How did westward expansion change Native American life

How did ‘westward expansion’ change Native American life? Starter: How do these movies link in with our studies of the American west? Cattle industry, gold rush, transcontinental railroad – all brought people out west, all had a negative impact on Indians!

How did the railways change Native life? • Due to the Pacific Railroad Act, huge areas of land next to the tracks were taken from tribes and given to white settlers. • They lost land for the buffalo to graze, whites put up fences round their land which restricted hunting the buffalo. • Railroads opened up the buffalo to be exterminated (we will cover this later on in the course) • Government put huge pressure on tribes to move off the land beside the tracks e. g. Pawnee, Omaha, Winnebago all signed treaties to relocate to reservations. • Some tribes resisted railroad companies taking their land (we will cover this next lesson)

How did the cattle industry change Native life? • Due to the creation of trails and the railways, cattle ranching expanded into the mid-west and Indian land. • Cattle and buffalo both had the same diet of grass so the more cattle there were, the less grass there was for the buffalo. • 1860 – 130, 000 cattle in the west (Kansas and Nebraska) • 1880 – 4. 5 million cattle (Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Dakota) • With less buffalo, some Indians went to work as cowboys on ranches. This took them away from their traditional way of life – they worked for a wage. • Due to trails leading through Native land, some tribes attacked cowboys and stole horses and cattle. This led to heightened tension and the US army protecting some routes.

How did gold prospecting change Native life? • In California, over 4, 000 Indians were murdered by gold prospectors to get access to gold claims. • Gold prospectors brought in diseases which killed many Indians. Over 95, 000 Indians died due to disease during this period. • To access gold camps, trails often went through Indian territory e. g. Bozeman trail. This often led to Native resentment and eventual uprising (we will study Red Cloud’s War later in the course) Not so fun fact – During the 1763 Siege of Fort Pitt, where Indian tribes fought to remove British rule in Ohio Country, British soldiers used smallpox as a weapon. They gave blankets infected with smallpox to the tribes a gift with the hope of spreading the disease and weakening their enemy!

For each of the following, explain how it created problems for the Native Americans. • Railroads • Gold rush • Cattle industry Use the information on pp. 61 – 62. Create a “plan vs reality” chart for Indian reservations. Plan Reality

Plan Reality Move tribes onto reservations to allow land to be opened up for white settlement (gold, Homesteaders, land given to railroads etc. ) Some Indians refused, so US army forced tribes onto reservations. Indians would be protected from attack by whites Indians would be given yearly payments (money, food, livestock, clothing and farming equipment) It would be in the Indians best interest because they were so reliant on the government for survival. Indian Agents would hunt anyone who fled them and return them (much like open-air prisons) Reservations showed no understanding of Indian cultural value – they were often far from sacred places. Rival tribes were often placed on same reservation so fights broke out (e. g. Apache and Navajo) Land was often poor quality for farming so hunger was common (became more reliant on government for food) Indian Agents were often corrupt and cheated Indians to become wealthy. Government sometimes reduced the size of reservations, which broke treaties.

President Grant’s Reforms President Grant saw the tension on the reservations and changed some legislation. Reservation agents were replaced with Quakers (religious, fair and peaceful). Appointed Ely Parker as Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Provided $2 million to pay for the care of Indians living on reservations as well as set up new reservations. Any Indians refusing to enter a reservation were to be treated as hostile and attacked. Parker argued that Indians should be treated like ‘helpless children’ and that the government should decide what was best for them (like a guardian for a child in need). Led to the Indian Appropriations Act (1871) – Indians were no longer a independent nation who could be contracted by treaty. The government could act in their best interest.