The first Fort Laramie Treaty, 1851 Flashcards
Why were there tensions between the white Americans and Plains Indians over the buffalo before 1851?
The white settlers hunted buffalo but made them stampede/change their traditional migration routes, which disrupted the traditional hunting patterns of the Plains Indians
Why were there tensions between the Plains Indians and white Americans over resources?
The oxen and mules pulling wagons for the white settlers ate the grass that the buffalo and Plains Indian horses would eat
Why were the white Americans afraid of the Plains Indians when migrating?
They saw the Plains tribes fight each other and assumed that the Plains Indians were just as likely to attack them
What issues were faced by the US government and Plains Indians when it came to choosing representatives to negotiate the Fort Laramie Treaty?
The government wanted each tribe to name a chief who would represent the whole tribe, but Plains Indian society did not work this way
Why were the Plains Indians against government negotiators pinning down precise boundaries for each tribe’s lands?
Plains Indian bands travelled far and wide to find food, and enemy tribes often used the same areas of land
Why did many Plains Indians not understand the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty?
It was written in English - there were not enough translators to make sure that the representatives of all the different tribes understood it
What were FOUR things the Plains Indians agreed to as part of the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty?
1) They would stay in their territories
2) They would end warfare between tribes
3) They would allow settlers to travel through their lands
4) They would accept US army troops and forts in their lands
What were TWO things the US government agreed to as part of the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty?
1) They would protect Plains Indians from settlers
2) They would pay Plains Indian tribes an annuity of $50,000 so long as they kept to the terms of the Treaty
What impact did the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty have on fighting on the Plains?
Not a big one - Plains Indian tribes continued to fight each other
What were three consequences of the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty?
1) Areas of territory were a first step in the direction of reservations for Plains Indian tribes
2) Encouraged migration and settlement by white Americans
3) Loss of Plains Indian independence - greater dependence on the US government
