The American West (up to page 5) Flashcards
Give 2 examples of famous Native American war chiefs
Red Cloud and Sitting Bull
What did Plains Indians believe everything contained?
Wakan Tanka - The Great Spirit
When would raids take place?
If a tribe needed supplies
Who could go on raids?
Selected Brothers - a group of men who shared a special bind and always fought together
What was ‘Counting Coup’
Where a warrior tapped his enemy with a stick and escaped without killing him. This gained the warrior a lot of respect
What did Plains Indians do if forced to kill someone?
They scalped their enemy to stop him going to the Happy Hunting Ground (afterlife)
Who was the medicine man?
Second only to the chief
In charge of weddings, funerals, love spells, protection spells, predicting the future etc.
Told ancient legends
Believed to have strong, magical powers
What were the bones of the buffalo used for?
Knives, arrowheads, shovels, game dice
What was the rawhide of the buffalo used for?
Containers, shields, medicine bags, drums, bullet pouches
What was the tanned hide of the buffalo used for?
Shirts, dresses, quivers, tipi covers, dolls
Where did the Plains Indians feel closest to Wakan Tanka?
The Black Hills of Dakota
What shape did the Plains Indians believe life worked in?
A circle
What were the Plains Indians beliefs on barriers?
All land was a gift from Wakan Tanka
People and animals should be free to roam as they please
They didn’t believe in barriers, fences, or limitations on travel
Why did white Americans think it was wrong that the Plains Indians had so much land?
Plains Indians did ‘nothing to improve the land’, they didn’t farm, harvest the wood etc.
When was the Indian Removal Act signed, and who by?
1830
President Jackson
How many Plains Indians were pressured to move because of the Indian Removal Act, and where did they have to move?
46,000
West of the Mississippi River
What was the Permanent Indian Frontier?
The border of the Mississippi River was under constant guard by the US army to keep Plains Indians and white settlers apart
When were white people prohibited from settling on American Indian land?
1834
When was the Indian Appropriations Act signed?
1851
How did the Indian Appropriations Act affect the Plains Indians?
The government paid to move Plains Indians onto reservations
Some reservations were allocated small hunting grounds
What did the Indian Appropriations Act mean for white people moving west?
They could move more easily across the plains
What is a migrant?
Someone who moves from one place to another
What is a push factor?
Something pushing someone out of where they currently live
What is a pull factor?
Something attracting someone to want to move there
