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Trail of tears
The Trail of tears is when the Federal Government forced the native Americans to move out of the south-east, and move toward the West toward specific "Indian Territories". The reason this was possible is because of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. SIGNIFICANCE: This is one of the first times when the Federal Government forced the Natives out of their area which started the natives to think negatively of the Americans. -
Mexican Cession
The Mexican Cession is a large piece of land American obtained after the Mexian-American war. President Polk wanted to obtain this land to fulfill his promise of making the Manifest Destiny theory a reality. This land is what is known now as California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, part of New Mexico and part of Colorado. SIGNIFICANCE: This was another way for Americans to take over Native land, and soon after this land was obtained many people migrated over to take over land. -
Reservation Policy 1851
President Andrew Jackson believed that the land out West would stay "Indian Territory" permanently. So In 1851, the Federal Government assigned certain territorial boundries for specific tribes, so they could have their territory and the U.S. could have theirs. The Natives did not like this idea because it restricted their ways of being nomadic. SIGNIFICANCE: This was on of the first laws that was passed that restricted were a Native could live/hunt. Which increased anger between the two groups. -
Comstock Lode
Comstock lode was one of the biggest silver and gold mining discoveries in American History. Located in Nevada, this mining area produced 340 million dollars in gold and silver, which is the reason Nevada entered the Union in 1864. Once it entered the Union, more whites began to migrate to the region because of mining. SIGNIFICANCE: Natives saw it as invading their land because it was their territory granted by congress. They saw it as whites betraying them. -
Dakota War Part 2
SIGNIFICANCE: This war proved to the Native Americans that the U.S. government could not keep promises which damaged the trust between the two groups -
Dakota War of 1862
The Sioux warriors that lived near Western Minnesota decided to rebell because the Agency traders that are responcible for bringing the Sioux their good food supply had been failing to do so. The chief of the Tribe, Little Crow, was responcible for capturing nearly 300 white citizens, and killing many innocent civilians. On September 23rd, the Sioux lost the final battle at Wood Lake in Minnesota. SIGNIFICANCE: (On next slide) -
Homestead Act
This Act promoted migration to the West, and settlement of the Great Plains by offering 160 acres free to any person or family that agreed to live on the piece of land for five years. SIGNIFICANCE: In the eyes of the Natives, this Act was a way for the whites to prove that they had power over the Natives by taking over their land. The Natives were furious because they believed it was their land given by the gods, and the whites had no right to take it. -
The Rest of the Colorado War (Part 2)
These capturings and killings lasted untill 1865. Also, there was no one leader for these fights, there were many sepperate small groups of warriors. This war never actually ended in fighting, it led directly into the Powder River War. Which was a long battle created because of the Colorado War. SIGNIFICANCE: Just like all of the other Sioux wars and battles, this one was fought over a promise that the American government failed to keep. This war again shows how the whites could not be trusted. -
Colorado War
On (date above) Colorado Militia under the command of Colonel John Chivington attacked the tribes of Cheyenne, Sioux and Arapaho. There was not clear reason as to why the Americans did this. Just before this attack, the U.S. government promised these natives that they would be safe from harm. But, this militia killed 150 natives at these villages. From here, the Natives responded by killing many innocent people, and capturing them as well.. (Next slide) -
Transcontinental Railroad
The first Transcontinental Railroad was the first one that connected the East United States to the West. The Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad where the two railroad companies that connected in 1869 near Iowa. Many of the workers in the Central Pacific Railroad were mainly chinese immigrants. SIGNIFICANCE: The railraod took over more territory from the Natives and the Trains also killed Buffalo and Bison which were the Natives main food supply. -
Sand Creek Massacre Part 2
However, the Americans did not follow any treaties that were created by the government. So they would still invade territories and kill Natives. This shows that even if the Federal Government tries to help the Natives, their alligence is with the United States citizen, which angered the Natives because it showed that even the people in power can not help them. -
Sand Creek Massacre Part 1
Once people started to settle on Indian territory for mining, battles broke out. Near Sand Creek in Colorado, Captain William Fethermen of the Colorado Militia killed women, children and men of the Black Kettle, White Antelope, and Left Hand tribes. But idians from the Cheyenne tribe responded and kill some of Fethermen's men. SIGNIFICANCE: The government attempted to make numerous treaties to protect natives in their own territory,....(go to next slide) -
Joseph G. McCoy
Joseph G. McCoy built a stockyard to ship cattle to the North East from Abilene Kansas. The reason he wanted to ship and sell them to the North-East is because cattle supplies in the North were worth approximately 35 dollars more than they were in the West because they were more rare in the North. SIGNIFICANCE: This took cattle from the Idians and gave more reasons for the Indians to hate the white man. -
