treaties, conflict and reservations: us policy towards indians in the late 1800s
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Treaties, Conflict and Reservations: US Policy Towards Indians in the late 1800s. US History: Spiconardi . Government Policy. The government had treated Indians as a foreign nation By the 1870s, the government began to treat Indians as they did African-Americans & immigrants - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
TREATIES, CONFLICT AND RESERVATIONS: US POLICY TOWARDS
INDIANS IN THE LATE 1800SUS History: Spiconardi
Government Policy The government had treated Indians as a
foreign nation By the 1870s, the government began to
treat Indians as they did African-Americans & immigrants Wanted to Americanize and “civilize” through
education
Government Policy Reservations
American believed the best way to civilize the Indian was by forcing him on a reservation Reservation land set aside by the federal
government for Indians to live on Government promised to protect from white
encroachment Government agreed to provide food, clothing,
and other necessities.
Conflicts: The Indian Wars The Sioux Wars1865 Federal government decides to build a road through
Sioux territory. Sioux warriors resist violently, sparking Red Cloud’s War.
1867 Red Cloud’s War ends. Sioux agree to live on reservation in Dakota Territory.
1875 Federal government allows miners to search for gold on Sioux reservation. A war ensues. Chief Sitting Bull leads many Sioux off the reservation.
1876 At the Battle of Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull’s warriors destroy Gen. Custer’s army. In response, federal government sends more troops to the region. Most Sioux agree to live on reservations
1890 At the Massacre of Wounded Knee, American soldiers open fire on unarmed Sioux, killing 200.
Little Bighorn
Chief Sitting Bull Gen. George Custer
Little Bighorn
Video
Reforms The Dawes Act
US reversed reservation policy Federal government would grant individual
Indians 160 acres of land and citizenship (after 25 years), if they abandoned tribal ways
An attempt to further assimilate Indians In essence: Give up your culture for land Very few Indians accepted the terms of the
Dawes Act
Reforms
Reforms Schools were set up to teach Indian
children American values Most children returned to reservations
demoralized
Impact Indians who refused to live on
reservations were forced to sell their lands Indian land holdings decreased from
138 million acres in 1887 to 52 million acres in 1930
Indians lost identity Life on reservations
High unemployment High rates of alcoholism High crime and poverty rates