Lesson 7: Hardship for Native Americans

Question 1

Corral Definition

Answer 1

an enclosure for animals

Question 2

Jerky Definition

Answer 2

a type of dried meat

Question 3

Reservation Definition

Answer 3

a limited area of land set aside for Native Americans

Question 4

Tepee Definition

Answer 4

a tent made by stretching buffalo skins on tall poles

Question 5

Travois Definition

Answer 5

a sled pulled by a dog or horse

Question 6

What was the true amount of tension between Americans and Native Americans? (Modification from lesson)

Answer 6

This video downplays the tension and conflict between white settlers looking for gold in Colorado and several Native American tribes that were granted this land according to the Treaty of Fort Laramie. After gold was found in Colorado in 1858, several Native American nations, including the Cheyenne and Arapaho, were forced to negotiate with white settlers to migrate to a much smaller portion of their previously-held land. White settlers saw Native American refusal to sign away their land as hostile and an act of war. Tensions grew, leading to isolated incidents of attacks and destruction of livestock, supplies, and crops. The increasing violence, along with the start of the Civil War, led to one of the worst massacres of Native Americans in our country’s history. The Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 resulted in roughly 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho casualties compared to the less than 10 Colorado white settlers. Horrific acts of violence were committed by the white settlers leading to the destruction and fragmentation of the Cheyenne and Arapaho culture.

Question 7

What were the culture and skill of the Plains Indians? How did different tribes communicate? What were their main source of food?

Answer 7

Plains Indians had rich and varied cultures. They were skilled artists. They also had well-organized religions and warrior societies. Each nation had its own language. People from different nations used sign language to communicate with one another. At one time, most Plains Indians were farmers who lived in semi-permanent villages. From there, they sent out hunting parties that pursued on foot herds of buffalo and other animals. Agriculture, however, was their main source of food.

Question 8

How did horses impact the way of life of the Plains Indians?

Answer 8

During the 1600s, the Plains Indians’ way of life changed as they learned about horses from neighboring tribes. Christopher Columbus had brought horses to the Americas in the late 1400s, and the Spanish brought them to the North American mainland in the 1500s. At first, Native Americans were not allowed to own horses, but they did learn how to care for them and ride them. After the Pueblo Indians revolted against the Spaniards in 1680, the Pueblos were left with thousands of horses. They started trading these horses to neighboring tribes. Eventually, the horses reached the tribes of the northern plains. Plains Indians used horses while hunting. They also used horses when moving their villages and going on raids.

Question 9

How significant were buffaloes to the Plains Indians? What did they use them for? What is a tepee? What is a travois?

Answer 9

The buffalo served as a living grocery store for Plains Indians. After acquiring horses, they followed the huge buffalo herds that had roamed their homeland for centuries. Plains Indians began to live in tepees (TEE peez), or tents made by stretching buffalo skins on tall poles. The tepees could easily be carried on a travois (truh VOI)—a sled pulled by a dog or a horse. The migration of the Plains Indians mirrored the movement of the buffalo. In winter, small groups of buffalo moved to protected valleys and forests. In summer, huge buffalo herds gathered on the Plains where the grass was plentiful. In the same way, Plains Indians spent the winter in small bands and gathered in large groups during the summers.

Question 10

What were the two ways the Plains Indians hunted buffalo?

Answer 10

There were different ways to hunt buffalo. Before horses came to the Plains, a group of hunters would shout and wave colored robes at the buffalo. The hunters would gradually drive a herd of buffalo into a corral, or enclosure. There they killed the trapped buffalo. When the hunt was over, the women and children joined the hunters in cutting up the buffalo and taking it back to camp. Once they had horses, hunters would ride the horses right into the herd and kill the buffalo with bows and arrows.

Question 11

How did buffalo sustain the way of life for Plains Indians?

Answer 11

Although the Plains Indians also hunted deer and elk, they depended on the buffalo for food, clothing, and shelter. Buffalo meat, rich in protein, was a main item of the Plains Indians’ diet. Women cut up and dried the meat on racks. The dried meat was called jerky. Women also tanned buffalo hides to make sleeping robes and tepee covers. They wove buffalo fur into coarse, warm cloth. The cloth was used as an outer covering for a tepee.

Question 12

How were Plains Indians councils and ceremonies like? Where did they take place?

