“HOW THE WEST WAS WON”Plains Indians

PLAINS INDIANSPlains stretched from Central Canada to Southern Texas

Native Tribes relied on horses and buffalo to survive

1850 around 75,000 Native Americans lived on the Plains

Treaty of Fort Laramie: first major treaty between U.S.

government and the Plains Indians• Allowed tribes to keep land• U.S. could travel, build forts and roads through Indian land• U.S. would pay for any damages• Lasted about 7 years, or until gold was discovered in Colorado

CONFLICT

Reservations did not offer proper buffalo hunts

Miners and pioneers demanded protection from US

Army while travelling through Indian territory

Many different tribes went to war with U.S. • Sioux – Dakota’s and Wyoming• Comanche – Texas and Oklahoma• Cheyenne – Montana• Utes – Utah and Colorado

THE GHOST DANCE

Religious movement that predicted the fall of the white

empire and a Native American paradise

Led by a Paiute Indian named Wovoka

Caused cultural misunderstanding between Indians and

whites

N.A. wore brightly colored shirts with images of eagles

and buffaloes. These "Ghost Shirts" they believed would

protect them from the bluecoats' bullets.

BAT TLE OF THE LIT TLE BIGHORN

-George Custer discovered gold in Black hills of South Dakota

-Sioux leaders including Sitting Bull refused to give up land

-June 25, 1876 Custer lead 264 troops to attack Sioux camp- Entire command killed, including Custer- Worst Army defeat in West- Last major Sioux victory

MASSACRE AT WOUNDED KNEE

December 29, 1890

Sioux nation was all but defeated• Forced to live on reservations, no buffalo, lifestyle completely

altered

Sioux, led by Chief Big Foot headed to Pine Ridge

Reservation for winter camp, intercepted by Army

Early in morning during a powwow a shot was fired, in the

ensuing chaos the massacre was on

300+ Sioux dead including Big Foot only 25 soldiers

WARS END

Battles raged in all parts of the west• Navajo fought in Southwest – Arizona and New Mexico

• Long Walk – 300 mile march of Navajo captives through desert to a reservation in New Mexico

• Nez Perce in Oregon before removed to Oklahoma

Ended in late 1880’s with Geronimo surrendering and ending

Apache resistance