American West Flashcards
What were the consequences of European settler arriving in America?
Conflict between tribes-some tribes developed connections with white settlers. This made some tribes more powerful than others as some had acquired guns from the white settlers.
What did the tribes call themselves?
Nations.
What were the Sioux religions and beliefs?
Main god was Tanka-known as the great spirit. Held powwows (ceremonies that happen at the same time each year)
How many horses did the Sioux gain from the Spanish?
1500
Who were the Sioux enemies?
Crow and Pawnee tribes
How many Pawnee were massacred by the Sioux in 1873?
200
Who were the Sioux allies?
Cheyenne tribe
What does a nomandic lifestyle mean?
Move around-never settle in one place
Why were the Indians so suited to life on the Plains?
They hunted buffalo and used every single part of the buffalo for their daily resources
Why was hunting buffalo dangerous?
They were very fast and powerful and difficult to kill
Name some techniques that the Plains Indians used to hunt buffalo
Disguise as a buffalo, marked arrows so that they knew who had killed the buffalo
How did horse riding make the Indians suited to life on the Plains?
Enabled them to catch and track buffalo more efficiently
How did tipis make the Indians suited to life on the Plains?
Easily constructed and taken back down to fit their nomadic lifestyle. Make from easily accessible supplies
How did respect for the land and animals make the Indians suited to life on the Plains?
Tribes believed that if they respected the land, it would not cause conflict
How did lodges in the winter make the Indians suited to life on the Plains?
Lodges sheltered them from things such as frostbite. This decreased the death rate
How did the use of travois (sledges) make the Indians suited to life on the Plains?
Made them equipped-they could be loaded with all kinds of survival supplies and resources
What was practice of exposure?
Leaving the elderly behind to die to decrease the death toll in the event of an attack.
How did practice of exposure make the Indians suited to life on the Plains?
Helped to decrease the death toll because all their strongest warriors would be at hand to fight. Also, no one would have to stay behind to protect the elderly simply because there was none.
How did attitudes towards the Indians affect their treatment?
Because they weren’t making a difference to the land around them by agriculture, white settlers believed that the Plains Indians had no right to own the land.
What were the 2 ideas that the government had to try and deal with the ‘problem’ that the Indians were causing?
1 keep the settlers and Indians apart
2 ‘encourage’ the Indians to become more like the white settlers
What does the Indian Removal Act do?
Forces the Indians into one area of America to separate them from white settlers. White Americans couldn’t go on Indian Territory
What does the Indian Trade and Intercourse Act do?
Enforces the separation- Indians cannot leave their territory and were limited on what they could buy. The Indians were being treated like 2nd class citizens.
What happens when the US win the Mexican War?
The US have to go back on their promise that they would keep off Indian Territory because they had far more land.
What did the Indian Appropriations Act do?
The government were trying to make the Indians more like themselves (white Americans)
