Two Worlds Collide Chapter 7

Nations in Negotiation Before most Americans wanted to live in Montana, they worked on ways to get across it. However, to build a transcontinental railroad, the government had to get permission from all the tribes that lived between the east and the west coast. So the U.S. negotiated treaties with American Indian tribes across the west.

Nations in Negotiation The treaties of the 1850’s identified traditional territories of each tribe and established sovereignty (independence and self-governing). The treaties also saved land for tribes (now called reservations.) Reservations were not given to tribes, they were saved by them.

Reasons for Treaties The U.S. had several goals when negotiating treaties, including: –Building roads and railroads through tribal lands. –Getting Indians to settle in villages and farms. –Gaining land for settlers.

Reasons for Treaties Each tribe had its own hopes when signing treaties: –Each wanted to maintain or increase its territory and power and to preserve its people’s way of life. –The tribes also wanted government protection from their enemies as well as white settlers.

Problems with Treaties There were four basic problems with the treaties: –First, the treaties were based on the American idea that land could be bought and sold. Plains Indians fought to control territory, but did not believe land was something someone could own. –Second, the treaties were often misunderstood because of poor translation.

Problems with Treaties A third problem was that the government thought that one chief could speak for all his people (like our President.) The fourth problem with the treaties was that the U.S. government often did not live up to their agreements.

Montana Treaties In 1855, the Governor of Washington Territory, Isaac Stevens, traveled through the region negotiating treaties with Montana tribes. In July, Stevens met with the Salish, Kootenai and Pend d’Oreille tribes at Council Grove (just west of Missoula.)

Montana Treaties Stevens thought the tribes had agreed to move to the Flathead Valley in return for $120,000 a year for 20 years, but there were obviously misunderstandings between the two sides. Though many of the chiefs refused to sign the treaty, a few of them, like Victor, did sign after the government agreed to also reserve the Bitterroot Valley.

Some Moments of Friendship Though there were many disagreements between the two sides, most Indians and whites enjoyed peaceful and friendly relationships. Tribes often camped outside of towns and staged horse races with the townsfolk. Oftentimes, Indians would aid helpless emigrants traveling across the land.

Later Agreements Take More Land As mining towns developed, there was more pressure on the U.S. government to open more land for farming and mining. The government repeatedly went back on its word and made reservations smaller. When Indians refused to stay on their land, the government sent in the army.

Military Strategy Groups of Indian warriors on horseback could easily escape the slow-moving American army. As a result, The U.S. used a Civil War strategy called “Total War” to weaken tribes, destroying their resources and villages. They shot at tipis then burned them down when the Indians fled, along with any food left behind.

Massacre on the Marias Among the most dishonorable acts was the Massacre on the Marias in 1869, where the U.S. Army wiped out most of a Blackfeet camp, killing many women and children. The incident started when Blackfeet men killed a white rancher near Helena. The government responded with violence, but massacred the wrong Blackfeet camp.

The Crow Strategy: Cooperation Each tribe chose its own strategy for survival – from whites and from enemy tribes. The Crow, surrounded by Sioux and Assiniboine enemies, chose to ally themselves to the U.S. government. However, the Crow were also treated like other tribes, and forced to move onto a reservation.

The Salish Strategy: Economic Independence The Salish attempted independence by planting crops and becoming farmers. However, by 1871 the government still ordered the Salish out of the Bitterroot Valley and onto a reservation. Chief Charlo fought to keep his people in their traditional homeland, but a drought and starvation eventually forced the tribe to move in 1889.

Armed Resistance When gold miners ignored the Laramie Treaty of 1868 and invaded the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota, the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne chose to resist them with force. The government tried to force these tribes onto a smaller reservation, but they refused to go. The result was war. Crazy Horse

Armed Resistance An army including Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer assembled on the plains to subdue the 5,000 Sioux and Cheyenne people (1,500 of which were warriors.) The Sioux were led by chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. The Northern Cheyenne were led by chief Two moon. The two sides met in several fights in 1876, leading up to the Battle of the Little Bighorn in July. Crow scouts had found a huge Sioux camp on the river and reported it to the American officers. Sitting Bull

Battle of the Little Bighorn The American plan was to send Custer’s cavalry to attack from the east. The army would attack from the north on the same day. Sioux scouts discovered Custer’s division. He feared that if he waited for the rest of the army that he would lose the element of surprise. Custer charged the Sioux Indian camp, but he and his men were massacred by the waiting warriors within 3 hours.

The Last Resistance Custer’s defeat horrified and angered Americans. During the fall of 1876 and winter of 1877, the army hunted down, attacked, and captured the remaining Sioux and Cheyenne. Crazy Horse surrendered, and agreed to go to a reservation. Sitting Bull refused to surrender. He led thousands of followers into Canada, but eventually returned to the U.S.

The Nez Perce War of 1877 The Nez Perce tribe of Oregon had saved the lives of the Lewis and Clark expedition in By 1877, the U.S. government had ordered the Nez Perce onto a reservation in Idaho. Chief Joseph and his Nez Perce people had never signed a treaty – they refused to leave their homeland.

The Nez Perce Trail Instead, 700 Nez Perce men, women and children traveled 1400 miles across the rocky mountains. The U.S. army pursued the tribe. When the Nez Perce approached Missoula, the army tried to ambush them in Lolo Canyon. Instead, the tribe sneaked around the army in the middle of the night. The fort the army had set up in the canyon became known as “Fort Fizzle.”

Battle of the Big Hole The U.S. army finally caught up to the Nez Perce in the Big Hole Valley. At dawn, the army launched a surprise attack on the sleeping tribe. The Nez Perce, led by White Bird and Looking Glass, held their positions, fought back, and forced the army to retreat by the end of the day.

The Trail Ends The Nez Perce also retreated – moving through Yellowstone, then heading straight north for Canada. The band was intercepted just forty miles from the border and the Battle of the Bear’s Paw Mountains followed. When the battle ended, Chief Joseph and most of the Nez Perce surrendered.

A Different Way of Life The U.S. army kept Montana’s Indian people on reservations. Conditions were generally bad and often horrible. As nearly all the bison were killed, Native Americans on the reservation struggled to raise crops or livestock on their remaining land. Tribes had to learn to adjust to a completely new way of life.