-
Designation of the Great Plains
The federal government designated the entire Great Plains as a reservation for the Native American tribes -
Change of Reservations
The governmant changed the act of 1834 and defined specific boundaries for each tribe. However most Native Americans ignored those regulations and continued hunting on their traditional lands so that they clashed with settlers and miners causing tragic results -
Sand Creek Massacre
In 1864, 200 warriors and 500 women and children camped at Colorado's Sand Creek Reserve when colonel John Chivington and his troops attacked them. As a result, 150 inhabitants were killed, most of them women and children. -
Fetterman Massacre
The Bozeman Trail, that connected the gold rush territory of Montana to the Oregon Trail, went directly through Sioux hunting rounds in the BIghorn Mountains. Because the Sioux chief, Red Cloud (Mahoiua Luta) did not succeed in appealing to the government to end white settlement on the trail the warrior 'Crazy Horse' attacked Captain William J. Fetterman and his company at Lodge Trail Ridge. Over 80 soldiers were killed. -
The Treaty of Fort Laramie
The government agreed to close the Bozeman Trail. In return, the Sioux except the leader of the Hunkpapa Sioux agreed to move to a reservation along the Missouri River, but they still used thei traditional hunting grounds. -
Red River War
In 1868, Kiowa and Comanche attacked the U.S. Army which led to the Red River War that lasted from 1874 to 1875. Finally, the army won the war by destroying the tribes' villages and killing the ponies and the warriors. -
Custer's Last Stand
Warned by a vision during a sun dance, Sioux and Cheyenne were prepared for an attack of Colonel Custer and his troops.
They outflanked and crushed the soldiers killing all of them, including Custer. However, the Sioux were beaten by late 1876. -
Dawes Act
In 1887, Congress starts to "Americanize" Native Americans. Amonst others, they broke up the reservations giving some of the land to each head of a Native American household and 80 acres to an unmarried adult, selling the rest to settlers. The money was used for farm implements for the Native Americans. -
The Battle of Wounded Knee
On December 28, 1890, 300 mostly unarmed Sioux were killed in a camp at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, after being captured by the Seventh Cavalry. The Native Americans were shot after a single shot, from which side is not clear, was fired.
