The Last of the Indian Wars Unit 11 part 3

The Last of the Indian Wars In 1874 the United States army defeated the Kiowas and Comanches. These Plains Indians had raided along the Santa Fe Trail. In the end, the army forced these tribes onto reservations in what is today Oklahoma.

The Last of the Indian Wars Among those fighting the Plains Indians were the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry regiments. The soldiers in these units were black. In the process the black soldiers gained the respect of those they fought.

The Last of the Indian Wars The Indians called these soldiers Buffalo Soldiers. They did so because of the soldiers’ hair. To the Indians, the soldiers’ curly hair resembled that of the buffalo-”God’s cattle.”

The Last of the Indian Wars The Buffalo Soldiers patrolled the eastern plains for years. This helped open up eastern NM for settlement. But as peace came to the plains, NM still had one place where the raids continued.

The Last of the Indian Wars The raids continued in southwestern NM. Here. Apache bands kept raiding into the 1880s. Indeed, they were among the last Indians anywhere to resist United States’ rule.

The Last of the Indian Wars There were three famous Apache leaders: Victorio, Nana and Geronimo. In 1979, Victorio led his Apache followers off their NM reservation. They raided from the Rio Grande into AZ. They destroyed everything in their path.

The Last of the Indian Wars Victorio was killed in NM in 1880. His son-in-law, Nana, continued the raids. Nana was said to be crippled and nearly blind. After eight battles, he was sent to a reservation in AZ.

The Last of the Indian Wars In 1885 the last Indian War in the Southwest began. Geronimo and his small band of Chricahua Apaches bolted from their AZ reservation. Apache raiders hit NM. Soldiers hunted Geronimo.

The Last of the Indian Wars On September 4, 1886, Geronimo and his followers laid down their arms. The government sent all of the Chiricahua Apaches to prison in FL. Over time, the government moved these Indians to Fort Sill in OK.

The Last of the Indian Wars Geronimo stayed at Fort Sill until 1909 where he died at the age of 80. In 1913, the US government let the Chiricahuas move to NM, where they settled with the Mescalero Indians.

The Last of the Indian Wars One young New Mexican never forgot Geronimo. Young Jimmy McKinn was kidnapped by the Apaches. The Apaches treated him well. He quickly adapted to the ways of the Apaches.

The Last of the Indian Wars The End