The Plains Indians
When American settlers traveled West, they discovered that the land they firmly believed should belong them was already inhabited. Native Americans, such as the Plains Indians, had lived in the West for centuries and they literally lived off the land. The Plains Indians lived on the area known as the Great Plains and depended on the horse for transportation and the buffalo for food, shelter, and tools. Below is a picture of their teepees- the makeshift-tents that served as their homes on the Plains. Under that is a list of the different tribes that were part of the Plains Indians group and where they lived.
The TribesApache & Comanche
Cheyenne & Arapaho Pawnee Sioux |
The LocationTexas/Oklahoma
Central Plains Nebraska Northern Plains |
Conflicts Arise
In the mid-1800s, American settlers began moving west towards the Great Plains. In order to insure the safety of these citizens, the U.S. government signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie and Fort Atkinson with the Native American nations who lived on the northern area of the Great Plains. This treaty acknowledged the fact that most of the Great Plains belonged to the Plains Indians and allowed American settlers to build forts and roads on Native American territory. The U.S. promised to pay off any damages to the Plain Indians' land. However, this treaty did not last long. When gold was discovered in Colorado, the U.S. government sent the Plains Indians to reservations , or areas of federal land set aside for Native Americans. The government required them to stay on the reservations, which buffalo hunting impossible and therefore destroyed their way of life. A Sioux named Crazy Horse led an ambush on American soldiers on forts along the Bozeman Trail.
The War With the Sioux
In the Treaty of Medicine Lodge , the U.S. government asked southern Plains Indians to move off their land and into reservations and most did. However, some Native Americans didn't want to leave and violence broke out. But after the U.S. government withheld food, they surrendered. Then, George Armstrong Custer, a veteran of the Civil War, discovered gold in the Black Hills, which was located on a Sioux reservation. So, the U.S. wanted the Sioux to leave the reservation, but Sitting Bull, a Sioux leader, refused. After that, Custer attacked without backup and his forces were annihilated at the Battle of the Little Bighorn , also known as Custer's Last Stand. The Battle of the Little Bighorn was the worst defeat the U.S. had suffered in the West and the Sioux's last major victory. After this battle, Sitting Bull fled to Canada, but eventually came back and was killed by the government. The last major event of the war with the Sioux was the Massacre at Wounded Knee ,where the U.S found a camp of Sioux near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota and killed 150 Indians.
Southwest Indians and their Conflicts
Native Americans also inhabited the Southwest region of the West. These tribes included the Apache, the Comanche, and the Nez Perce. The Apache were raiders who were known to live in the desert. So, the U.S. tried to send these Native Americans to a reservation, however under the influence of Geronimo , a warrior leader, some of them fought to live on their homelands. Unfortunately, they lost and were sent to a reservation in Oklahoma. The Nez Perce were also forced off their land. However, unlike the Apache, who were quite warlike, they were a peaceful people. When a group of angry Nez Perce killed federal soldiers, the tribe was forced to run away. However, they were eventually found and their leader Chief Joseph surrendered. The woman in the picture on the left was named Sarah Winnemucca. She was an activist who peacefully fought for the rights of Native Americans. She eventually pleaded her case in Washington D.C. before Congress and reportedly brought tears to many people's eyes. After this encounter, Congress tried to help American Indians. They believed that Native Americans would be better off if they adopted the ways of white people. As a result, they passed the Dawes General Allotment Act in 1887, which granted American Indians citizenship and divided the reservations into private land. However, this did not help Native Americans, but instead made their problem worse.