Battle of Little Bighorn, or “Custer’s Last Stand,” [1876] between the Native Americans and the United States army created public support for a much larger military force that crushed Native American resistance in the area.. A Native American tribe in Oregon [Nez Perce led by Chief Joseph, 1877] fled to Canada rather than be moved off of their traditional lands to Idaho in order to make way for white settlers. However, they were surrounded by the United States army. When they were promised to be allowed to return to Oregon, they surrendered. This promise was not kept and the tribe was taken to a reservation in Oklahoma. Plains Indians of the southwest also attempted to resist [Apaches led by Geronimo] but their leader was eventually captured and returned to a reservation. Soon resistance by other Native American tribes was also broken. Some Native Americans escaped the reservation and attempted to restore their old way of life but they were surrounded by the army at Wounded Knee, South Dakota [1890]. United States soldiers massacred approximately 300 men, women and children as they attempted to give up their weapons. Native American resistance to the reservation policy was over.
Life on the reservation was not easy. Native Americans were forced from their tribal homelands to much less desirable lands to which their culture was not adapted. Plains Indians, whose culture centered on hunting the buffalo, could no longer provide enough food for their families. Although the United States government had promised to supply the Native Americans with food, the corruption of the Bureau of Indian Affairs meant that many Native Americans did not get enough supplies. Poverty, starvation and despondency were prevalent on the reservations. Reformers of the late 19th century were concerned about the plight of the Native Americans and the unfairness of the many treaties broken by the United States government. These reformers believed that if Native Americans would give up their tribal traditions and adopt the ways of the white man they would prosper. A new federal policy took the tribal lands of the reservation and divided it up into farms for individual Native American families [Dawes Severalty Act, 1887]. However, Native Americans had different ideas of land ownership than whites. They believed that the land belonged to the group, not individuals. This policy violated those beliefs and the traditions of hunting that had sustained Native American culture for centuries. Many of the farms belonging to Native Americans failed (as did many farms in the late 19th century that belonged to whites) and the Native Americans lost their land. In addition, reformers believed that Native American children should learn the ways of the white man. Children were taken away from their families and sent to boarding schools faraway [ex. The Carlisle School in Pennsylvania] where they were taught to behave like white children, had their cut and learned to speak English]. The traditions and values of the Native American culture were not honored in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. Today, as a result of a civil rights movement among Native Americans in the 1960s, their culture is being preserved and their rights honored. However, life on many reservations is still difficult and many Native Americans live in poverty.