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Sand Creek Massacre
One of the most horrible acts during the Indian Wars. After peace talks and a tentative truce by the Cheyennesand the Arapahos, General Samuel Curtis ordered Colonel John Chivington to attack their camp. On November 29, 1864 Chivington led his men in an attack on the Indian camp in Sand Creek, near Fort Lyon, Colorado. Chivington and his men suffured few injuries while over 150 Indians were killed. This eventually became one of the most infamous events in the Indian wars. -
Fetterman Massacre
The Fetterman Massacre is the most violent instance in a series of attacks led by the Sioux, Arapaho, and the Cheyenne Native Americans. Some troops were manning a fort on the Bozeman Trail in Wyoming, when a Sioux leader, Crazy Horse, luered them into a trap. Crazy Horse was a decoy that led a detachment of around 80 soldiers into a waiting ambush. Not one U.S. soldier survived. -
Treaty of Fort Laramie
In the Spring of 1868, the U.S. government held a conference at Fort Laramie with the Sioux to have the Sioux move west into the Indian Reservations. As part of the agreement, the
Sioux would stop attacking settlers. The Sioux eventually signed the treaty in exchange for peace and agreed to move west into the Black Hills reservation in the Dakota territory. Because many ancestors were buried here, this land was sacred to the Sioux, but was eventually taken away from them at a later date. -
1874 Discovery
Once gold was discovered in the Black Hills, George Custer led an expedition to check it out. Once it was confirmed prospecters rushed to the area, which was on the Sioux Reservation. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
The U.S. Army was under orders to gather Indian warriors to be moved to the Indian Reservations. Lieutenant Colonel George Custer, who led the Seventh Cavalry, was ordered to scout a Native American camp. Custer wanted the glory of a military victory, and planned an attack. He underestimated the Native Americans' numbers and his band of 250 was completely obliterated by the thousands of Sioux and Cheyenne.This was the greatest Native American victory against the U.S. army but also their last. -
Ghost Dance
In fear of their culture being threatened by the Dawes Act, the Sioux asked the prophet Wovoka for help. Wokova claimed the ghost dance, would restore their culture and power. The Native Americans hoped to use the dance to bring back their dead ancestors, bring back their ancestors, and drive away the whites. When the ritual spread, reservation officials were worried. Thinking the chief Sitting Bull lead this movement, they attempted to arrest him, but shot him instead. -
Wounded Knee
After Sitting Bull's death, the Lakota Sioux fled to a creek called Wounded Knee in southwestern South Dakota. The U.S. army soon arrived to try to collect the Sioux's weapons. Somewhere a shot rang out, and fighting broke out. Many Sioux were killed. This ended the military conflict between the U.S. and Native Americans. The Native Americans had lost and gave up hope.
