The Indian Wars and Reservations

As white settlement of the West accelerated after the Civil War, conflict between the US government and the Plains Indians intensified dramatically. The period from the 1860s to the 1890s saw a series of brutal wars, broken treaties, and the forced confinement of Native Americans onto reservations. This is a key topic in the AQA GCSE History specification.

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Causes of Conflict

Cause	Detail
Westward expansion	Settlers, miners, and ranchers moved onto Native American land in ever-greater numbers
Destruction of the buffalo	The deliberate slaughter of the buffalo destroyed the Plains Indians' way of life
Railroad construction	Cut through Native American territory and brought more settlers
Broken treaties	The US government repeatedly signed treaties with Native Americans and then broke them when settlers wanted the land
Gold discoveries	Discovery of gold in places like the Black Hills of Dakota (1874) led to invasions of sacred Native American land
Different attitudes to land	Native Americans believed land could not be owned; whites believed in private property and "improving" the land

Exam Tip: When explaining the causes of the Indian Wars, always link them to the broader theme of westward expansion. Show how multiple factors — settlement, the railroad, the buffalo, government policy — all contributed to conflict.

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Key Conflicts

The Sand Creek Massacre (1864)

• On 29 November 1864, Colonel John Chivington led US troops in an attack on a peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho camp at Sand Creek, Colorado.
• Chief Black Kettle had been flying an American flag and a white flag of truce.
• Approximately 150–200 Native Americans were killed, mostly women, children, and the elderly.
• Soldiers mutilated the bodies.
• The massacre outraged many in the East but further enraged the Plains Indians, leading to increased warfare.

Red Cloud's War (1866–1868)

• Red Cloud, an Oglala Sioux chief, led a successful war against the US army to close the Bozeman Trail, which ran through Sioux hunting grounds to the Montana gold fields.
• In December 1866, warriors led by Crazy Horse ambushed and killed Captain William Fetterman and all 80 of his soldiers (the Fetterman Massacre).
• Red Cloud's War was the only war in which the US government was forced to agree to Native American demands.
• The Fort Laramie Treaty (1868) closed the Bozeman Trail and established the Great Sioux Reservation, including the sacred Black Hills.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876)

This is one of the most famous battles in American history.

Detail	Information
Date	25–26 June 1876
Location	Little Bighorn River, Montana Territory
US Commander	Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer
Native American Leaders	Sitting Bull (spiritual leader) and Crazy Horse (war leader)
What happened	Custer attacked a massive camp of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors without waiting for reinforcements. His force of approximately 210 soldiers was completely destroyed.
Significance	The greatest Native American victory; however, it shocked the US public and led to a massive military response that ultimately crushed the Sioux

Exam Tip: The Battle of the Little Bighorn is a favourite exam topic. Be prepared to explain its causes (gold in the Black Hills, broken treaties), the events of the battle, and its consequences (increased US military action, the eventual defeat of the Sioux). A common question asks whether it was a victory or a defeat for the Native Americans — argue that it was a short-term victory but a long-term disaster.

The Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)

• On 29 December 1890, US soldiers killed approximately 250–300 Lakota Sioux men, women, and children at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota.
• The army had been sent to suppress the Ghost Dance movement — a spiritual movement that promised the return of the buffalo and the departure of white settlers.
• Many of the dead were unarmed.
• Wounded Knee is widely regarded as the end of the Indian Wars and the final destruction of Native American resistance on the Plains.

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The Reservation System

From the 1860s onwards, the US government's policy was to confine Native Americans to reservations — specific areas of land set aside for them.

Aspect of Reservation Life	Detail
Location	Reservations were typically on the worst land — barren, infertile, and far from traditional hunting grounds
Dependency	With the buffalo gone, Native Americans depended on government rations, which were often inadequate or stolen by corrupt officials
Loss of culture	Children were sent to boarding schools where they were forced to speak English, cut their hair, and adopt white culture
Poverty	Reservations became places of extreme poverty, disease, and despair
Broken promises	The government frequently reduced the size of reservations or took back land when resources (e.g. gold) were discovered

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The Dawes Act (1887)

The Dawes Act (also called the General Allotment Act) was the government's attempt to "civilise" Native Americans by breaking up reservations and turning them into individual farmers.

• Each Native American family was given 160 acres of land.
• "Surplus" reservation land was sold to white settlers.
• Native Americans who accepted the allotment and "adopted the habits of civilised life" could become US citizens.
• The Act was disastrous for Native Americans: between 1887 and 1934, they lost approximately 86 million acres — about two-thirds of their remaining land.

Exam Tip: The Dawes Act is important for understanding government policy towards Native Americans. It shows how even policies presented as "helping" Native Americans actually served to take their land and destroy their culture.

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Key Figures

Person	Role
Red Cloud	Oglala Sioux chief; led the only successful war against the US army (1866–1868)
Sitting Bull	Hunkpapa Lakota spiritual leader; led resistance at Little Bighorn; killed in 1890
Crazy Horse	Oglala Lakota war leader; key figure at Little Bighorn; surrendered in 1877, killed while in custody
George Armstrong Custer	US cavalry commander killed at Little Bighorn
Chief Joseph	Nez Perce chief; led a famous retreat of 1,170 miles before surrendering in 1877

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Expanded Specific Detail: Treaties, Battles, and Leaders

Top-band responses on the Indian Wars depend on precise dates, named treaties, and attention to Indigenous leadership. The Sand Creek Massacre of 29 November 1864 saw Colonel John Chivington's Colorado volunteers attack Cheyenne and Arapaho people under Chief Black Kettle, who was flying both an American flag and a white flag; approximately 150–200 people were killed, mostly women, children, and elders. The Fetterman Fight of 21 December 1866 saw Crazy Horse and other Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors kill Captain William Fetterman and all 80 of his command near Fort Phil Kearny. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 29 April 1868, ending Red Cloud's War, established the Great Sioux Reservation comprising all of present-day South Dakota west of the Missouri, including the sacred Black Hills (Paha Sapa), and guaranteed Lakota hunting rights on the Powder River. This treaty was broken when the Custer Expedition of 1874 confirmed gold in the Black Hills, triggering an invasion of miners and, ultimately, the Great Sioux War of 1876–1877. The Battle of the Little Bighorn on 25–26 June 1876 destroyed Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and approximately 210 troopers of the 7th Cavalry at the hands of a Lakota–Cheyenne coalition under the strategic vision of Sitting Bull and the battlefield leadership of Crazy Horse and Gall. Crazy Horse surrendered at Fort Robinson in May 1877 and was killed in custody on 5 September 1877; Sitting Bull returned from Canada in 1881 and was killed by reservation police on 15 December 1890. The Dawes General Allotment Act of 8 February 1887 broke communal reservation lands into 160-acre family allotments; between 1887 and 1934, Indigenous land holdings fell from approximately 138 million acres to 48 million acres. The Wounded Knee Massacre on 29 December 1890 saw the 7th Cavalry kill approximately 250–300 Lakota — many unarmed women, children, and elders — under Chief Spotted Elk (Big Foot), in the context of the Ghost Dance movement inspired by the Paiute prophet Wovoka. Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce led his people on a 1,170-mile retreat in 1877 before surrendering at the Bear Paw Mountains, Montana, with the words: "I will fight no more forever."

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Extended Worked Paragraph: Level 4/5 Model Response