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Sand Creek Massacre
The Sand Creek Massacre was when a group of whites killed over 200 Indians. The Colorado Militia attacked and destroyed a village of Cheyenne Indians. -
Red Cloud's War
Red Cloud was the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) chief. On December 21, 1866 Red Cloud staged an ambush. He selected 10 warriors, among those Crazy Horse, to be decoys. The warriors attacked the woodcutters to lure the soldiers in. Fetterman then led 80 soldiers against the 10 warriors, only to have discovered 2,000 warriors attacking his flank. The regiment was defeated, all the soldiers died. Red Cloud refused to negotiate until the army abandoned the forts along the Bozeman Trail. -
Red River War
During the summer of 1874, the US Army launched a campaign to remove the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indian tirbes from the Southern Plains to reservations in Indian Territory. This day is important because the Red River War led to the end of an entire way of life for the Southern Plains tribes. -
Battle of Little Big Horn
The Sioux and Cheyenne Indians moved to Montana with the great warrior Sitting Bull to fight for their lands. The following spring, the Indians won two victories over the U.S. calvary. The Indian warriors were led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. The U.S. army was led by General Custer. General Custer and all his men were killed. -
Navajo and Apache Wars
The U.S. military fought the Navajos and Apaches largely for their lands. General James Carleton burned the Navajos' farms, stole their livestock, and destroyed their villages. In the spring of 1877, the U.S. captured Geronimo and brought him to San Carlos reservation. In April the following year, Geronimo returned to San Carlos and liberated the rest of the Apaches, leading many of them back to Mexico. -
A Century of Dishonor - Helen Hunt Jackson
Helen Hunt Jackson writes about how the Indians are mistreated by Americans. -
Dawes Severalty Act
This law was written by Henry L. Dawes. The law converted tribal lands to individual ownership. Many believed this would led to assimilation. -
Battle of Wounded Knee
The U.S, army was sent to arrest Indians. The Sioux performed a Ghost Dance and someone fired and shot Sitting Bull in the head. Sitting Bull had imagined his death 5 years before it actually happened. Many of the Indians escaped, but the army caught up with them killing 370 men, women, and children.