Sherman wanted permission for white emigrants to cross the Indian lands as well as for permission to build three forts on the Bozeman Trail. Red Cloud of the Oglala announced that no such concession would be made especially since he had seen soldiers marching off to build the forts before they even had permission, as they wanted him to accept the decision to allow emigrants to settle on the last of the great Sioux hunting grounds. He angrily broke off the talks and stormed off, and vowed to defend the territory and shut down the trail, when he was unable to reach agreement with the army negotiators, he resorted to sending out war parties that attacked emigrants and army patrols. These hit and run tactics were difficult for the army to deal with and at the time the Indians arrived on the scene of the attack, the war parties had disappeared. Fort Phil Kearny was one of three forts on the Bozeman trail connecting the Platte River with mines of Montana.
As a result of European settlement, many populations of Native Americans were brought to near extinction. The hunger for a new and free word had blinded Europeans’ humanity towards the Native Americans that had lived in these lands for hundreds of years from the Atlantic to the Pacific in harmony and respect of their lands. The discovery of gold was of the most important factors that promoted violence against the Native Americans. When gold was discovered in California in 1848 it initiated a large amount of migrant traffic across the North American continent. This large influx of Americans brought more diseases to the Native Americans that devastated their tribes with great number of deaths.
Indian Wars erupted due to tension between the settlers backed by the federal government who were encroaching upon native land and the Native Americans occupying this land. The result of this tension led to Indian Wars such as the Sioux Wars which contained events such as the Wounded Knee Massacre in which federal troops killed 300 Sioux men, women, and children and the killing of General Custer during the battle of Wounded Knee which caused public opinion to turn even more against Native Americans. As a result of these Indian Wars all Native American tribes were effectively put onto reservations. The purposeful impairment and alienation of native culture was strongly emphasized by actions taken and legislation passed by the federal government of the United States. In Document A, Santana, Chief of the Kiowas, describes the destruction of timber and killing of buffaloes by soldiers who sit in camps where his people have lived for generations.
This led to conflicts and therefore partially led to the destruction of the Native American way of life. The white Americans quickly claimed land and would move the Plains Indians around as they saw fit, usually affected by where gold had recently been discovered. This culminated in putting the Native Americans on reservations. In many of the agreements and treaties signed over land the settlers would claim never to go back on their promises “as long as grass grew” and “the mountains stood”. Breaking the promises would have shown the Native Americans that the settlers thought little of their intelligence, and also would instil a lack of trust in the settlers, as now every apparently solemn vow to not attack certain areas or to treat the Plains Indians better etc.
The Indian removal act, that was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830, helped destroy Native American culture east of the Mississippi River. The Indian Removal Act authorized President Andrew Jackson to negotiate with the Native Americans for their homelands in exchange for federal territory west of the Mississppi river. In theory, the Native Americans were supposed to leave their homelands voluntarily. Instead, pressure was put on the Native Americans to sign the removal treaties and were forcibly moved, by the government, west of the mississippi river leaving behind their culture east of the mississippi river. Many of the Native Americans suffered from disease, starvation and death because of the forced relocation to the west.
The process was a very tense disruption that lasted for months. The Sioux tribe was very upset that the whites had come to their land, took over and forced them of their land. The whites also hunted the tribe’s buffalos and they were starting to become extinct. There was call put in to arrest a chief, Sitting Bull, at the Standing Rock Reservation. In the attempt to arrest him, the chief was shot and killed on December 15.
Article Review: The Death of a People's Dream” The history between the U.S government and the Native American people is one full of blood and betrayal. In Robert Utley's article “The Death pf a People's Dream”, he tells a compelling story through the eyes of one brave Sioux Indian as he fought his way through the battle of Wounded Knee. Utley gives us a firsthand point of view which helps the reader understand history through the eyes of the defeated. In December of 1890, a treacherous bloodbath erupted on Wounded Knee Creek between white soldiers and the Sioux regarding practice of the Ghost Dance religion and over all dominance for the North American land. Utley tells us a story about one Sioux man named Dewey who managed to fight his way through the holocaust of the Wounded Knee battle in which he lost his mother, his brother, his wife, and infant son shortly after.
In February 1865, the Civil War ended with the peace conference held at Hampton Roads and the ratification of the 13th Amendment. The same year, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in a theatre. However, the Radicals ensured the passing of the Reconstruction Acts, which featured laws, and provisions that allowed for stiffer punishment for the south. With the cessation of hostilities between Americans, the focus shifted to subduing the Native Americans in Montana and Dakota territories. The US had fought the natives for more than a century as the latter first fought for their territorial rights and later for the preservation of their native way of life.
With every attack Santa Anna's army got closer to the walls of the fort. The Texans knew that they would die if help could not come in time (Stephen L. Hardin). They declared to fight to stop Santa Anna's army from taking over Texas. They would give up their lives for the freedom of others. After many days of shooting, a Mexican cannon eventually penetrated a hole in the north wall of the fort.
North West Company men and half-breeds now resorted to violence on a large scale, killing 22 in the massacre of Seven Oaks (June 19, 1816). Upon hearing of the violence the earl went to the fighting with a group of Swiss soldiers. Not only did they win the battle but also captured the Nor’westers trading post of Fort William. Other attacks followed. The result of these moves was a series of court charges and counter charges that ruined Selkirk.