THE AMERICAN WESTHow was the “Indian Problem” dealt with?

HOW WOULD YOU SOLVE THE PROBLEM?

Person living in East: You live in the East and are worried that aggressive tactics could make the problem worse. You remember the Civil War and do not want anymore fighting

You are a homesteader: You have the most to gain for their removal: land and a life without threat from attack. As far as you are concerned they are savages who are getting in the way of your manifest destiny, you want the army to sort the problem as you believe that only soldiers can control them.You are a former fur

trapper, you have got to know the Indians and their way of life and now advise the government as an Indian advisor. You want responsibility to stay with the Bureau of Indian affairs and not given to the US army. You want everyone to live together peacefully.

You are a miner, you want rid of the Indians as they make your journey too hard. As the gold industry is drying up you are thinking about going into business selling supplies to the army..... Getting rid of the Indians could help your new venture......

HOW WAS THE “INDIAN PROBLEM” DEALT WITH?

Learning objectives:

To be able to analyse the two differing opinions on the solution to the “Indian problem”.

To be able to analyse and decide upon the reasons that the Indians, such as the Sioux, went to war over and over again.

A PERMANENT INDIAN FRONTIER?

In 1832 a special US government was set up to deal with Indian affairs. It quickly decided that the whole of the Plains could be given to the Indian

tribes. The Plains were to be one great reservation, to the west of the 95th meridian (above), which was to be a Permanent Indian Frontier. By 1840 all

Indian tribes had been moved to the west of it. Bu this was not the end of the matter. As more people ventured onto the Plains in search of a new life the

Indians became to be seen as a problem.

NEGOTIATORS AND EXTERMINATORS

The person living in the East and the fur trapper would have ‘negotiators’. People who thought that aggressive tactics would only make the Indians more hostile. They believed that responsibility for the Indians should stay with the Bureau for Indian Affairs.

The miner and the homesteader would have been ‘exterminators’. The Indians, they believed were lazy savages who were best dealt with by the army. It was the tension between these two groups that led to the Plains Wars being played out the way they were.

COPY THE CONFLICT CIRCLE FROM PAGE INTO YOUR BOOK

Indians sign the peace treaty

Settlers break the

peace treaty

Indians attack the

settlers

Army called in to protect the

settlers

Army defeats

the Indians

GETTING AN OVERVIEW

Place the events on page 76 into chronological order.

Try and place the events onto your conflict circle- where do you think each one will fall?

(Clue: look at the titles)

Don’t worry if you don’t know them straight away, you can always change

them later on.

THE FORT LARAMIE TREATY

Read page 76:

1. What was the Fort Laramie Treaty?

2. What shiny thing do you think could make the settlers want to take back their land?

Cause Reaction Result

Little Crow’s War 1862

Santee Sioux Indians living on reservation in Minnesota, crops failed. Compensation promised did not arrive. 12,000 starving. Little Crow decided to attack agency. Provisions from warehouses shared out and buildings burned. Also attacked soldiers coming to deal with incident.

2,000 Santee captured or surrendered. Moved to smaller reservation.

Land barren, water unfit to drink and food scarce. Several hundred died in first winter.

The Sand Creek Massacre 1864

Red Cloud’s War 1865-1868

Complete using pages 78-79

THE SOLUTION

Read pages 79 to the top paragraph on page 80:

1. Why was Red Cloud so successful?2. How was the stalemate resolved?

INTO THE WEST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqHvAW3BGDU&p=B390A085E5FF05D4&index=4&feature=BF

Watch this clip of the Sand Creek Massacre

What do you think the government do next- how will they solve the ‘Indian Problem’?

LEARNING OUTCOMES......

All must be able to describe the two attitudes towards the “Indian Problem” and who was on each side,

Most should be able to interpret why the conflict circle was repeated again and again.

Some could be able to assess the options available to suggest a solution to the Indian problem.