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Sand Creek Massacre
In Colorado Territory, a band of Cheyenne raided nearby ranches in 1864. Army offcials offered forgiveness if they returned to their reservation at Sand Creek. Cheyenne chief Black Kettle wanted peace. Army colonel John M. Chivington arrived at Sand Creek with 700 troops on November 29. Black Kettle raised a white flag but Chivington did not want peace. His troops opened fire and killed 150 women, children, and elderly people. News of the Sand Creek Massacre outraged many Americans. -
Medicine Lodge Treaty
During the conflict between the Souix and the settlers, there was another deal being made. U.S. officials forced the Comanche, Kiowa, Cheyenne, and other nations to sign the Medicine Lodge Treaty in 1867. According to the treaty, those nations would be moved to reservations in what is now western Oklahoma. -
2nd Treaty of Fort Laramie
After the Sand Creek Massacre, the Cheyenne were enraged and stepped up on raids. A stream of travelers along the Bozeman Trail were passing through sacred Souix hunting grounds. In December 1866 the Souix attacked a supply wagon outside of Fort Kearney killing 80 soldiers as they tried to stop the attack. The government agreed to close the trial if the Souix agreed to live on a reservation along the Missouri. This became known as the Second Treaty of Fort Laramie. -
Battle of Palo Duro Canyon
In the Texas Panhandle Colonel Ranald McKenzie caught Comanches, Kiowas, and Cheyennes preparing a winter camp in the fall of 1874. He then sent in his calvary. McKenzie's men slaughtered more than 1,000 Indian ponies and destroyed all food stores. Starving Comanches had no choice but to move onto the reservation in Indian Territory the next Spring. -
Battle of the Little Big Horn
Gold had been found on Indian lands in South Dakota’s Black Hills and now white men wanted that land for themselves. Indians were ordered off the lands but refused to leave. Custer had been warned that Sioux and Cheyenne Indians were waiting for him at the Black Hills. Instead of a surprise attack, Custer led a full charge straight into the area. He met thousands of Indians, led by chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, who closed off Custer’s retreat. Custer and all of his men were killed. -
Relocation of the Nez Perce
Chief Joseph became the leader of the Nez Percé in 1871. He struggled to preserve his people’s way of life and homeland in the Wallowa Valley. In 1877 the U.S. government ordered the Nez Percé to relocate to a reservation. Joseph agreed but then was forced to flee. He tried to escape into Canada with about 750 of his people. On a long journey they defeated troops who greatly outnumbered them.Ultimately, Chief Joseph saw that resistance was futile. To protect his starving people,he surrendered. -
Capture of Geronimo
The Apache leader Geronimo fled the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona with doxens of others. Geronomo's band of Apache led raids on both sides of the Arizona-Mexico border for years. Geronimo and his followers were eventuall captured in 1886 and sent to an Apache internet camp in Florida as prisoners of war. Geronimo's surrender marked the end of armed resistance in the Southwest. -
Ghost Dance movement begins
Word spread that a Paiute shaman, Wovaka had received a powerful vision in 1889. Wovaka declared that the Indian dead would live, the buffalo would return, and the settlers would leave. Wovaka's vision developed into a religious movement. Known to outsiders as the Ghost Damce, it inspired hope amoung Native Americans. In August 1890 newspapers began suggesting that the Ghost Dance was a sign of a upcoming uprising. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
In December 1890 the U.S. military ordered the arrest of Sitting Bull. A skirmish broke out, and Sitting Bull was killed. The weary Sioux surrendered to U.S. troops, who took them to Wounded Knee Creek.The next morning, Colonel James Forsyth of the 7th Cavalry ordered the Sioux to give up their rifles. One young man named Black Coyote did not not want to give up his gun. A skirmish occured and a gun went off. Immediately the troops started shooting, killing 300 men, women, and children.
