Transcript PowerPoint Presentation - North Buncombe High School

• Central to the Plain’s Indians
way of life was the Buffalo.
• Millions of Buffalo roamed the
Great Plains and provided the
Sioux and other tribes with
food, clothing, shelter and
tools.
• The Buffalo was respected and
even worshipped by the Plains
Indians.
• The disruption of the Buffalo’s
migration patterns and the
ultimate destruction of the
herds was the Indians worst
nightmare.
• The Sioux were a nomadic
people. They lived in
teepee’s and moved to
different locations in
different seasons.
• Following the Buffalo herds
and looking for shelter from
winter storms.
• They tended to live in
extended family units.
• Elders lead the tribe.
Medicine Men and Warriors
both held in high regard.
• There would be only a
few hunts each year.
Indians would never take
more Buffalo than they
needed.
• The introduction of horses
and rifles greatly aided
the Sioux in the hunt.
• The Buffalo were a nuisance to railroads. The herds would destroy track and delay
trains. Many company started hiring men to destroy the Buffalo. Only the hide was
valuable to businesses in the east.
• The U.S. Army dispatched soldiers to the West
to defend settlers and railroads from the threat
of Indian attacks.
• Some of the regiments sent west were made up of African-American soldiers who
were known as “Buffalo Soldiers”.
Battles
Sand Creek Massacre – On November 29, 1864 U.S. troops led by militia Colonel
John Chivington attacked a group of Cheyenne and Arapaho
who were camped at Sand Creek in Colorado. Following his
orders to “kill all, big and little. Nits make lice.” the soldiers
killed 150 Indians. Mostly women and children.
Fetterman Massacre – In December 1866 Crazy Horse ambushed Captain William
Fetterman and his troops as they pursued him on Lodge Trail
Ridge. In the “Battle of the Hundred Slain” Fetterman and all
of his men were killed.
• Sitting Bull was a Sioux medicine man and warrior.
During this period of history he became an
important leader of the Sioux nation as a whole.
• Along with Crazy Horse he would lead his people to
defend their land and their way of life against
increasing numbers of white settlers and U.S.
soldiers.
• Along with leaders of other tribes, like Chief Joseph
of the Nez Perce, Sitting Bull called for the United
States to honor it’s treaties with the tribes that
called for providing basic supplies (food, blankets)
and keeping settlers off of the lands set aside for
the tribes.
• The U.S. broke every treaty it ever made with the
tribes.
• George Armstrong Custer was a Colonel
with the Seventh Cavalry of the U.S.
Army.
• He had served during the Civil War and
had a reputation for flamboyant and
reckless behavior.
• The Seventh Cavalry was tasked with
breaking Sioux resistance in the Dakota’s.
• This meant tracking down and defeating
Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.
• The most famous battle was the Battle of The Little Bighorn, more famously known
as Custer’s Last Stand.
• In June of 1876 Custer and the Seventh Cavalry had tracked a large Sioux war party
led by Sitting Bull into Wyoming. Custer underestimated the strength of his
opponent and led his men into battle against far higher numbers. Custer and all of
his men died in the battle.
Wounded Knee
• On December 28 1890 the Seventh
Cavalry would have their revenge on
Sitting Bull and the Sioux.
• As a result of the growing “Ghost Dance”
movement on the Dakota reservation the
Sioux had been forced onto, U.S. troops
were ordered to end the practice.
• When troops approached Sitting Bull to
arrest him a firefight broke out and he
was killed
• A group of about 350 Sioux were surrounded by the Seventh Cavalry and ordered
to lay down their weapons. A soldier tried to grab the rifle of a deaf Sioux who did
not comply and the gun went off. The soldiers began firing and after the dust had
settled 300 Sioux lay dead or dying. This effectively ended all Indian resistance in
the West.
Dawes Act
Passed in 1887 the Dawes Act was designed to try and “Americanize” Native
Americans. It attempted to do this in the following ways.
• Tribal ownership of land was no longer permitted.
• Indians were offered 160 acres of land (similar to the Homestead Act) and other
lands on the reservations were sold by the U.S. government to white settlers.
The proceeds from these sales was used to provide farming implements for the
Indians.
• Schools were established on reservations to teach children English, history and
math and to Christianize them. All Native American customs and traditions were
strictly forbidden and the children had to dress just like white children.
• Today, reservations remain some of the most poverty stricken locations in the
United States.
• Rates of alcoholism and suicide are higher their than in many other areas.
• The lack of educational opportunities and jobs prevent those economies from
thriving.
• The most successful reservations have allowed casinos to be built to help their
communities prosper. That is why Harrah’s is in Cherokee.