1. Cultures Clash on the Prairie & Settling the Great Plains
Chapter 5, Sec. 1, 2

2. Indians & Settlers
Plains Indians rode horses that had gone wild from when the Spanish brought them over

3. Indians & Settlers
The U.S. govt. made the land they set aside for Native Americans smaller and smaller

4. Attacks on the Indians
By 1872, settlers moved into the Black Hills (Sioux land) looking for gold & silver
1876 Sitting Bull and Sioux warriors countered George A. Custer and killed him and most of his men in the Battle of Little Big Horn
But the U.S. sent reinforcements and crushed the Sioux.

5. Attacks on the Indians
1887 Dawes Act forced Indians to “Americanize,” split up their tribal lands into individual land plots
Children were often taken from their family to a boarding school, taught English, Christianity, etc.
White vacationers killed most of the buffalo

6. Attacks on the Indians
Sioux became poor and desperate, started performing the “Ghost Dance” ritual
U.S. became scared of this “cult-like” behavior, killed Sitting Bull in 1890
In the 1890 “Battle” of Wounded Knee, U.S. troops slaughtered 300 unarmed Indians
This battle ended the era of warfare between Indians and the U.S. govt.

7. Cattle and Cowboys
Cattle would be driven (herded) north from Texas up to the railroads
They would be loaded on trains and shipped to big cities like Chicago and St. Louis
Life as a cowboy was extremely difficult
Not the exciting stuff in the movies…

8. Settling the Great Plains
From 1850s to 1870s govt. gave huge land grants to railroads
RR companies would get extra free land for each mile of track they laid
1869 First transcontinental RR completed
Linked West Coast to the East Coast

9. Settling the Great Plains
1862 Homestead Act: 160 acres of land for free to anyone who would farm/build on it
Free land doesn’t mean it was good…
RRs and others actually took advantage of this too
On one day in 1889 most of Oklahoma went up for grabs

10. Settling the Great Plains
Life was rough for settlers, many lived in Soddies: homes made from dug out sod
Everyone in the family worked, lots of children

11. Settling the Great Plains
New tech greatly increase farm productivity
Morril Act of 1862 &1890 helped improve the science of farming
Building up large bonanza farms also built up the debt of farmers