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cause: it all started with a small group of of US solders where killed by Lakota Sioux after a dispute over a cow.

outcome: the US military won, forcing the Sioux people to retreat and eventually bing chased into a reservation.

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Black Hills National Forrest
Image courtesy of US Forest Service

Recipient: American Battlefield Trust

Amount: $121,000.00

Following the discovery of gold in the Black Hills mountain range, prospectors flooded into the hunting grounds and "unceded lands" of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Dakota, and Lakota tribes living there, violating the terms of the Treaty of Fort Laramie, which set aside these areas as the Great Sioux Reservation in 1868. Spanning the modern-day states of Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, the reservation was established after the federal government sought to prevent future conflicts between the United States, the Sioux people, and the Sioux's allies after a period of intense warfare in the northern Great Plains. But American promises to respect Indian sovereignty over the reservation were quickly nullified by civilian and government agents eager to exploit the natural resources on the reservation lands - actions that eventually pushed a large portion of the Sioux to armed resistance.

After a valiant, but failed attempt by Sioux chiefs Red Cloud and Spotted Tail to persuade the U.S. Government to honor the Fort Laramie Treaty in Washington, DC., the Sioux tribes fractured into two groups - those willing to relocate to smaller reservations in return for food and other federal aid, and "non-reservation" Sioux, that were willing to fight to maintain control of the Black Hills. In response, the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant ordered the US Army to force the defiant members of the Sioux tribes to accept the new, smaller reservations, and initiated a series of military campaigns from 1875-1876. These campaigns would lead to several major battles between US troops and the "non-reservation" Sioux, including the Battle of Little Big Horn. Known as the Great Sioux War (or Black Hills War), this conflict redrew the map of the northern Great Plains and ended only after a combination of US military occupation of hunting grounds, and harsh government policies by Grant's administration, forced the final defiant members of the Sioux and their allies to surrender in late 1877.

A 2023 Preservation Planning Grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program to the American Battlefield Trust will allow the non-profit to work with State Historic Preservation Offices and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices in four states to research and identify the preservation priorities for multiple battlefields from the Great Sioux War, with an emphasis on including Indigenous perspectives at the forefront of the project.

Preservation Planning Grants are the American Battlefield Protection Program's broadest and most inclusive grant program, promoting the stewardship of battlefields and sites of armed conflict on American soil. In addition, ABPP administers three other grant opportunities: the Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant, Battlefield Restoration Grant, and Battlefield Interpretation Grant programs. This financial assistance generates community-driven stewardship of historic resources at the state, tribal and local levels.

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Fighting for the Black Hills: Understanding Indigenous Perspectives on the Great Sioux War of 1876-1877 (U.S. National Park Service)

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Amount: $121,000.00 Following the discovery of gold in the Black Hills mountain range, prospectors flooded into the hunting grounds and "unceded lands" of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Dakota, and Lakota tribes living there, violating the terms of the Treaty of Fort Laramie, which set aside these areas as the Great Sioux Reservation in 1868.

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on August 19 1854, a small group of US solders Lieutenant John Grattan, where killed by Lakota Sioux warriors. after the US solders tried to arrest the natives after causing them pof killing a cow.

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The major event of the battle of Ash Hollow was in response to a raid that happened near Fort Laramie in 1854, General Harvey lead this raid on a village called Lakota village on September 3rd, 1855. The killed 86 and captured 70 after that they destroyed the village.

https://history.nebraska.gov/marker-monday-ash-hollow/#:~:text=In%20response%20to%20an%20Indian,the%20Army%20and%20the%20Sioux.

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Wakíŋyaŋ Čík’ala (Little Thunder)(1820-1879) was a Brulé Lakota chief. He took over as chief of the Brulé after the death of Conquering Bear by U.S.

https://dbpedia.org/page/Little_Thunder

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Famertribes.proboards.com%2Fthread%2F1198%2Flittle-thunder&psig=AOvVaw3tixWkcuH-z1tHWLFmpcHT&ust=1740159910745000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCOCzjP3m0osDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

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Wakíŋyaŋ Čík'ala (Little Thunder)(1820-1879) was a Brulé Lakota chief. He took over as chief of the Brulé after the death of Conquering Bear by U.S. Army soldiers in a dispute about a wandering Mormon cow in 1854, which had prompted the Grattan Massacre of approximately 30 U.S.

