Conflict + Tension Pt 2 (Great Sioux War, Wounded Knee)

Question 1

What was given to the Sioux as part of the Fort Laramie treaty 1868?

Answer 1

given a large reservation in South Dakota and could roam freely in the Black Hills.

Whites were not allowed to settle there or prospect for gold

Question 2

Describe how George Custer was able to find gold in the Black Hills? (with dates)

Answer 2

In 1874, the Northern Pacific railroad was approaching Sioux hunting grounds in Dakota.

US Army commander George Custer led an expedition of the 7th calvary protecting the railroad builders from Plains Indians attacks.

also used his mission to prospect for gold in the Black hills

Question 3

What was the result of George Custer finding gold in the black hills?

Answer 3

thousands of prospectors staked their claims to the land, in a clear breach of the Fort Laramie treaty 1868

Question 4

How much did the US government offer to buy the black hills from the Sioux for?

Answer 4

$6 million, or to pay $400,000 a year for the right to mine minerals there

Sioux refused both offers

Question 5

Why did Sioux and Cheyenne’s warrior leave their reservation?

Answer 5

because they felt betrayed by the US government

Question 6

Who led the Great Sioux war

Answer 6

sitting bull and crazy horse

Question 7

What happened on the 17th June 1876

Answer 7

Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and their people defeated General Crook at the Rosebud River.

Question 8

When was the battle of Little Bighorn?

Answer 8

25th June 1876

Question 9

What happened in the battle of little bighorn?

Answer 9

Custer attacked an Indian camp. They were badly defeated

225 men died and many were stripped, disfigured and scalped

Question 10

How was George Custer reckless in the battle of little bighorn?

Answer 10

instead of waiting for back-up as he only had 600 men, he led 200 of his men into the Little Bighorn valley which meant they were heavily outnumbered and easily defeated

Question 11

consequences of the Battle of the Little Big Horn
IN TERMS OF :
public opinion

Answer 11

-Beforehand, public opinion favoured trying to reach an agreement with the Indians. Afterwards, white people wanted to destroy the Indians, or at least their way of life
-there was enormous pressure on the US government to crush the Plains Indians resistance.

Question 12

consequences of the Battle of the Little Big Horn
IN TERMS OF :
government policy

Answer 12

Government policy was now focused on crushing Plains Indians resistance, resulting in catastrophic impacts on Plains Indians and their way of life :

-Plains Indians must be kept on their reservations
-Previous treaties could be ignored
-Military control of Plains Indians must be maintained

Question 13

How were Plains Indians kept on their reservations?

Answer 13

army divisions pursed the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes relentlessly until most were in their reservations

Question 14

How were Previous treaties ignored

Answer 14

-the government effectively decided that some Indians had forfeited the right to have treaty deals. these Plains Indians should be moved onto smaller reservations in worse conditions than before
-Sioux was forced to sell the black hills, the Powder River Country and the Bighorn mountains or the government would stop sending them food.

Question 15

How was Military control of Plains Indians maintained?

Answer 15

-Sioux’s weapons and horses were taken and they had to live under military rule
-two forts were built and 2500 army reinforcements were sent west

Question 16

What’s the deal with the Ghost Dance?

Answer 16

It was a response to the Indians on reservations who faced a pernicious situation - their rations were cut, crops failed due to a drought in 1890 and they felt despair at their loss of lands and way of life.

This led to spiritual beliefs such as the Ghost Dance, proposed by a Paiute Indian Wovoka, as a way of coping with this hardship which suggested that if Plains Indians rejected white ways, the Great Spirits would bring back all the dead Plains Indians and a great flood would carry the white people away.

The Ghost Dance spread rapidly through the reservation which threatened the US forces - it was thought that Sitting Bull planned to lead the Ghost Dancers into a rebellion and was consequently shot and killed in an attempt to arrest him. This led to his followers fleeing the reservation and joining Big Foot’s band of Indians.

Question 17

Describe the events of the Wounded Knee Massacre, 1890

Answer 17

As the Indians fled, they were held up by the snow and pneumonia so the US army caught up with them. The Indians were taken to Wounded Knee Creek where the US Army started to disarm them. A Sioux warrior resisted being disarmed and others began to dance.

In the general confusion, a shot was fired, leading to the 7th calvary opening fire on the Indians and within ten mins, 250 Indians (men, women and children) were dead and 25 US soldiers had been killed.

Question 18

What were the impacts of the Wounded Knee Massacre?

Answer 18

Public opinion of the Massacre was generally positive as soldiers who took part were praised. This suggests most white Americans thought Plains Indians were naturally too wild and hostile to white settlers and that, if they could not be controlled, they should be killed

Public opinion and the US Army also saw Wounded Knee as revenge for the Battle of the Little Bighorn