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10L1/Hi > American West - Topic 1 (1835-1862) > Flashcards

American West - Topic 1 (1835-1862) Flashcards

1
Q

Who were chiefs?

A

Chiefs were the leaders of Plains Indian society. They were always men.
Each tribe could have many chiefs; a war chief, a spiritual chief and chief who led negotiations with other tribes.
In tribes like the Lakota Sioux, chiefs had no power to command their people. Bands made their own decisions.
Each band might follow one chief and others will choose a different leader.
Famous chiefs included: Red Cloud, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse

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2
Q

What did white settlers find difficult to understand about chiefs? What did this lead to?

A

Each tribe could have many chiefs who led negotiations with other tribes.
White settlers found this difficult to understand and this leads to problems in the relationship between the US government under the Plains Indians.

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3
Q

Name two famous chiefs

A

Famous chiefs included: Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse

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4
Q

How were chiefs chosen?

A

There was no single system for choosing chiefs. Chiefs were valued because of their wisdom, leadership, spiritual powers or for their skill as warriors or hunters.

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5
Q

Each band had a band chief. What was their role?

A

The band chief was chosen to guide the band in finding enough to eat and protect the band from danger

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6
Q

Did chiefs permenantly hold their role?

A

Chiefs were rarely chiefs for life.
They came and went as their skills emerged and faded away.

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7
Q

Who made up the Tribe’s Council?

A

Band chiefs and elders made up the tribe’s council when the tribe came together

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8
Q

Describe how the Tribe’s Council works

A

Band chiefs and elders made up the tribe’s council when the tribe came together.
In some tribes, the council could declare war on another tribe, or negotiate a peace treaty with another tribe.
Everyone could give their opinion in the council and was listened to.
The tribe’s spiritual chief would be consulted on important decisions.
No decision was made until everyone at the council had agreed to it.

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9
Q

In the Tribe’s Council, no decision was made until what?

A

No decision was made until everyone at the council had agreed to it.

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10
Q

How did young men join brotherhoods?

A

There were several different brotherhoods within a tribe and young men joined after proving their bravery and skill in fighting with other tribes.

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11
Q

Name two brotherhoods within the Lakota Sioux

A

Within the Lakota Sioux some of the brotherhoods included:
the White Horse riders, the Strong Hearts, and the Crow Owners.

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12
Q

Why were Warrior Brotherhoods important for all Plains Indian tribes?

A

Warrior brotherhoods were important for all Plains Indian tribes because they trained young men in fighting skills. They also taught young men about the tribes beliefs and values.

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13
Q

Warrior Brotherhoods weren’t under the command of who? What could this mean?

A

Warrior brotherhoods like bands were not under the command of the tribal council in many Plains Indian tribes. This meant that they might not always respect any peace treaties.

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14
Q

Who was invited to join a guard unit for the whole tribe?

A

Leading men from the brotherhoods were invited to join a guard unit for the whole tribe.

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15
Q

What did the tribe’s guard unit do?

A

The guard unit organised the tribes yearly buffalo hunt, made sure old and ill tribe members were fed, and chose where the tribe should gather to make camp

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16
Q

What could women not be?

A

Women could not be chiefs

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17
Q

In Plains Indian society, what could successful men have more than one of?

A

Successful men could have more than one wife

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18
Q

What were women responsible for in Plains Indian society?

A

Women were responsible for feeding and clothing their families; and for their families possessions, processing buffalo hides and meat, turning them into products that could be traded.

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19
Q

How was the role of women in Plains Indian society viewed?

A

The role of women was highly respected and valued

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20
Q

Why were children highly valued by the tribes?

A

Children were highly valued by the tribes because they were the future of the band

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21
Q

Children did not go to school. What did this mean?

A

Children could not read or write

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22
Q

What skills were children taught by their family and tribe members?

A

Children learned skills from family and other tribe members.
They were taught to ride horses at an early age.
Boys were taught how to hunt whereas girls were taught all the domestic skills needed for running a household.

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23
Q

Why did children tend to behave?

A

Children tended to behave as it was seen as shameful to disrespect their elders.

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24
Q

Children were rarely punished by their parents. But in extreme cases of misbehaviour, what was done to the children?

A

In extreme cases of misbehaviour, cold water was thrown on the children.

25
Q

What did the Indians have a strong tradition of? How did this relate to the elderly?

A

The Indians had a strong tradition of respect, and they respected the advice of their elders.

26
Q

What was the role of the elderly?

A

The elderly acted as a link to the past and they preserved the history of the tribe by passing down stories and songs.
They attended council meetings and also helped the women raise the children.

27
Q

When the elderly were ready to die, what would happen?

A

When the elderly were ready to die, they would be left behind by the Indian tribe (exposure)

28
Q

What was exposure?

A

When the elderly were ready to die, they would be left behind by the Indian tribe to die in the open.

29
Q

What was the reason behind exposure?

A

Exposure was done because the elderly person had become a burden to the tribe who had to move from place to place to hunt buffalo for survival.

30
Q

What did some tribes, like the Sioux, believe the earth was powered by?

A

Some tribes, including the Sioux, believed the earth was powered by circles.

