Changing life for the Plains Indians and reservations

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Changing life for the Plains Indians and
reservations

• By Jordan Foster and John Rawlings

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How did life change for the Plain Indians in the
late 1800s?

• Settlers were forcing Indians to move to
  reservations and sell the land so they could have
  the land, build railroads and mine for gold in
  the practically untouched Indian lands . Soldiers
  were threatening Plains Indians to move or else
  they would kill them . War was on its way and
  battles such as The battle of Little Bighorn
  broke out . Plains Indians lost many cattles
  because sometimes they would have to cross rivers
  and most were not strong enough to go through the
  rapids in the river or just the river.

• Plains Indians had to lose most of their
  possessions because the reservations were to
  small to live on. In weaponry the Indians stood
  no chance because they had Bows and arrows
  spears and the soldiers had rifles that could
  shoot a lot further than a bow and arrow. Many
  Indian tribes wanted peace but it ended up being
  war.

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Dawes act

• The Dawes act is a law passed by congress in the
  1880s that forced the Nez Perez and many, many
  other Native American tribes to sell their land
  to the settlers and move to reservations or they
  would be forced by soldiers to be moved and the
  soldiers would have the right by law to punish
  them if they dont cooperate . Also the
  reservations were small and only poorly supported
  those who knew how to farm. Each person was
  granted a small amount space by the government.

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What government policies impacted these native
Americans?

• The main policy was that Indians had to live on
  RESERVATIONS, it really impacted the way the
  Indians lived in the late 1800s. Many government
  officials tried to make a desperate move and make
  the ghost dance illegal because many of the
  government officials were afraid of fighting and
  wanted the Indian tribes to forget about the old
  days and get used to the new reservations and
  laws.

Indians
soldiers
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Ghost dance

• The ghost dance was a religious movement that
  many Indian tribes used. It was made to restore
  the old Indian life. The ghost dance started in
  Nevada in 1870. The ghost dance spread all
  through the West. Their leader was chief Bigfoot.
  The ghost dance made Indians believe that dead
  Indians would come back to life and the buffalo
  herds would return.

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Disadvantages and advantages for the Indians

• The Indians had many disadvantages and
  advantages. The advantages were little but very
  powerful one, was they knew the routes and the
  land very well so they could sneak attack or
  runaway from an attack. Two, the Indians were
  used to blistering hot or freezing cold weather
  depending on where they lived and the soldiers
  might have not been familiar with the weather
  which could effect them. The soldiers advantages
  were a little more than the Indians but not as
  effective. One, The artillery was more effective
  then the Indians bows and arrows. Two, the
  soldiers had more supplies such as medical
  supplies and coats and anything to help them.
  Three, the soldiers could call in more
  reinforcements and the soldiers would probably
  have more soldiers than an Indian tribe.

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Important Indian Chiefs

• Chief Joseph-Led his people through the hard
  times of war and defended the Nez Perez
• Chief Bigfoot- Was the leader of the Ghost
  Dancers
• Chief Black Kettle-Was the leader of the village
  at the Massacre of Sand Creek

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The End!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Thanks for watching our presentation John and I
  hope you liked it!!!!!
• Thanks to our minds, into the west by James
  McPherson, and the 5th grade social studies book
  we could bring you this power point.