Native Americans - progress and development Flashcards
What is the unity of Native Americans?
At the start of the 1800s, there were around 86 independent tribes across the USA.
Sometimes some tribes cooperated with the government, while others remained hostile.
On some occasions, some tribes aided the government against other tribes.
It was only near the end of the period did some tribes have real unity.
What were the Native Americans aims?
Most of them wanted to continue to live under their tribal customs and laws, their leaders, right to self-determination or independence and their own lands.
What were the US government aims?
They wanted to assimilate the Native Americans into their society, by destroying tribal culture and customs.
Therefore there was an inevitable clash between the two.
What was the lifestyle of Native Americans?
Worshipped nature, had their own languages, were nomadic, had their own culture and ceremonies, had their own tribal laws and governments.
But by 1865 most of this was threatened.
What does nomadic mean?
The Plains Indians did not have permanent settlements as they followed the buffalo herds.
They lived in tepees that could be taken down quickly to follow the buffalo, on which their existence depended.
What is Manifest Destiny?
A belief that is was Americans’ God-given right to settle the rest of the continent.
Governments believed in this, and so encouraged settlers to move west, as well as to open up the continent for the growing population.
Tribes were moved onto the Great Plains.
What is Westward expansion?
New settlers displaced tribes already in areas where gold and minerals were discovered.
Many of these tribes were fishers and if they stayed were deprived of their fishing rights, but if they left they could not continue their practice and died out.
How did Westward expansion affect Native Americans?
It affected their ability to follow buffalo.
Although the government promised to ensure the Indians were fed, they were not often kept, especially during the civil war.
This led to Native Americans rising up, driven by hunger, causing the Plains Wars.
What were the Plains Wars?
A number of clashes from 1862 to 1868.
Included 1862 Little Crow’s war against the Sioux, 1863 Cheyenne uprising against the Sioux, and the 1868 Winter Campaign against the Cheyenne.
How did the civil war affect Native Americans?
The government withdrew troops from the plains.
The troops who replaced them were poorly disciplined volunteers who didn’t trade with the indians, and resulted in violence.
Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 with 100 dead and the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890, where over 300 of all ages were killled.
What is the Homestead Act 1862?
The government wanted to control the land in the west and created federal territories.
It gave farmers a 160 acre plot free, if they agreed to farm it for 5 years.
This encouraged more movement to the west - with 20,000 on the Plains by 1865, which had serious consequences for indians.
What other acts did the government use to encourage settlers to the Plains?
Timber and Culture Act 1873 - a further 160 acres given if they planted trees on half of it.
Desert Land Act 1877 gave up to 640 acres of arid land if they agreed to irrigate and cultivate it.
What treaties did Native Americans give up land by?
Fort Laramie 1851 - US government said large areas of land belong to Native Americans for all time.
Fort Wise 1861- tribal lands of Cheyenne and Araphao declined to less than 4 million acres.
Medicine Lodge 1867 - replaced the idea of a continuous Great Plains reservation to a clearly bounded reservation in Oklohoma.
Fort Laramie 1868 - US recognised the Black Hills as for exclusive use by the Sioux people.
What was the development of railways?
Some of the lines crossed the plains, and the railways encouraged settlers to live on the land.
The lines also disrupted the buffalo and brought many white people to hunt them.
Buffalo numbers fell further and this further negatively impacted the Native Americans.
What is the overall impact of westward expansion?
Native Americans handed over most of their land to white farmers.
It was hard for them to follow and hunt buffalo herds.
Promises of support didn’t always materialise.
Much of the population declined through starvation, while the remaining lived in poverty.
What is the aim of assimilation?
This aim remained constant throughout the period, and the government had to destroy tribal lifestyle.
This was achieved by education, conversion to christianity, conversion to farmers, and government reservations.
How did reservations allow the government to destroy tribal life?
It prevented Native Americans from moving freely and pursuing remaining buffalo.
Polygamy had to be abandoned, braves (warriors) could no longer show their skills, herbal remedies were forbidden, tribal laws were abolished, communal living was abolished, the power of the tribal chief ended.
What was education for Native Americans?
Parents were forced to send their children to school, where the children were forbidden from speaking their own language and forced to renounce their traditional beliefs.
