1. Westward Expansion Standard 5-2.5

2. Indian removal policies Policies of the federal government towards the Native Americans changed in response to the hunger for land by the white settlers. Indian policy from the colonial times through the mid 19 th century was to drive Native Americans inland as the whites moved westward. The removal policy pushed the Native Americans across the Mississippi River to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) in the 1830’s during the Trail of Tears.

3. Reservation policies Native Americans were being pushed onto smaller and smaller reservations. Some tribes went to war against the settlers and the soldiers who supported them. Severalty policies This federal policy took the tribal lands of the reservation and divided it up into farms for individual Native American families.

4. Federal policies During the Civil War, the Native Americans of the West were mostly left alone. The transcontinental railroad impacted the culture of the Native Americans because of the US governments discovery of rich mineral deposits on some of the reservations, this caused them to push Native Americans onto smaller and smaller reservations.

5. Indian Wars The Indian Wars were marked by massacres (brutal killings) by white soldiers of Native American women and children. An example of this is the “Sand Creek Massacre of 1864” Although there were treaties between the US government and the Native American tribes said that the reservation land belonged to them – these treaties were often not honored by the government.

6. Battle of Little Bighorn When gold was found in the Black Hills on a reservation, the Native Americans were forced off the land against their will. This was the Lakota Sioux tribe under the leadership of Sitting Bull. The Native Americans refused to leave causing The Battle of Little Bighorn or sometimes called “Custer’s Last Stand”. (Watch united streaming “The Black Hills and the Battle of Little Bighorn” (4:36)

7. Battle of Little Bighorn/Nez Perce This was called Custer’s last stand because General Custer (US army) was killed during this battle. They underestimated the Native American strength and willpower. After this, the US government called in a larger force that crushed the Native American resistance in this area. A Native American tribe in Oregon called the Nez Perce led by Chief Joseph fled to Canada rather than be moved off of their traditional lands to Idaho in order to make way for white settlers. However, they were surrounded by the US Army.

8. Apaches They were promised by the US government to be allowed to return to Oregon, they surrendered. This promise was not kept and the tribe was taken to a reservation in Oklahoma. Some of the Plains Indians of the southwest also attempted to resist. One of these groups was the Apaches led by Geronimo. Geronimo was eventually captured and returned to a reservation.

9. Wounded Knee Massacre Some of the Native Americans escaped the reservation and attempted to restore their old way of life. The result of this was the Native Americans being surrounded by the army at Wounded Knee, South Dakota in 1890. The US soldiers massacred approximately 300 men, women, and children as they attempted to give up their weapons. This ended Native American resistance to the reservation policy. (Watch Wounded Knee Massacre (2:59)

10. Life on the Reservation Life on the reservation was not easy. Native Americans were forced from their tribal homelands to much less desirable lands where their culture was not adapted. The Plains Indians, whose culture centered on hunting the buffalo, could no longer provide enough food for their families. Although the US government promised to supply them with food, they did not get enough supplies because the Bureau of Indian Affairs didn’t care and was corrupt. Life on the reservation became a life of poverty and starvation.

11. Reformers Reformers of the late 19 th century were concerned about the unfairness of the treaties that were broken by the US government. These reformers believed that if Native Americans would give up their tribal traditions and adopt the ways of the white man they would prosper. (have a better life) A new federal policy took the tribal lands of the reservation and divided it up into farms for the individual Native American families.

12. Land ownership However, Native Americans had different ideas of the land ownership than the white settlers. They believed that the land belonged to the group, not the individuals. This policy violated those beliefs and the traditions of hunting that had kept the Native American culture alive for centuries. Many of the farms belonging to the Native Americans failed and they lost their land.

13. Native American children Reformers believed that Native American children should learn the ways of the white man. Children were taken away from their families and sent to boarding school faraway. (Ex: The Carlisle School in Pennsylvania) The were taught to behave like white children and to speak English. They did not honor the traditions and values of the Native Americans.

14. Life today for Native Americans Today, as a result of the civil rights movement among the Native Americans in the 1960’s, their culture is being preserved and their rights honored. However, life on many reservations is still difficult and many Native Americans live in poverty.