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- Federal Government Policies Against Native Americans
- Because our people are eager for your land, we are going to move you guys into new homes!
- We can finally satisfy our people with such desirable land.
- Decimation of the Buffalo
- Why are they destroying our food supply and materials? They are just destroying us innocent people from living peaceful lives!
- Indian Wars: Sand Creek and Little Bighorn
- It's okay guys. Remember we mean no harm and are under protection by the governor's new regulation. There's no way they're going to kill us.
- I think they're going to kill us... OH NO!
- I hope that one day a group of us Native Americans can finally attack back against the whites and kill them all.. and take them by surprise that 'd be nice. You know what I think it will happen... I'm going to guess it will happen in southern Montana
- Although the traditional policy of the government was to regard the tribes as independent nations and negotiate treaties with them (ratified by the Senate), agreements with tribes seldom survived the pressure from white settlers. One new policy enacted was the 1851 "concentration policy". This made each tribe assigned to its own reservation and ultimately just benefitted white settlers. This was confirmed by treaties, which were often negotiated with unauthorized "representatives." Another policy, the establishment of the Indian Peace Commission, replaced the former concentration policy with a plan to move all Plain Indians into two large reservations. This all negatively affected the Indian's way of life.
- Indian Hunting and "Ghost Dance"
- Wow he's really ignoring me. And what the heck is that dance?
- So...no hard feelings but I got to kill you. I'll get my money and everything will be cool. This is a sport after all so its okay.
- Another detrimental action that took place against Native American culture was the slaughtering of buffalo herds. Buffalo had supported the Native American's way of life, and in the 1850s, whites had been killing them at a rapid rate to provide food and supplies for migrants. Buffalo hides became national phenomenons, and killing buffalo proved to clear railroad traffic. There were also reductions in buffalo numbers due to the disappearance of open plains. This in short contributed to the Indian's inability to stop the white advancement in ridding of Native American culture.
- Wounded Knee
- With the Sand Creek Massacre, white forces called upon a large militia to counteract Indian revolt. With this, the governor of Colorado called to all friendly Indians to station themselves at outposts for protection. A band of Native Americans with Black Kettle camped near Fort Lyon on Sand Creek in November 1864 and believed they were under official protection since they weren't hostile. However, Colonel Chivington led a volunteer militia to the unsuspecting camp and massacred 133 people. With Little Bighorn in 1876, General George Custer led the Seventh Cavalry to round up a group of Indians that left their reservation. However, the tribal warriors had surprised Custer and his 264 man regiment, killing every single man. The chiefs gathered 2500 warriors, one of the largest Indian armies ever assembled. However, the Indians lacked the political organization and the supplies to sustain a united army.
- Dawes Act
- So basically we are willing to help out your people. We'll accept you into our world with open arms. BUT... you need to give up all of your land and assimilate to white culture. That's it... pretty simple and fair.
- With Indian Hunting, unofficial violence was engaged by white vigilantes. Tracking down and killing Natives even became some sort of sport. Those who didn't engage in the killing offered rewards to those who did. As sometimes the killing was in response to Native American raids on white communities, it was often a service to a basic purpose: the goal of complete "annihilation" of the tribes. This rested on the belief that whites couldn't coexist with these savage-like Indians. For the "Ghost Dance," there had been a spiritual awakening that spread to the plains revolving around revival. It also spurred this mass and emotional ritual that inspired ecstatic visions. Among some visions were images of white from the plains and the restoration of the great buffalo herds.
- This will all be resolved soon. White people will leave us alone and the buffalo will come back... wow this dance really helps me deal with my emotions
- On December 29, 1890, the Seventh Cavalry (which had once been one of General George Custer's regiment) tried to round up a group of about 350 cold and starving Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Fighting broke out in which 40 white soldiers and more than 300 Indians, including women and children, had died. What precipitated the conflict is a matter of dispute. But the battle soon turned into a one-sided massacre, as the white soldiers turned their revolving cannons on the Indians and mowed them all down in the snow.
- This is your fault for resisting. This is what happens when you test us. Now 300 of your people have died for such a useless cause.
- As a new policy was on the rise, supporters believed it to be good for the Native Americans, whom they considered a "vanishing race" in need of rescue by white society. This new policy was designed to force Indians to become landowners and farmers, to abandon their collective society and culture, and become part of white civilization. The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 (usually known as simply the Dawes Act) provided for the gradual elimination of tribal ownership of land and the allotment of tracts to individual owners: 160 acres to the head of the family, 80 acres to a single adult or orphan, and 40 acres to each independent child. The act applied to most of the western tribes. This led to the stoppage of Indian religious practices and the spread of Christianity.
- How is this fair? You can't just destroy our culture and way of life.
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