NA 1865-1900 Flashcards
(21 cards)
1
Q
Who were Native Americans?
A
- NA tribes occupied the North American continent for thousands of years before white America arrived
- At beginning of 19th century 86 tribes had been identified across the US and they continued to live according to their own tribal customs, religion and laws
- However by 1865 a process was underway to break down their traditional culture and lifestyle
2
Q
What was the Great Plains?
A
- An area that was occupied by the largest population of NA
- As it was abandoned by white Americans as they believed it was an unsuitable place to live a civilised life
3
Q
Why were the tribes nomadic?
A
- Because they would follow buffalo herds, so they had villages that could be quickly set up and demolished
4
Q
How did the impact of westward expansion impact the lives of NA by 1865?
A
- The FG was at first happy to let the NA stay in places the white Americans did not want
- This area was called the Great Plains
- it became government policy for the US to attract settlers to populate these wide open spaces in the west
- It radically changed NA lives because the white settlers would push west wards and the NA were removed from their traditional lands
- These NA were given land in Oklahoma on the plains to create space for the white American Families to settle on
- in 1849, Gold was discovered in California which resulted in the increase in white Americans moving to the west
- This displaced many NA who lived there and those who remained lost their right to fish freely
5
Q
What was manifest destiny and its impact on NA rights ?
A
- The belief held by White Americans that God had chosen them and wanted them to expand and populate the western lands
- It helped to justify that western expansion was inevitable
6
Q
What was the Indian Removal Act?
A
-The Indian Removal Act 1830 had forced approximately 70,000 NA to migrate to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida as NA were seen as an obstacle to westwards expansion
7
Q
How did the civil war impact NA lives?
A
- By 1865 several tribes, most notably the Sioux and Cheyenne were hostile to the invasion of the white Americans and the presence of the army on their lands
- By 1852, the NA had began giving areas of their lands for settlement due to treaties they signed with the government as they realised that they could not resist the strength of the US and its army
- The Sioux signed several treaties with the FG and each time would hand over more and more of their land to open up for settlement , this restricted their freedom to follow the herds of buffalos and therefore potentially cutting of their food supply
- In the treaties the Fg stated that would help any people by ensuring that they were fed this however was not the case as during the civil war when the FG funding was stretched, essential aid did not reach the NA
8
Q
What was the Homestead Act?
A
- 1862
- it provided 160 acres of land to anyone who agreed to farm it
- it accelerated the settlement of territory as its goal was yo encourage westward expansion
- It was often poor quality farmland and farmers had very little resources to make it
- Resulted into NA losing land
- This affected their economic right as they were pushed off their resource rich land and loss access to hunting and farming, leaving them dependent on government
- Also affected right to self determination as the FG gave away their land without their consent and they were forced into reservations meaning they lost political control over their own lands and governments
9
Q
What was the sand creek massacre?
A
- 1864
- there was a breakdown in relations with the NA
- Attack on the Cheyenne tribe
- They were there because they were promised by the US that it was safe
- Mostly women, elderly and children were killed
10
Q
What were reservations?
A
- Land that was set aside exclusively for NA use, so that they would not be able to practice their culture elsewhere
- process started in 1850
11
Q
Why did reservations become a thing?
A
- Because it was government policy to Americanise the NA who were seen as savages
- and before this could happen tribal lifestyle had to be broken
- this would be achieved by process of education and by conversion to christianity
- they were no longer allowed to hunt buffalos and were forced to give up polygamy
- Native Americans were removed from their ancestral lands, which had been vital for their spiritual, cultural, and economic life
12
Q
What was battle of little bighorn?
A
- 1876, Custer and his Men were part of a force to round of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians who left reservations because they were suffering and were defying the authorities , they defeated them
- The U.S. government’s military retaliation after Little Bighorn was swift and brutal, resulting in the forced surrender of many Native leaders and the eventual destruction of their way of life
13
Q
What was a consequence of the Battle of Little Big Horn?