Chisholm Trail
5 million cattle were in Texas in the 1860's, they migrated, and grew in numbers while going up the Chisholm Trail all the way to Kansas. From the migration of the cattle, markets began rising up which made more whites move to the west to farm and sell cattle. SIGNIFICANCE: Having the white men migrate more to the west, destroyed the Natives cattle resource, which damaged the white and indian relationship further. -
Barbed Wire (Invention)
Barbed wire, that was used for fences, was invented in 1874 by Joseph Glidden because of the low lumber supply in the West. -
The Battle of Little Big Horn
On June 25th, lieutenant Colonel George Custer commanded that his army of seven hundred men attack a reservation of the Sioux with seven thousand natives. With in hours the Sioux killed all of Custer's men. SIGNIFICANCE: This shows that the natives will not go down with out a fight, but, Custer only had a small supply of men compared to the natives, and then still lasting as long as they did, shows how powerful the whites are, and that they will win the war. -
Nez Perce War Part 2
The Significance of this war is to show how the power of the Whites exceeded the power of the Natives by both political power and physical power. And to also show how the Natives were taking over so much land that this specific native group was even forced to leave the country, showing that there was very little room left for any Native American group. -
Nez Perce War
Nez Perce is a seperate Native American tribe that was called Perce because they had piercings in parts of their faces. The Nez Perce War was a series of battles originally fought over the Treaty of 1855. This treaty made all of the members of the Nez Perce tribe to relinquish their property and good that they owned. The Nez Perce Native believed this to be unfar and war broke out over the Americans siezing their land. Eventually the Nez Perce lost and were forced to flee to Canada. -
Carlistle School
Carlistle School, founded in 1879 by Richard Henry Pratt, and he was helped by other Humanitarians and Assimilationists to construct this school, and what they should teach. Humanitarians believed in the conversion into christiantiy. Speciffically to segregate Native children from their families, and teach them the ways of the white people. SIGNIFICANCE: This showed the whites superiority over the Native Americans by splitting up their families. -
Century of Dishonor
This was a book written by Helen Maria Hunt Jackson to emphasize how Congress passed bills, treaties, and acts that we as American people should be ashamed of, that is why she named the book Century of Dishonor. SIGNIFICANCE: This book is the reason that reform groups such as Women's National Indian Association, the Indian Rights Association, and the Lake Mo-honk Conference of the Friends of the Indians were formed. -
Dawes Act
This Act divided lands for tribes into 160 acres of land, depending on the size of the family. Citizenship would be granted to anyone who stays on the land for 25 years and adopts the habits of white citizen. SIGNIFICANCE: This Act killed Natives literally and figuratively. The land that was given to them was very poor, and couldn't grow a lot of food. So many died of starvation. Also it killed any hopes of owning their own land again. -
Ghost Dance Movement
A Paiute idian named Wovoka was the founder of the Ghost Dance. Which was a religious belief that after a four day long dance and the constant belief in the old ways of the Natives, the whites would either leave, and or the Indians would gain superiority over the whites. Also, it was believed that the white mans bullets would not harm any idians as long as they believed in this movement. SIGNIFICANCE: It gave idians hope, and they believed it weakened the whites power over them. -
Battle of Wounded Knee
Led by Colonel James Forsyth. Their mission was to arrest Big Foot (Idian cheif) and dis-arm any man with a gun. After the killing of Sitting Bull, out of the fear that an uprising was coming because of the Ghost Dance movement, Colonel Forsyth killed three hundred native men, women and children. It was a massacre. SIGNIFICANCE: This ended all native resistance against the United States, and it destroyed any hope of a friendship because the Natives witnessed how heartless the whites were. -
Barbed Wire AND Natives
By 1890, many white families had barbed wire fences because of the little lumber supply. By the 1890's nearly 90% of the cattle in the West were killed. Having barbed wire fences in nearly every farm, and having cattle trapped with in the fences, contributed greatly to the decrease in cattle. SIGNIFICANCE: This was against the indian culture of letting animals roam free, and how they believed to allow no animals to be held captive. This shows how the whites were controling native culture. -
End Of Buffalo Herds
By the beggining of the 20th century, the buffalo were nearly extinct in America. There was multiple reasons as to why the buffalo died off. The new Transcontinental Railroads had plows in the front of them to move animals and debris out of the way. Also, the railroad companies hired people specifically to sit near the doors of the trains and shoot the animals. One last factor was the barbed wire fences everywhere in the west, killed much of the cattle and the buffalo. -
End of Buffalo Herd Part 2
The significance of the end of the buffalo herds by the 1900's is that this was the last valuable resource for the Native Americans, with the white people being the reason they are nearly extinct, it destroyed any hope to healing the relationship between the two groups.