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Causes:

Many treaties were broken, mass starvation and multiple cultural misunderstandings all led to the Dakota War. The US had promised the Dakota people with land, money, and resources, but they were never received. They were facing severe starvation and due to the lack of crop and governmental failures. The Dakota people also had different views from the settlers and that led to conflict.

Outcomes:

The wars led to many deaths, especially of white settlers. The Dakota people were removed from their homes in Minnesota and were forced to live on reservations. After the war, 38 Dakota men were hung. This was the largest mass executions in the history of the US.

https://libguides.mnhs.org/war1862#:~:text=When%20the%20U.S.%20government%20broke,were%20killed%20or%20fled%20Minnesota.

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LibGuides: U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 : Overview

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LibGuides: U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 : Overview

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Red Cloud’s war was caused by the establishment of three U.S. army forts along the Bozeman trail through Lakota took over Crow Indian treaty territory. The Crows fought back against the Indian trespassers by helping the troops in the very same forts that Red Cloud wanted closed. The outcome was that the Lakota and their allies were victorious. They gained legal control of the western Powder River country, took down the forts and permanently closed the Bozeman trail.

https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/red-clouds-war

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The Great Sioux War, also known as the Black Hills War, was primarily caused by the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, leading to a huge amount of settlers and a desire for the U.S. government to gain this territory, which was guaranteed to the Sioux by the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. This war ended with the U.S. military victory, leading to the annexation/capture of Sioux lands and the establishment of reservations,despite the initial Native American successes in their battles.

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Cause and outcome:

The main cause for the Ghost Dance War was when a Paiute (“ member of either of two culturally similar but geographically separate and linguistically distinct North American peoples, the Southern Paiute of the southwestern US and the Northern Paiute of Oregon and Nevada.”) named Wovoka promoted the extinction of white people and the rise of the Indians. This controversial statement caused many of the government members to take this as a serious offense, causing the Ghost Dance War.

The main outcome of the Ghost Dance War was quote on quote a “spiritual revival” (Ghost Dance War, n.d.) among countless native american societies. Though these instant boosts of hope and power within the native societies were great, it scared the U.S. government, they thought it was a war preparation.

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On August 18th, 1862, a groups of the Dakota soldiers attacked multiple settlements along the Mississippi River Valley. A group led by Chief Little Crow, went and attacked a government facility. This facility was made to provide supplies and resources. At the same time, other Dakota groups launched attacks on settlements and isolated farms throughout the region.

https://www.mnhs.org/sibley/learn/us-dakota-war-1862#:~:text=On%20Aug%2018%2C%201862%2C%20a,of%20the%20state's%20military%20response.

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Visit the Sibley Historic Site, home to the oldest structures still standing in Minnesota.nbFrom the center of the fur trade to the center of government, this site witnessed some of the key people and events at play in the tumultuous history of the early days of Minnesota statehood.

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It happened on August 29, 1865. In the battle, U.S. soldiers and Indian scouts attacked and destroyed an Arapaho village. Jim Bridger saw the smoke of an Indian village and Connor sent out Frank North and two Pawnees to find the village. They reached the village about eight a.m. the next morning, and they charged the village, having achieved complete surprise. The village, led by Black Bear and Medicine Man, had about 500 inhabitants. Many of the men were absent for a raid on the Crow Along the Big Horn River, leaving mostly old men, women, and children in the village. The battle was 36 hours long.

https://sheridanmedia.com/news/113645/the-battle-of-tongue-river-happened-in-august-of-1865/

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At 10:00 am on December 26, 38 Dakota prisoners were led to a scaffold specially constructed for their execution. One had been given a reprieve at the last minute. An estimated 4,000 spectators crammed the streets of Mankato and surrounding land. Dakota prisoners were imprisoned following the U.S. Dakota War of 1862, primarily because they were accused of participating in the violent conflict against white settlers in Minnesota, which included acts of murder, rape, and attacks on settlements, leading to the mass trial and imprisonment of many Dakota men by the US military at Fort Snelling.

