Native Americans Key Info – Civil Rights USA, 1865-1992
D1 →Native American Society and White Attitudes
Native American Life (pre 1865)
Home
→each NA family lived lived in a tipi, made from buffalo skins and the responsibility of the women,
who made it owned it, put it up, and moved it
→due to its ability to be packed up and moved quickly, it was an ideal home for people who were
frequently on the move
Family Life
→Indians spent most of the year travelling, hunting and camping with their band (10-50 families)
→men were responsible for hunting, looking after the horses and protecting the band
→women were responsible for the tipi, preparing food and fetching water, and for making clothes
and other items - women were highly valued as the bearers of children
→when married, men went to live with the wife’s family - Indian descent was matrilineal (descent
traced through their mother, grandmother e.t.c, not father)
→most men had one wife but rich men could have several - polygamy was a way of making sure that
all the women were cared for and that the band had as many children as possible
→children were highly valued as the future of the band - did not go to school but learned the skills
they needed from their parents and other relatives
→old people were able to give advice in council and pass on the history of the people
Custom and Tradition
→there was a very strong sense of tradition and custom, if an individual did wrong and broke the
‘rules’ e.g. stealing, then they would be shamed or humiliated in the eyes of the rest of the band
which was usually an effective punishment
Chiefs and Council
→Indian chiefs were not elected or inherited power, but became chiefs for a number of reasons e.g.
wisdom, spiritual power or ‘medicine’, and their skills as hunters and warriors - might not remain a
chief for life
→important decisions were taken in council, where the men of the band would discuss what to do
with the advice of elders and chiefs (although chiefs didnt tell what to do it was just advice)
→normally the council members would keep talking until everyone had agreed
→when bands met together the council of the nation would meet - made up of representatives from
each band
→the council of the nation could take important decisions such as deciding to go to war but the
bands were not bound to agree with these decisions
-The ‘Medicine Man’ would treat the sick with herbs, and people believed he could treat the sick as
he had the power of the spirits - for Plains Indians there was a connection between religion and
every aspect of their lives, and all spirit power was ‘medicine’
,Background (pre-1865)
-In 1834, the Great Plains had been given to all the Indian tribes as their land by the US Government
and the eastern edge of the Plains became a permanent Indian Frontier
-From 1848, more and more white settlers crossed the Indian frontier to go to California to find
gold, and the NAs felt they were being invaded as the travellers shot the buffalo and brought
disease (cholera)
-In 1860, there were around 250,000 Plains Indians
-While some tribes were traditional allies, others were bitter enemies, arising from cultural
differences, old feuds or disputes over hunting grounds → these divisions prevented Plains Indians
from presented a united front
-Although divided, they were dangerous to white settlers due to their nomadic way of life making
them hard to understand, their hunting and riding abilities and how seriously they took war (a
central part of NA life) - Indian youth were taught that war was the noblest of all activities
-As the number of white settlers in Indian lands increased, there was occasional conflicts so the
federal gov tried to reach some accommodation with the tribes
-In 1851 at a meeting near Fort Laramie most Plains’ tribes agreed to accept definite limits to their
hunting grounds and in return were promised gifts and annual payments
-However the gov showed little interest in honouring Indian treaties, and the gold rush into
Colorado in 1859 resulted in thousands of prospectors entering the land guaranteed to the
Cheyenne and Arapaho
-The Bureau of Indian Affairs took charge of NA matters but many agents were corrupt,
systematically chetating the NAs and congress aggravated the situation by its reluctance to grant
funds
Impact of the Civil War
-The civil war resulted in a higher presence of soldiers in the West
-By 1865, there were around 20,000 soldiers in the West (due to Lincoln’s importance of western
gold) and while many easterners had some sympathy for NAs, most western Congressmen favoured
military measures aimed at destroying the Plains Indians
→e.g. The Sioux War in Minnesota 1862 - federal authorities failed to give the Dakota Sioux their
yearly supplies and angered by this, Sioux tribesmen killed or captured up to 1000 white Americans.
Militia units soon defeated the Dakota and over 300 tribesmen were sentenced to death - Lincoln
pardoned the majority but 38 were hanged and the Dakota lost their lands and were exiled to poor
quality land further west
The Sand Creek Massacre 1864
→Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs accepted a treaty banishing them westwards, which some
tribesmen disagreed with so raided the trails and mining camps
→they were promised protection at Fort Lyon on Sand creek but despite this promise, militia forces
led by Colonel John Chivington attacked the camp
, →he ordered to ‘Kill and scalp all, big and little’ - around 450 NAs were cruelly killed including
pregnant women and children
→while many eastern americans appalled at the massacre, most western whites named Chivington
a hero
President Grant (69-77) and his ‘peace policy’
→favoured the reservation policy, hoping to make NAs american citizens
→in 1869, Congress established a new civilian Board of Indian Commissioners, which had the
purpose of supervising conditions on the reservations in order to mould reservation life along the
lines of what the reformers (not the NAs) thought best
→One of Grant’s close friends and advisers, Colonel Ely Parker, a full-blooded Seneca indian was
appointed to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Failure of the peace policy
→the new system proved to be as inefficient as previous ones - continuation of corrupt and
incompetent officials, an ‘Indian Ring’ in the Department of the Interior systematically stole the
funds and supplies intended for the reservations
→many Indians did not receive the welfare they felt entitled to
→In 1871, Colonel Ely Parker was forced to resign on suspicions of corruption
→Given lack of funding, Indian agents found it hard to keep tribesmen on reservations where
wildlife was too sparse to support them
→Army authorities found it hard to keep white settlers off NA territory
→the eight years of Grant’s Peace Policy were years of savage warfare
The Great Sioux War 1876
→In the North, the Fort Laramie Treaty kept the Sioux relatively quiet for several years, but many
opposed the reservation system
→This was due to the poor supplies they received from the USA, the advance of the North Pacific
Railroad, which threatened Sioux hunting grounds, and Colonel Custer’s expedition into the Black
Hills in 1874, where accompanying prospectors finding gold leading thousands of miners into Sioux
lands with the army doing little to keep them out
→This led to a migration of reservation Sioux to the camps of the non-treaty tribes (who were also
angry at their treatment), concentrated in the region of the Bighorn River
→In June, Custer found the Sioux and Cheyenne encampment on the Little Bighorn River where
around 8000 NAs had gathered
→Unaware of these numbers, Custer was determined to attack, fearing they might slip away
→He split his forces and attacked, where 2500 NAs were ready, led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull,
who attacked Custer’s force, killing him and his entire command
→President Grant and the military authorities were determined to avenge the Bighorn massacre -
shortages of food and ammunition soon forced most of the Sioux bands to surrender and return to
