123A: The lives of Native Americans

Question 1

By 1880 where were most Native Americans settled?

Answer 1

Reservations

Question 2

How did the US government try to reduce the problems of Native Americans?

Answer 2

Under Hayes, efforts were made to try and reform the Bureau of Indian Affairs and prevent corruption

Question 3

What did organisations such as the Indian Rights Association support rather than the continuation of the Native American way of life?

Answer 3

They encouraged the idea of ‘Americanisation’ and the end of the tribal culture

Question 4

How would ‘Americanisation’ be achieved?

Answer 4

By getting Native Americans to learn English, become Christians and learn farming

Question 5

What was seen as essential for Americanising the Native Americans?

Answer 5

Education, Congress provided funds for boarding schools to be set up where Native American children could be taught American skills and attitudes away from the influence of their parents

Question 6

By 1899 how many schools were built with how many children?

Answer 6

By 1899 $2.5 million was spent on 148 boarding and 225 day schools with 20,000 children

Question 7

What was the climax of the integrationist policy?

Answer 7

The Dawes General Allotment Act of 1887

Question 8

What did the Dawes Act do?

Answer 8

It broke up reservation land into small units held by individual families

Question 9

How much land could each head of family receive under the Dawes Act?

Answer 9

160 acres of farmland

Question 10

How much could a single man receive under the Dawes Act?

Answer 10

80 acres of farmland

Question 11

What would happen to those Native Americans who accepted the allotments and adopted habits of civilised life?

Answer 11

They would be granted US citizenship after 25 years

Question 12

Why was the Dawes act doomed to fail?

Answer 12

It assumed Native Americans could be turned into farmers at a time of Agricultural depression

Question 13

Why did many Indians fall into poverty?

Answer 13

They had very little understanding of what the Act entailed and most ended up selling their land to Whites as private property was foreign to them

Question 14

After an amendment to the Dawes Act in 1891 what changed?

Answer 14

Native Americans were only rewarded 80 acres of land regardless of status

Question 15

What happened to the conditions on reservations?

Answer 15

They dramatically deteriorated

Question 16

What final tragedy did the Indians face in 1890?

Answer 16

The Battle of Wounded Knee

Question 17

What ceremonial dance spread through the reservations?

Answer 17

The Ghost Dance

Question 18

Which leader was killed after encouraging the Ghost Dance?

Answer 18

Sitting Bull

Question 19

What did the tribes do following Sitting Bull’s death?

Answer 19

Fled the reservations

Question 20

Where did the Seventh Cavalry catch up with a group of Sioux after they had fled?

Answer 20

Wounded knee

Question 21

What happened at Wounded Knee?

Answer 21

A nervous seventh cavalry decided to disarm the Sioux after a ghost dance broke out, misunderstanding the intent of the dance. One deaf Indian refused to hand over his rifle not understanding what was happening, after a struggle the rifle went off. The already nervous cavalry then fired on the Sioux killing them all

Question 22

How many Sioux died at Wounded Knee?

Answer 22

200, many of them women and children (31 soldiers also died)

Question 23

Was the Battle of Wounded Knee an accident?

Answer 23

Yes, neither side wanted to fight. The accident occurred due to mutual distrust, misunderstanding and fear

Question 24

By 1900 how many of the Native Americans remained?

Answer 24

100,000 out of the 240,000 from 1865

Question 25

What were Native Americans left with in 1900?

Answer 25

None of the land they had been given to them by treaties. They lost their land, freedom, pride and self-respect. They were the poorest group of people in the USA