Great Sioux War of 1876
From birchyHistory
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[[File:Siouxreservationmap.png|thumb|left|300px|A map of the Great Sioux Reservation as established in 1868. "Unceded lands" for Cheyenne and Sioux use were west of the reservation in Montana and Wyoming. The desire of the U.S. government to obtain the [[Black Hills]] was the principal cause of the Great Sioux War.]] | [[File:Siouxreservationmap.png|thumb|left|300px|A map of the Great Sioux Reservation as established in 1868. "Unceded lands" for Cheyenne and Sioux use were west of the reservation in Montana and Wyoming. The desire of the U.S. government to obtain the [[Black Hills]] was the principal cause of the Great Sioux War.]] | ||
By the early 19th century, the Northern Cheyenne became the first to wage tribal-level warfare. Because European Americans used many different names for the Cheyenne, the military may not have realized their unity. The US Army destroyed seven Cheyenne camps before 1876 and three more that year, more than any other tribes suffered in this period. From 1860 on, the Cheyenne were a major force in warfare on the Plains. "No other group on the plains achieved such centralized tribal organization and authority."<ref name="cheyenne" /> | By the early 19th century, the Northern Cheyenne became the first to wage tribal-level warfare. Because European Americans used many different names for the Cheyenne, the military may not have realized their unity. The US Army destroyed seven Cheyenne camps before 1876 and three more that year, more than any other tribes suffered in this period. From 1860 on, the Cheyenne were a major force in warfare on the Plains. "No other group on the plains achieved such centralized tribal organization and authority."<ref name="cheyenne" /> | ||
| − | The [[ | + | The [[Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868]], signed with the US by Lakota and Northern Cheyenne leaders following [[Red Cloud's War]], set aside a portion of the Lakota territory as the [[Great Sioux Reservation]]. This comprised the western one-half of South Dakota, including the Black Hills region for their exclusive use.<ref>George Hyde, ''Red Cloud's Folk: A History of the Oglala Sioux Indians'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1937)</ref> It also provided for a large "unceded territory" in Wyoming and Montana, the [[Powder River Country]], as Cheyenne and Lakota hunting grounds. On both the reservation and the unceded territory, white men were forbidden to trespass, except for officials of the U.S. government.<ref name="cheyenne" /><ref>[http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/sio0998.htm "Treaty with the Sioux — Brulé, Oglala, Miniconjou, Yanktonai, Hunkpapa, Blackfeet, Cuthead, Two Kettle, Sans Arcs, and Santee — and Arapaho, 1868" (Treaty of Fort Laramie, 1868).] {{USStat|15|635}}, Apr. 29, 1868. Ratified Feb. 16, 1868; proclaimed Feb. 24, 1868. In Charles J. Kappler, compiler and editor, ''Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties — Vol. II: Treaties.'' Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1904, pp. 998-1007. Through Oklahoma State University Library, Electronic Publishing Center...</ref> |
The growing number of miners and settlers encroaching in the [[Dakota Territory]], however, rapidly nullified the protections. The US government could not keep settlers out. By 1872, territorial officials were considering harvesting the rich timber resources of the Black Hills, to be floated down the [[Cheyenne River]] to the Missouri, where new plains settlements needed lumber. The geographic uplift area suggested the potential for mineral resources. When a commission approached the [[Red Cloud Agency]] about the possibility of the Lakota's signing away the Black Hills, Colonel John E. Smith noted that this was "the only portion [of their reservation] worth anything to them". He concluded that "nothing short of their annihilation will get it from them".<ref>Smith to Gen. Ord, June 27, 1873, Department of the Platte, Letters Received, National Archives. Colonel (brevet Brigadier General) Smith was commander of the 14th Infantry, headquartered at Fort Laramie, who had extensive experience with the Lakota.</ref> | The growing number of miners and settlers encroaching in the [[Dakota Territory]], however, rapidly nullified the protections. The US government could not keep settlers out. By 1872, territorial officials were considering harvesting the rich timber resources of the Black Hills, to be floated down the [[Cheyenne River]] to the Missouri, where new plains settlements needed lumber. The geographic uplift area suggested the potential for mineral resources. When a commission approached the [[Red Cloud Agency]] about the possibility of the Lakota's signing away the Black Hills, Colonel John E. Smith noted that this was "the only portion [of their reservation] worth anything to them". He concluded that "nothing short of their annihilation will get it from them".<ref>Smith to Gen. Ord, June 27, 1873, Department of the Platte, Letters Received, National Archives. Colonel (brevet Brigadier General) Smith was commander of the 14th Infantry, headquartered at Fort Laramie, who had extensive experience with the Lakota.</ref> | ||
