Preview

Culture Of The Plains Indians, Specially The Lakota Sioux

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
962 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Culture Of The Plains Indians, Specially The Lakota Sioux
The West By: Christy King HIS/125 U.S. History 1865 to 1945 Date: January 26, 2014

The West Page 2 How did the culture of the Plains Indians, specially the Lakota Sioux, change in the late 19th century? In the Northern Plains the Lakota Sioux, were known as iconic horsemen. They were well-known out of all the Indian nations for their disagreements with U.S. military, photographs and paintings, and their famous leaders. They are known throughout U.S. history for the events that took place in the 18th century such as Battle of the Little Bighorn (Encyclopedia of the Great Plains; 2011). The Great Sioux Nation has many divisions, and the Lakota’s are
…show more content…
The Sioux would hunt for their own food, live off the land, and make their clothing out of leather and hide. More than half of the Sioux tribes live on reservations in northern Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota (Encyclopedia of the Great Plains; 2011). They only knew how to hunt for their food, and didn’t know other ways in order for survival. The white settlers progressively tore the Sioux tribe apart by taking away their land. They tried to keep their culture alive by having ceremonies “pow-wows” where they would sing, dance, and feast. They also dressed up in traditional Indian costumes like their ancestors did. The white settlers would make the Indians do things the way they wanted them done, and taught them to speak English. The settlers forced the Indians to give up their way of living, and their …show more content…
military troops was one of the many significant conflicts between both parties. It resulted in 300 deaths of the Sioux Indians. Wounded Knee’s massacre was the last major battle in the late 19th century lead by Indians. The U.S. militaries constant pursuit of the Sioux leader “Sitting Bull” was because he led many of the Sioux Indians away from reservations. In 1889, Sioux Indians gathered at Wounded Knee to take part in the Ghost Dance. The Indians believed the Ghost Dance was a movement of religious revival that would help to reclaim the land that they lost. The U.S. military was in fear of the armed and large number of Indians that had gathered together. They tried to prohibit the Ghost Dance ceremonies because they viewed it as demented by the participants (The Wounded Knee Massacre; 2003-2014). Sitting Bull was a leader of the Sioux Indians, and had major influence over them. Military officials arrested Sitting Bull for fear he would lead the Indians from the reservations. Wounded Knee begun because of the death of Sitting Bull, his followers, and police men. Tensions arise after the death, and murder of their great

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    They took to unique culture based on nomadic hunting of the buffalo. The Plain Indians…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dexter, Christian A. Review of Killing Custer: The Battle of Little Bighorn and the Fate of the Plains Indians. By James Welch and Paul Stekler. New York: W.W Norton Company, 1994.…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A battle that had a remarkable impact to the Indians was the battle of Little Big Horn. This battle was between Seventh Cavalry and sitting Bull’s band of hostile Sioux. The name for this battle originates because it occurred on the little Big Horn river. The reason for this battle was because during that time period there was a lot of racism against the Indian and the Cavalry wanted to kill them all. There are many points of view that tell and explain what happened in the battle one which was U.S Major Reno. There is also Lakota Chief Red horse who was an eye witness of everything that occurred. Between U.S Major Reno and Lakota Chief Red Horse they both had similarities and differences in the claims that they make as they tell the war from their points of view.…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Little Big Horn Bat

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The battle of little big horn took place on 25th June 1876. All 210 soldiers in General Custer’s force were killed by Indians led by sitting bull. The Battle began because the white settlers and the Native American’s lived in peace but the American’s started to abuse their trust with the Native American’s as they started to dig for gold, as the gold was discovered in the Rocky mountain and build train lines to get to the mountain. The us government then started to build more train lines and started to scar the buffalo away, the Native American’s needed the buffalo for food and many other items. The Native American’s than had enough of the White settlers destroying their land and traditional customs, Red cloud addressed the US government representative and announced “the great Father (US president) sends us presents and wants us to sell him the road, but the white chief comes with soldiers to steal it before we say yes or no. I will talk to you no more. I will go now and I will fight you”. In this essay I will try to explore the battle and whether the US defeat was because of General Custer.…

