1. NATIVE Americans On the Plains

2. Plains Indians Many tribes lived in the Great Plains for centuries
Some were farmers and hunters, but many were nomads, following the buffalo
Most Plains Indians formed bands of 500 people
Ranchers, miners, and farmers moved in and broke treaties that guaranteed certain land to the Plains Indians

3. The Dakota War
The first major fight between Native Americans and settlers began in 1862
The Dakota people had agreed to live on a reservation in exchange for annual payments
Many of the payments never reached the Dakota people
By 1862 the Dakota lived in poverty and faced starvation
When Chief Little Crow asked traders to provide food on credit, the traders refused

5. The Dakota War
Chief Little Crow, agreed with the council to lead an uprising
He wanted to wage war against soldiers
He was unable to keep angry Dakota from slaughtering hundreds of settlers
When the fighting had ended, 307 Dakota were sentenced to death
Lincoln later reduced that number to 38

7. Red Cloud’s War
The Lakota were a nomadic tribe that controlled hunting grounds from the Black Hills to the Bighorn Mountains
They were not pleased with the encroachment of settlers
The army tried to suppress the Lakota and eventually built forts along the Bozeman Trail
In 1866, Crazy Horse, a Lakota leader, tricked Captain William Fetterman and 80 soldiers to apprehend a “small raiding party”
The group was ambushed and it became known as Fetterman’s Massacre
By 1868 the army abandons its posts along the trail

9. Sand Creek
The Cheyenne and Arapaho people in Colorado had clashed with settlers who were searching for silver and gold
By 1864, around 200 settlers had been killed
The territorial governor of Colorado ordered Native Americans to surrender at Fort Lyon
Chief Black Kettle brought hundreds of Cheyenne to negotiate
The fort’s commander did not have the authority to negotiate peace and told them to camp at Sand Creek

10. Sand Creek What happened next has different accounts
Some say Colonel John Chivington attacked the Native Americans without warning
Others say there was a brutal battle that lasted for two days
In the end 14 soldiers died and somewhere between 70 and 600 Native Americans were killed
The event became known as the Sand Creek Massacre

12. Plan for Peace
Because of the battles with the Native Americans on the Great Plains, Congress formed the Indian Peace Commission in 1867
The commission proposed two large reservations on the Plains, one in the north and one in the south
The goal of the reservations were to separate the Native Americans from American citizens
The plan was doomed from the start, because the treaties could not ensure that either the Native Americans or the settlers would abide by them