Discrimination Faced by Native Americans Native Americans and

Discrimination Faced by Native Americans

Native Americans and the Colonist �Native Americans did help the American colonists in the beginning- land, agricultural advice, and trade �Native Americans killed by European diseases (95%) �Many Native Americans were enslaved by colonists �Wars broke out over land which resulted in the massacre of Native men, women, and children

Indian Removal Act �Passed by Congress in 1830 �Under the law, the federal government provided funds to negotiate treaties that forced Native Americans to move further west.

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) �The U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the state of Georgia could not regulate the Cherokee Nation or invade their lands �President Andrew Jackson refused to follow the Court’s decision “They made their ruling, now let them enforce it”

Trail of Tears �Removal of 20, 000 Cherokee at gun point by U. S. troops � 800 mile journey on foot throughout the winter �Moved to inferior land �Trail of Tears

Suffering Along the Trail �“The sufferings of the Cherokees were awful. The trail of the exiles was a trail of death. They had to sleep in the wagons and on the ground without fire. And I have known as many as twenty-two of them to die in one night of pneumonia due to ill treatment, cold, and exposure”- Private John Burnett

Loss of Land �To open more land for white settlers, the U. S. government began to sign treaties with Native American tribes �Treaties created reservations for the Native Americans �Reservations = poor quality land

Dakota Sioux Reservation �The Dakota people were forced to relocate to barren land in Minnesota �In exchange, they were to be given annuities by the US government �By 1862 most lived in poverty, facing starvation �When Chief Little Crow asked the local traders to provide food on credit he was told “If they are hungry, let them eat grass or their own dung”

Uprising Begins �Although Chief Little Crow was reluctant to start a war, an uprising began �Targeted mainly civilian populations Goal= drive out white settlers from Minnesota Hundreds of settlers murdered

Dakota Executed �The US troops were able to defeat the Dakota 307 Dakota were sentenced to death Lincoln reduced the number sentenced to 38

Sand Creek Reservation �The Cheyenne had been forced onto the Sand Creek Reserve (1864) Barren, no means to hunt or farm Began to raid nearby lands and hunt off of the reservation land �Governor told the Cheyenne to either head back to the reservation or he would order his militia to strike Cheyenne headed back to the reservation, flying both an American flag and a white flag, symbolizing their desire for peace

US Military Reacts �“I want no peace till the Indians suffer more” – Colonel John Chivington �At dawn, Chivington and his troops attacked the 500 sleeping Cheyenne �By the end, over 200 women, children, and men had been killed, their bodies mutilated

Buffalo �Native Americans depended on the buffalo for survival Used almost every part of the buffalo for everyday life Could not hunt for buffalo on the reservations �White settlers hunted the buffalo in excess, destroying the Native American way of life

Ghost Dance �Native tribal ritual which they believed would restore their lands, return the buffalo, and make the whites disappear �Rapidly spread among the 25, 000 Sioux on reservation �Made illegal by the local authorities

Wounded Knee �In 1890, 40 Indian policemen were sent to arrest Sitting Bull Chief who started the Ghost Dance �The arrest led to a shoot out Both Sioux and the police grabbed their rifles and began firing � 350 Sioux were then rounded up and led to Wounded Knee Creek Ordered to give up their weapons, but one resisted Soldiers fired at the Sioux The Last of the Sioux

Massacre �Within minutes, 300 unarmed Natives, including children were shot and left for dead in the snow

End of the Native American Wars �After the Battle/Massacre at Wounded Knee, the series of Indian Wars ended

Assimilation �After the end of the Native Wars, the US Government attempted a new policyassimilation �Dawest Act- broke up reservations into farm land �Wanted to get Native Americans to own property and farm �Sold parts of the reservations to white farmers

Carlisle Boarding Schools �US Government established boarding schools, or Carlisle Schools �Native American children were sent to the schools �Purpose was to “Americanize” or “civilize” Native Americans �Native Americans were expected to learn the culture and customs of white Americans

“Kill the Indian and Save the Man”