Answer 12

Many Native American groups met on the Plains. They hunted together and attended special events. Summer gatherings were the time for councils. At the councils, the elders were consulted about the problems that affected an entire Plains Indian nation.
The most important religious ceremony was the Sun Dance. Hundreds of people attended the four-day ceremony to thank the Great Spirit for blessings, good hunts, and help in times of trouble. Sun Dancers also asked the Great Spirit for good fortune in the coming year.

Question 13

Remember: Women and men usually had specific roles in Plains Indian society. In some tribes, women helped men with the hunting and governing. A Blackfoot woman, Running Eagle, led many hunting parties herself.

Answer 13

Women and men usually had specific roles in Plains Indian society. In some tribes, women helped men with the hunting and governing. A Blackfoot woman, Running Eagle, led many hunting parties herself.

Question 14

What were the roles of women in Plains Indian society?

Answer 14

Women oversaw life in the home. They gathered food and prepared meals for their families. The women not only made the tepees, but they were also responsible for raising and taking down tepees. Women cared for the children and, along with the men, passed along the traditions of their people. Women also engaged in many crafts. They made the baskets and blankets. Their work often showed great artistic skill and design. In fact, a woman’s ability in crafts helped establish her rank in society.

Question 15

What were the roles of men in the Plains Indian society?

Answer 15

The men of the Plains Indians had important responsibilities, too. They hunted to provide food and other materials they needed. They also protected the women, children, and the elders. They passed on their valuable skills and knowledge to the boys. They supervised the spiritual life of the community by leading religious ceremonies. Another important responsibility of the men was to provide military leadership. They waged war to defend or extend territory, to gain horses and other riches, or to seek revenge. More than anything else, however, men waged war to protect their people and to prove their bravery and ability. The most successful warriors gained great respect from the members of their nation.

Question 16

Remember: Two of the major roles for males in Plains Indian cultures were hunting and waging war.

Answer 16

Two of the major roles for males in Plains Indian cultures were hunting and waging war.

Question 17

What was the conflict between the Plains Indians before the European and American settlers? How about after? Why did settlers and miners enlist the government for help?

Answer 17

Before Europeans and Americans began to settle on the Plains, the Plains Indians often fought with one another over territory or other resources. But as American settlers began to encroach on Plains Indians’ lands, their attention turned toward this new threat. Conflict on the Plains began as early as the 1840s, when settlers and miners began to cross Plains Indian hunting grounds. The settlers and miners asked for government protection from the Native Americans.

Question 18

What did the U.S. government do in response to settler’s and miner’s requests for help? What was the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851? When was the treaty broken? What was the aftermath?

Answer 18

The U.S. government built a string of forts to protect settlers and miners. In 1851, federal government officials met with Plains Indian nations near Fort Laramie in Wyoming. The officials asked each nation to keep to a limited area. In return, they promised money, domestic animals, agricultural tools, and other goods. Officials told the Native Americans that the lands that were reserved for them would be theirs forever. Native American leaders agreed to the terms of the Fort Laramie Treaty. However, in 1858, gold was discovered at Pikes Peak in Colorado. A wave of miners rushed to land that the government had promised to the Cheyenne and Arapaho peoples. Federal officials forced Native American leaders to sign a new treaty giving up the land around Pikes Peak. Some Native Americans refused to accept the agreement. They attacked white settlers.

Question 19

What was the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864?

Answer 19

The settlers struck back. In 1864, Colonel John Chivington led his militia against a Cheyenne village whose leaders had come to a fort asking for protection. When Chivington attacked, the Native Americans raised both a white flag of surrender and the flag of the United States. Chivington had thought the Native Americans were hostile. He either ignored or did not see the flags. He ordered his men to destroy the village and take no prisoners. In what would become known as the Sand Creek Massacre, the militia slaughtered more than 150 men, women, and children.

Question 20

What was the aftermath of the Sand Creek Massacre?

Answer 20

After the massacre, soldiers said they found scalps of whites in the camp, indicating that there had been some hostile Native Americans there. A congressional committee that investigated the massacre condemned Chivington’s actions, but Chivington had already left the army. As a result of the massacre, Plains Indians went to war. They attacked white settlers and U.S. troops. U.S. troops responded by attacking Indians.

Question 21

What was discussed at the Peace Commission in 1867, following many wars on the plains?

