Native Americans - Dawes Act and Wounded Knee Flashcards
What was the impact of the Ghost Dance?
Rise of Ghost Dance, a spiritual movement which promoted the ritual dance, arguing Indians were cast to reservations for abandoning their traditional customs. Leaders promised return of buffalo and end of white man. General Nelson Miles arrived with 5000 troops of the Seventh Cavalry ordering arrest of Sioux leaders, alarmed by dance and threat of attack.
Who was killed on December 15 1890, and what happened on December 28, Wounded Knee?
Dec 15 1890 – Indian police tried to arrest Chief Sitting Bull – killed.
December 28 – Chief Big Foot leading 350 to Chief Red Cloud near Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, found and arrested.
What were main events of Wounded Knee in 1890?
December 29 – Hotchkiss guns used to gun down Natives, with 150 killed and 25 Americans. Dead carried to nearby Episcopal Church with wreaths laid, frozen bodies dumped in pit. US Army awarded 20 Medals of Honour.
What was impact of reservations?
Alcohol addiction became widespread due to families being split. By 1900 only 100,000 of 240,000 Natives from 1860 in Plains remained but Navajo adapted to farming methods, rising from 8000 in 1868 to 22,000 by 1900.
What did Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 set out to do?
Divided reservations into allotments for family. Gave 160 acres of farmland to Head of family and full citizenship after 25 years. Made Indians citizens as they paid tax, but owning land went against their spiritual beliefs.
What were consequences of Dawes Act to Natives and women?
Land lost to white settlers when Natives couldn’t farm it, provided with large sums falling further into debt. Matriarchal tribes such as Iroquois and Cherokee suffered as women were property owners but act made men in charge.
What happened to Five Civilised Tribes?
Five Civilised Tribes: Cherokee, Chickosaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole, who were forced to settle in Great Plains, were finally added to Act in 1898 Curtis Act. They tried to campaign for their lands to become the state of Sequoya but lost 2 million acres as federal government combined territory into state of Oklahoma. Cherokees challenged Congress in Cherokee Nation v Hitchcock case of 1902 and in 1903 Lone Wolf v Hitchcock, government revoked treaties with Natives.
How much land did Natives lose?
By 1900, of 150 million acres recognised in 1887, 78 million remained.
