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Homestead Act of 1862
The Homestead Act happened on the Plains in 1862. Congress passed this act to give settlers on the Plains who paid a filing fee and lived on the land for five years 160 free acres of land. New settlers went to the plains because of the possibility to homestead. Homestead is to take ownership of land by settling on it. This act was significant because it populated the Plains as more farmers settled on them. -
Fetterman Massacre
The Fetterman Massacre occured in wyoming. The Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors made an attack on a military detachment of 80 soldiers. There were hundreds of warriors waiting to ambush. The entire detachment was wiped out. This was the bloodiest incident that occured from a series of attacks from 1865 to 1867. -
Treaty of Fort Laramie
The United States wanted to create treaties that would move indians westward to reservations. In Wyoming, there was a conference held at Fort Laramie. The conference resulted in a treaty with the Sioux. It was to bring peace between the whites and the Sioux who agreed to live on the Black Hills in the Dakota Territory. The Black Hills were sacred land for the Sioux so they were put aside as exclusive land for only the Sioux indians. -
Discovery of 1874
There was a rumor about gold being in the Black Hills of the Dakotas. Native Americans had been promised this land with no tresspassers. Because of the gold, Custer led an army expedition to the hills to find out if there really was gold. When he came back with news that this was true, the promise was not kept as the hills were swarmed with settlers. In protest, the Sioux and Cheyenne warriors -
Battle of Little Bighorn
Sioux and Cheyenne Indians left their reservations for Montana because there were intrusions of whites into their sacred land in the Black Hills. The U.S. Army wanted to force them back into the reservations so they planned an attack. The battle was against a Sioux village that was near the Little Bighorn River. Without knowing the kind of terrain there was, Lt. Colonel George Custer died in the worst American military disaster ever. This was the Indians' greatest victory yet. -
Ghost Dance
The Ghost Dance of 1890 was a religious dance that was incorporated into many Native American beliefs. A traditional ritual was the circle dance which many indians did. This was used by indians in places like Nevada, California, and Oklahoma. The cheif figure that started this dance was Jack Wilson, or Wovoka. He first began the circle dance with the Nevada Paiute. Then it spread and became well known by many Native Americans. -
Wounded Knee
Near Wounded Knee Creek, the massacre happened on an Indian Reservation. Major Samuel M. Whitside was escorting a band of Lakota indians which included men, women, and children to Wounded Knee Creek. When the troops went to disarm the indians, a shot was fired causing the troopers to open fire killing many indians and their fellow troopers. In one version of how the shot was fired is that there was trouble getting a rifle causing the shot. An estimate of number of deaths was 300.