31
Q

What did Plains Indians believe about the life of a living creature? How did this inspire the tipi design?

A

The Plains Indians believed in the life of a living creature being circular.
The tipis were build with circular bases to mirror this belief

32
Q

What was the religion of the Plains Indians? What did this mean?

A

The Plains Indian’s religion was animistic. They believed that everything had a living soul.

33
Q

Describe the Plains Indian’s beliefs about land

A

All land was sacred and viewed as their ‘mother’. Certain lands were very sacred, including the Black Hills.
Plains Indians viewed mining and excessive farming as like ‘ripping their mothers breast’.
Plains Indians believed in a great spirit called Wakan Tanka who created the earth.
They also believed each plant, animal and rock had a spirit inside it, so the land should be respected.

34
Q

What did the Plains Indians believe created the earth?

A

Plains Indians believed in a great spirit called Wakan Tanka who created the earth.

35
Q

Why did Plains Indians believe the land should be respected?

A

They were animistic. They believed everything had a living soul.

36
Q

What territories were sometimes shared between tribes?

A

Plains Indians had hunting territories that were sometimes shared between tribes.

37
Q

What did Plains Indians view mining and farming as doing?

A

Plains Indians viewed mining and excessive farming as like ‘ripping their mothers breast’.

38
Q

Describe the Plains Indian’s beliefs about circles

A

Some tribes, including the Sioux, believed the earth was powered by circles. The earth was circular, the wind on the Plains whipped up circular patterns and birds nests’ were even circular.

The Plains Indians also believed in the life of a living creature being circular, for example: birth, childhood, adulthood, old age, and death.

39
Q

What did white settlers believe the main purpose of land was?

A

White settlers believed the main purpose of land was to make money off of it

40
Q

Give one way white settlers used the earth to make money

A

Mining
Farming
Cutting down trees for wood
Hunting animals

41
Q

Why would the Plains Indian’s beliefs about land and the white settler’s cause conflict?

A

The Plains Indians thought the land was sacred and couldn’t be mined or farmed excessively.
Whereas, the white settlers thought the opposite as they viewed the land as a way to get money.

White settlers hunted animals and gathered the earth’s resources, which would clearly cause tension because the Plains Indians would think the white settlers are destroying the sacred, precious land and being disrespectful to the spirit, Wakan Tanka.

42
Q

What was not easy to do on most of the land on the Plains?

A

Over most of the Plains, the land was not easy to farm

43
Q

What did Plains Indians believe about property?

A

The Plains Indians believed that the land could not be bought, sold, or owned by anyone

44
Q

What did white settlers believe about property?

A

White settlers believed that all land was for sale and it needed to be owned by someone, in order to work the land and make it profitable

45
Q

In terms of land, what did white settlers take advantage of?

A

White settlers took advantage of any and all resources available to them

46
Q

What did white settlers often fight over?

A

White settlers often fought over who owned what plot of land

47
Q

Name one thing tribes raided each other for

A

Tribes raided one another for:
Food
Horses
Weapons
People

48
Q

Under what conditions would raids take place?

A

Raids only took place if raiders could succeed and escape quickly if they faced opposition.

49
Q

What was considered brave, in war, by Plains Indians?

A

It was considered braver to ‘count coup’ - to get close to your enemy and touch them without getting hurt yourself. This showed a warriors skill and gained a lot of respect from the tribe.

50
Q

Describe Plains Indians beliefs about war

A

Tribes raided one another for food, horses, weapons and people, but young warriors were important so Plains Indians found other ways to minimise the numbers killed.
Raids only took place if raiders could succeed and escape quickly if they faced opposition. Also, only certain brotherhoods would raid.
Finally, it was considered braver to ‘count coup’ - to get close to your enemy and touch them without getting hurt yourself. This showed a warriors skill and gained a lot of respect from the tribe.

51
Q

What were white settler’s beliefs about soldiers in war?

A

White settlers had been raised to believe that a soldier should never run away, and fight until the end. They were taught to show no mercy and wars could result in high casualties.
To attack and run was cowardly and no way to fight a war. War was about big set battles where armies faced one another down, and didn’t run away.

52
Q

Why would differing beliefs about war cause tension between Plains Indians and white settlers?

A

Indians tried not to kill anything and anyone. Counting coup was seen as impressive as you attacked the enemy without getting hurt but white settlers thought you had to fight until the end as a sight of bravery.
White settlers would view Plains Indians as cowardly, which would cause tension.

53
Q

Around when did Mexicans first find gold?

A

Mexicans first found gold in the 1830s

54
Q

Around when was the most gold found?

A

The most gold was found in the 1850s/1860s

55
Q

What were the beliefs of failure, in the west and east?

A

Failure was acceptable in the west but not in the east.

56
Q

What was an important factor in the success of the gold rush?

A

Luck was important in the success of the gold rush.

57
Q

What state was created as a result of the gold rush?

A

California was created as a result of the gold rush.

58
Q

When was gold discovered in California? By which two people? Describe the impact of this.

A

Early 1848
Gold was discovered in California by Henry Bigler and James Marshall
Thousands of people flocked to California from all walks of life

10L1/Hi (6 decks)

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