Cite :

Wastvedt, S. (2017, June 9). History we don't teach: Mankato hangings an uneasy topic for Minnesota schools. MPR News. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/06/08/mankato-hangings-an-uneasy-topic-for-minnesota-schools

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Little Crow (c. 1810 - 1863) was a Dakota leader who led his people in the U.S., Dakota war of 1862. His birth name was Taoyateduta, which translates to His Scarlet Nation.

Cite :

Mark, J. J., & Vannerson, J. (2024). Little Crow (Eastman’s biography). World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Little_Crow/

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The Battle of Little Bighorn occurred on June 25,1876 during the great Sioux War. It was led by the lieutenant colonel George Custer, U.S. forces attacked a large encampment of Lakota Sioux and Northerns Cheyenne. The battle ended in a Native American Victory, resulting in the death of Custer and many of his men, but it ultimately did not prevent the U.S. military from dominating the region.

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Throughout the Great Sioux War Sitting Bull was both a spiritual and political leader who gathered support among the Sioux and Cheyenne to fight against US troops. The winning vision Sitting Bull shared prior to Little Bighorn created numerous warriors and helped ensure their victory over Custer. With his leadership activities Sitting Bull fortified Native resistance without commanding any fights to prevent U.S. control of the Sioux lands.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/oakley-sitting-bull/#:~:text=Sitting%20Bull%20was%20the%20political,Bill%20Cody's%20Wild%20West%20show.

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From the Collection: Native Americans

Sitting Bull was the political and spiritual leader of the Sioux warriors who destroyed General George Armstrong Custer's force in the famous battle of Little Big Horn. Years later he joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show. A portrait of Cody and Sitting Bull together bears the title "Foes in '76 - Friends in '85." The reality was a little more complicated.

Sitting Bull, 1885. Library of Congress

Native Warrior

Sitting Bull was born in what is now South Dakota, probably in 1831, son of a respected Sioux warrior named Returns-Again. The child wanted to follow in his father's footsteps but showed no particular talent for warfare, so he was given the name "Slow" until he could earn a better one. At age 14, during a fight with rival Crow Indians, he managed to "count coup," or strike the body of an opposing warrior with a coup stick, and was re-named "Tatanka Yotanka," or Sitting Bull, in honor of his feat. He had no use for peace with the white man - Sitting Bull once taunted rival Indians with the boast that "The whites may get me at last... but I will have good times until then." Still, the Sioux were able to live largely unmolested until 1874, when gold was discovered in the Black Hills of the Dakota territory. Although a treaty had given these lands to the Sioux, white settlers now poured in, and clashes between the two sides grew. In early 1876 all Indian people were ordered onto reservations, and soldiers were sent after those who refused. One of the soldiers was General Custer, who led his immediate command of 200 men into battle against approximately 2000 Sioux, including Sitting Bull, and had his entire command wiped out.

Show Business

Soon after the battle, Sitting Bull fled to Canada and lived there for several years. Returning to the United States in 1881, he was held prisoner at the Standing Rock Reservation in the Dakota territory. Sitting Bull was allowed to travel with the permission of the reservation's Indian Agent, and on one of those trips in 1884 he met Annie Oakley, whose marksmanship so impressed the Sioux warrior that he offered $65 for a photograph of the two of them together. The next year Sitting Bull joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show. His duties were limited - Sitting Bull rode in the show's opening procession - and he was well compensated, earning 50 dollars a week plus the money he made from selling autographs. He was treated kindly by Oakley, who said the Sioux warrior "made a great pet of me." Sitting Bull also met the "new White Father at Washington," President Grover Cleveland. But life on the road was sometimes unpleasant.

Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill. Library of Congress

Crowds hissed, newspapers termed him "as mild mannered a man as ever cut a throat or scalped a helpless woman," and in Pittsburgh the brother of a soldier killed at Little Big Horn attacked him. He was shocked by the poverty, he witnessed in his travels, especially among children. When the season ended in October, the 54-year-old Sioux warrior decided to go home. "The wigwam is a better place for the red man," he said.

Cody and Sitting Bull

Cody, who had served as a scout during the 1876 war but never encountered Sitting Bull on the battlefield, had a complicated relationship with the Sioux warrior. On one level, they were friendly enough, and Buffalo Bill termed him "that wonderful old fighting man."

