Gilded Age Native Americans (1877-1890)

Question 1

Americanisation

Answer 1

• White Americans did not support the Natives way of life
• Encouraged the idea of ‘Americanisation’, ending the tribal culture
• Aiming to get Natives to learn English, become Christian and learn farming
• Education was also essential to this process
• Congress provided funds to set up boarding schools so Native children could be taught without the influence of their parents
• 1899: $2.5 million spent each year on 148 boarding and 225 day schools for 20,000 children

Question 2

The Dawes Act (1887)

Answer 2

• Named after Senator Henry Dawes of Massachusetts
• It broke up reservation land into small units held by individuals/families
• Each head of family could get 160 acres of farmland
• Single male adult could get 80 acres
• Natives who accepted the allotments and became ‘civilised’ were granted 25 years of US citizenship
• Act assumed Natives could become farmers which would fail due to the agricultural depression
• Most Indians had little understanding of the act, unaware of private property
• Within a very short time most had sold/lost their land to whites, fallen to poverty
• 1891: amendment made to Dawes Act
• Ended policy of awarding 160 acres to heads of families
• In future, Natives to be awarded 80 acres each, regardless of status

Question 3

The Battle of Wounded Knee (1890)

Answer 3

• Final tragedy for Indians
• Sioux in South Dakota rallied to the teachings of Wovoka
• Promised that if they took up a ceremonial dance (Ghost Dance) their land/power would be restored
• Ghost Dance craze spread rapidly, alerting white authorities
• Effort to arrest Sitting Bull led to his death
• December 1890: Seventh Cavalry fired a group of Sioux at Wounded Knee
• 200 Sioux died, many women/children
• 31 soldiers dead
• ‘Battle’ was an accident, neither side really wanted to fight
• Accident born of mutual distrust, misunderstanding