Answer 21

In 1867, federal officials established a peace commission to end the wars on the Plains so that settlers would be safe. The commission urged Native Americans to settle down and live as white farmers did. It also urged them to send their children to white schools to learn “American” ways.

Question 22

In 1867, what treaty did southern Plains Indians, like the Kiowas, sign that forced them to relocate to Oklahoma? Why did they sign it? What did the Lakotas and Arapahos agree on in the second Fort Laramie Treaty?

Answer 22

In 1867, the Kiowas, Comanches, and other southern Plains Indians signed a new treaty with the government. They promised to move to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. The soil there was poor. Also, most Plains Indians were hunters, not farmers. The Native Americans did not like the treaty but knew they had no choice. The Lakotas and Arapahos of the northern Plains also signed a second Fort Laramie Treaty in 1868. They agreed to live on reservations in present-day South Dakota. A reservation is a limited area set aside for Native Americans.

Question 23

How did the decrease in the buffalo population affect the Plains Indians?

Answer 23

The Plains Indians suffered from lost battles and broken treaties. Even worse for them, however, was the destruction of the buffalo. The decline of the buffalo began before the arrival of white settlers. Herds of buffalo lived in areas west of the Mississippi and east of the Rockies. However, with disease, drought, and destruction of the areas in which they lived, the herds were slowly growing smaller. As the market demand for buffalo robes increased during the 1830s and 1840s, professional buffalo hunters killed more buffalo. In addition, buffalo hunting became a pleasure sport when railroads cut through the areas in which buffalo lived. Native Americans themselves learned to hunt more efficiently. Some Plains Indian tribes, such as the Pawnees, continued to hunt buffalo even though they recognized that the number of buffalo was decreasing. The buffalo hunt was a part of their culture that they did not want to give up. As the buffalo disappeared, so did the Plains Indians’ way of life.

Question 24

Remember: Settlers and miners continued to move into the West. They wanted more and more land for themselves. Even on reservations, Native Americans were not left in peace.

Answer 24

Settlers and miners continued to move into the West. They wanted more and more land for themselves. Even on reservations, Native Americans were not left in peace.

Question 25

What was the Battle of Little Bighorn, the first of the Sioux Wars of 1876?

Answer 25

In 1874, prospectors found gold in the Black Hills region of the Lakota, or Sioux, reservation. Thousands of miners rushed to the area. In June 1876, Colonel George A. Custer led a column of soldiers into the Little Bighorn Valley. They were sent by the federal government to protect the miners, even though miners were violating the 1868 U.S. treaty with the Lakotas. A group of 600 men under Custer’s command prepared to attack a Lakota hunting party, although the 1868 treaty gave the Lakota the right to hunt in the area. Indian scouts warned Custer that there were many Lakotas and Cheyennes camped ahead. Nearly 2,000 warriors awaited Custer and his men. Custer divided his troops and attacked with approximately 225 men. Custer and all these men died in the Battle of Little Bighorn. This was the first battle of the Sioux War of 1876, in which the Lakotas, led by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and other chiefs, fought U.S. forces.

Question 26

What happened after the Battle of Little Bighorn? How did the United States use starvation to get land?

Answer 26

The Native American victory at the Little Bighorn was short-lived. The army soon defeated the Lakotas and Cheyennes. Then, Congress ordered that no food rations be distributed to the Native Americans until they agreed to the government’s demands. To avoid starvation, the Lakotas gave up most claims to the Black Hills and other territory. In this way, they surrendered about one third of the lands that the United States government had guaranteed them with the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse had taken their few remaining followers to Canada. Eventually, both men returned.

Question 27

Where did the Nez Percé live? What happened when gold was found in their area? Who was Chief Joseph? Why did he surrender?

Answer 27

The Nez Percé people lived in the Snake River valley, at the place where today Oregon, Washington, and Idaho meet. In 1855, some Nez Percé signed a treaty with the United States government in which they relinquished part of their land. In the 1860s, gold discoveries brought miners onto Nez Percé land. The government ordered the Nez Percés to move to a reservation in Idaho. Those who had not signed the treaty refused. Led by Chief Joseph, about 700 Nez Percés fled north toward Canada. Army troops followed close behind. In the months that followed, the Nez Percés fought off or eluded pursuing army units. Finally, after a tragic journey of more than 1,000 miles, Chief Joseph decided that he must surrender. Of the approximately 700 Nez Percés who had set out with him, fewer than 450 remained.