A
- the U.S. government accelerated its efforts to erase Native American cultures through policies of assimilation
-The Indian Boarding School system, which had been in place before the battle, was expanded after Little Bighorn. Native children were forcibly removed from their homes and placed in schools where they were forbidden to speak their native languages, practice their religions, or maintain their cultural traditions.
14
Q
What was Dawes act and impact on NA rights?
A
- Assimilating NA was failing miserably using reservations
- In 1887 it was designed to assimilate Native Americans into American society by breaking up tribal lands into individual allotments
- resulted in the loss of millions of acres of tribal land. Land that was not allocated to individual Native Americans was declared “surplus” and sold to non-Native settlers. By 1934, Native Americans had lost approximately 90 million acres and led to a loss in sovereignty
- Native Americans lacked the tools, knowledge, or resources to farm the allotments they were given, especially in areas where the land was poor or unfamiliar. This led to economic dependency on the federal government and local economies dominated by non-Natives.
15
Q
Who benefited from the Dawes act?
A
- Successful with Navajo reservations, which reduced in size, and adapted quickly to farming and planting a range of crops, and their lands had been increased by the government to 10.5 million acres of land as a reward for their success and to enable them to further increase their yields
16
Q
What was life like on reservations for NA?
A
- By locating the tribes on reservations, the government had effectively segregated them from the rest of the American society
- NA were dependent on the food supplied by the government and they starved
- Some Indian agents were corrupt and used government resources for their own benefits
- The situation worsened in the 1880s when drought affected crops on reservations and disease wiped out the cattle that the NA kept, so now they were unable to hunt buffalo and this meant that NA had no other sources of food
- Thousands of NA starved whilst others died of diseases such as measles and influenza
17
Q
What was the impact of education on NA?
A
- Education for NA children was not seen as a right but rather as an essential part of the process to assimilate the NA and to destroy their tribal culture and loyalties
- Reservation schools were provided by government funding
- However the curriculum was limited and was clearly designed to determine the future role of NA, children were taught English, reading, writing and basic arithmetic
- Language proved to be a huge barrier and poor communication meant that pupils became bored and frustrated
- in the late 1870s two off-reservation boarding schools were established in Virginia and Pennsylvania and became recognised as models of vocational training, boys learnt skills such as trading and carpentry whereas girls learnt how to cook, sew and take care of the home
- Harsh disciplines such as beating and solidary confinement were implemented for breaking rules such as speaking in their tribal language
18
Q
What happened to NA’s who graduated?
A
- When they tried to return to their reservations they were alienated from their families and reservation communities
- They were seen as Americanised Indians and were regarded as untrustworthy
- These NA’s found themselves trapped between 2 cultures
19
Q
What were Philanthropic organisations and their impact on Native American rights?
A
- Philanthropic organisations were non government organisations and individuals who claimed to support the welfare of NA
- One of the most influential was the Indians Rights Association (IRA) which was founded in 1882
- they were often made up of white middle class reformers
- they agreed that the tribes should be assimilated into American society and achieve equality with all Americans
- However they did not all agree on how this would be achieved
- They focused on the lifestyle, religious beliefs and rituals of the NA as a key indicator of their state and worked to persuade them to abandon their traditional ways
20
Q
What was the Curtis act?
A
- Resistance to the Dawes act came from 5 civilised tribes
- The Curtis act in 1898 was essentially an extension of the Dawes act however it only applied to the 5 tribes that resisted the Dawes act
- It abolished tribal governments and courts by 1906 and declared all tribal laws would become null and void
21
Q
What was the massacre of wounded knee and its impact on NA rights?
A
- Was in 1890
- Took place at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, because there was growing popularity of the Ghost Dance, which was a spiritual movement that promised the return of ancestors and the disappearance of white settlers and was a way to regain their lost life
- The US saw the Ghost Dance as a sign of potential rebellion and sent troops to suppress it
- the US army surrounded a group of Lakota Sioux who had surrendered and were being disarmed
- The reservation police believed that chief Sitting Bull was responsible and he was shot dead
- More shots were fired and around 250-300 Lakota Men, women and children were killed
- Shows that the NA had little right to practice their religion, as their practices were seen as threats and that they were seen as justification for military force