Sitting Bull. Library of Congress

The Ghost Dance Movement

When Sitting Bull was denied permission to return to the Wild West in 1886, the show went on without him. But then in 1889, a mystic named Wovoka began having visions during a solar eclipse that the white man would vanish if Indians would perform "ghost dances." The movement spread across Indian reservations, and Sitting Bull joined in. Alarmed federal officials feared a general uprising, and one sent Cody on a mission to negotiate with his old show business comrade. But the two never met - on December 14, 1890, Sitting Bull was shot by a group of Indian police who had been sent to arrest him. In the midst of the gunfire, Sitting Bull's stage horse, a gift from Cody, began performing its old routine, lifting its leg as if to shake hands. Cody would later say that if he'd only gotten to Sitting Bull in time, the whole tragedy would have been avoided. Annie Oakley was even more blunt. If Sitting Bull had been a white man, she said, "someone would have hung for his murder."

About Native Americans

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Biography: Sitting Bull | American Experience | PBS

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From the Collection: Native Americans Sitting Bull was the political and spiritual leader of the Sioux warriors who destroyed General George Armstrong Custer's force in the famous battle of Little Big Horn. Years later he joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show.

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Crazy horse was an important leader, he played an important roles in the great Sioux war. He led his people to defeat and to win the battle against a general at that time. His Courage and bravery helped a lot during this process.

https://www.nps.gov/libi/learn/historyculture/crazy-horse.htm

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Crazy Horse (tashunka witco) - Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)

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Major Event:

The most significant event within the Ghost Dance War was the Wounded Knee Massacre. On December 29, 1890, the U.S. army had a great victory. The U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry killed over 250 Lakotas, being one of the largest victories within this war.

Sources:

Ghost Dance War. (n.d.). Study.com. https://study.com/learn/lesson/ghost-dance-wounded-knee-movement-history.html#:~:text=What%20did%20the%20Ghost%20Dance,the%20movement%20as%20war%20preparations

Ghost Dance. (n.d.). Oklahoma Historical Society | OHS. https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=GH001#:~:text=A%20late%2Dnineteenth%2Dcentury%20American,and%20superiority%20of%20the%20Indians

Encyclopedia of the Great Plains | GHOST DANCE. (n.d.). http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.rel.023

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In 1890, hundreds of Lakota people were killed as a way to suppress a religious movement. The soldiers were given medals for their violence but nowadays the event is not celebrated and instead remembered as a massacre. The soldiers were afraid of the Native Americans' ceremonial Ghost Dance, so they went to the Lakota camp to disarm them. There was a deaf tribesman by the name of Black Coyote who didn't want to give up his rifle, claiming he paid a lot for it. The rifle ended up going off and the soldiers started shooting at the Lakota. Since most Lakota warriors were already disarmed, it was difficult to fight back.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/what-really-happened-at-wounded-knee-the-site-of-a-historic-massacre

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Spotted Elk or Uŋpȟáŋ Glešká(1825-1890)

Spotted Elk united several Lakota tribes who were suffering after their losses in the Great Sioux War. Spotted Elk united and led the Lakota tribes into the Ghost Dance, a traditional religious experience.

Spotted Elk did not fight during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. However, his tribe suffered during the war, after which they surrendered.

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The major event of the Fetterman Fight was the complete annihilation of a US Army distance led by Captain William Fetterman, where all 81 soldiers under his command were killed in an ambush by a coalition of Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors near Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming on December 21, 1866 making it one of the worst military disasters by the US Army on the Great Plains at the time.

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leadership and strategy

highly skilled and respected leader, he was known for his strategic thinking

His leadership was crucial in organizing resistance

He led the conflict over the bozeman trail

War was primarily about the creation of the Bozeman Trail

The trail provided goldfields for montana

Would have increase the amount of settlers going into the area

His leadership over the fetterman massacre

One of Red Clouds most successful victories

Massive morale boost for the Lakota

he has advanced tactics and resistance

tactics involved military tactics, ambushes, and raids

His negotiations and the win of treaty of Fort Laramie

this treaty resulted in the U.S. agreeing abandon the Bozeman trail

Becoming a symbol of resistance

became a symbol of the Native American resistance to the U.S.

even though the U.S. won, Red Cloud is still seen as one of the most successful Native American campaigns