Question 28

How fiercely did the Apache fight for their land? Who was Geronimo? What did his surrender signify?

Answer 28

In the arid lands of the Southwest, the Apaches fiercely resisted the loss of their lands. One leader, Geronimo, continued fighting the longest. In 1876, he assumed leadership of a band of Apache warriors when the government tried to force his people onto a reservation. Geronimo waged war off and on for the next 10 years. From Mexico, he led frequent raids into Arizona and New Mexico. His surrender in 1886 marked the end of formal warfare between Native Americans and whites.

Question 29

What was the Ghost Dance? How did this show the Native Americans’ longing to retrieve their lost way of live?

Answer 29

Many Native Americans longed for their lost way of life. On the reservations, the Lakotas and other Plains Indians turned to a religious ceremony called the Ghost Dance. It celebrated the time when Native Americans lived freely on the Plains.

Question 30

In 1889, what did a prophet named Wovoka do to bring hope to the Paiute people? How did Native Americans carry out the Ghost Dance?

Answer 30

In 1889, word spread that a prophet named Wovoka (woh VOH kuh) had appeared among the Paiute people of the southern Plains. Wovoka said that the Great Spirit would make a new world for his people, free from whites and filled with plenty. To bring about this new world, all the Native Americans had to do was dance to the Ghost Dance. In their ceremonies, Ghost Dancers joined hands in a large circle in which they danced, chanted, and prayed. As they danced, some felt a “growing happiness.” Others saw a glowing vision of a new world.

Question 31

Why did settlers want the Ghost Dance outlawed? What happened to Sitting Bull as they were attempting to stop the act?

Answer 31

Many settlers grew alarmed. The Ghost Dancers, they said, were preparing for war. The settlers persuaded the government to outlaw the Ghost Dance. In December 1890, police officers entered a Lakota reservation to arrest Sitting Bull, who had returned from Canada and was living on the reservation. They claimed that he was spreading the Ghost Dance among the Lakotas. In the struggle that followed, Sitting Bull was accidentally shot and killed.

Question 32

What was the Tragedy of Wounded Knee? What did this massacre signify in Native American Culture?

Answer 32

Upset by Sitting Bull’s death, groups of Lakotas fled the reservations. Army troops pursued them to Wounded Knee Creek, in present-day South Dakota. On December 29, the Native Americans were preparing to surrender. As nervous troops watched, the Indians began to give up their guns. Suddenly, a shot rang out. One account says a rifle went off by accident. The army opened fire. By the time the shooting stopped, nearly 300 Native American men, women, and children lay dead. About 25 soldiers had also died. The massacre at Wounded Knee marked the end of the Ghost Dance religion.

Question 33

Remember: The Native Americans were no longer able to resist the government. During the late 1800s, more Native Americans were forced onto reservations.

Answer 33

The Native Americans were no longer able to resist the government. During the late 1800s, more Native Americans were forced onto reservations.

Question 34

How did Susette La Flesche and Helen Hunt Jackson contribute to the publicization of the destruction of Native American life?

Answer 34

Many people, Native American and white, spoke out against the tragedy that was occurring. One reformer, Susette La Flesche, was the daughter of an Omaha chief. She wrote and lectured about the destruction of the Native American way of life. Another reformer, Helen Hunt Jackson, published A Century of Dishonor in 1881. The book recounts the long history of broken treaties between the United States and the Native Americans.

Question 35

What was the goal of the Dawes Act of 1887? What was its effect?

Answer 35

Calls for reform led Congress to pass the Dawes Act in 1887. The act encouraged Native Americans to become farmers. Some reservations were divided up and given to individual Native American families. The Dawes Act was a major change in the government’s policy toward Native Americans. Before the Act, Native Americans had been removed from their land and placed on reservations. There, they were poorly provided for by the government. With the Dawes Act, the government hoped that Native Americans would adopt white ways and become farmers. The Dawes Act did not have the desired effect, however. To Native Americans, land was an open space for riding and hunting. Moreover, much of the land they were given was not suitable for farming. As a result, Native Americans often sold their shares of land to whites for low prices. Life on the reservations changed Native American culture. The federal government took away the power of Native American leaders. In their place, it appointed government agents to make most decisions.