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Sioux Indians also known as the Lakota were first around in the 18th century. They were the largest tribe and not many people know that they were nomadic. As they were nomadic, they travelled a lot and followed buffalos around the Great Plains. The traditional view on the Sioux Indians is that they are barbaric because of what people had heard and because of Hollywood. But the more recent view of them is that they are more spiritual and they are put across as positive.…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sitting Bull Many Native Americans have attempted to resist the force of the United States government and the reservation policies, but none were as successful as Sitting Bull. Sitting Bull was a Hunkpapa Lakota Tribal chief that led his tribe and many others in the resistance against the U.S. Indian policies. Not only did he win many battles and resist the growing reservation movement, he also protected his people from maximum harm and harassment from the U.S. government.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Alarmed by the Ghost Dance Influence on Sioux reservations, Indian Bureau agents requested military assistance”(Infobase Learning). Their values and beliefs included practicing the Ghost Dance and not following the ways of the normal white man. When the government saw that this was happening they immediately sent over troops. “ On December 15, 1890, reservation police tried to arrest Sitting Bull who they believed was a Ghost Dancer, and ended up killing him , increasing the tension ,and anger at Pine Ridge” (Wounded Knee, History.com). The police were sent to do the job of arresting the leaders and instead they got the wrong guy ,and killed him. Arresting the Indian leader was bad enough because they had no reason to and instead he ended up dead. Even if this was on accident they still have a right to be angry. There was a battle between the two sides before this and the United States lost. At the time the Indian people were not doing anything that went directly towards the United States government or soldiers in a bad way. This was not fair because they simply took advantage over them like they were nothing and did not have the right for their own values and beliefs. They were sent there to decrease tension for themselves and the outcome was increasing the tension for the…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Oglala Women

    • 457 Words
    • 1 Page

    According to the article, “Oglala Women” by Marla N., Sioux was an American tribe which its gender roles form an important part of their natives lifestyle. Initially, Sioux tribe lived in the central savannas, which is now known as the United States. These American Indians were considered as nomadic and warring natives. They were considered nomadic because they moved from one place to another easily. Sioux were one of the largest Indian tribes, and which was classified into three alliances that were Lakota or Teton, Dakota and Nakota or Yanktonais. Over time, some of above alliances migrated to west and south, as a result they changed their lifestyle according to new conditions, picking up influences from other tribes and therefore changed their language and ways of dressing. The Sioux development was the result of three dialects. Those new dialects are Dakota, Nakota and Lakota. The Dakota and Lakota are still used, but the Nakota is practically missing. Besides, Oglala Lakota is one of the seven sub tribes of the Lakota alliance. Finally, they were localized in the Oglala Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, which is the eighth largest Native American reservation in the United States. In addition, one of the most significant events, which distinguish the Sioux tribe, is the war won in 1868 against the army of the United States. In another part, in Oglala Lakota tribe men were responsible for policy of the tribe. Men were usually the heads of political affairs, war leaders, warriors, and hunters. "The descendants of remarkable men Such as Crazy Horse, Red Cloud, And Afraid of Horse continue to be in the headlines" (1), as mentioned in the article, these are some of the distinguished leaders of this great tribe. Moreover, women were and will continue being respected and considered significant part of the tribe. Grandmothers had and have a great value in the tribe, besides being respected they had to…

    • 457 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Indians during this time were having problems of their own. They were not getting paid for the land the government had gotten from them. They were not able to hunt and fish throughout the land as they did previously and they were starving. The Indians did not adapt well to farming. Confined to the reservations along the Minnesota River, Chief Big Eagle later remarked that it seemed too sudden to make such a change. Unhappy with the whole situation, the Indians in August 1862 made an intense effort to drive the settlers off the land. On August 18, 1862, the Indians attacked the Lower Sioux Agency and it wasn't long before they crossed the river and preceded to loot, kill and burn buildings on the north side. At the onset of the Sioux uprising…

    • 150 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sitting Bull Thesis

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When Sitting Bull became the chief of his tribe he was constantly leading his warriors into battles against white soldiers. Sitting Bull’s first altercation with white soldiers occurred in June 1863 (“Sitting Bull”). Sitting Bull was aiding the Santee Sioux against the white soldiers’ retaliation after the “Minnesota Massacre.” After aiding the Santee Sioux Sitting Bull was named leader of the Strong Hearts and he became the cofounder of the elite Midnight Strong Hearts (Notable Native Americans). He became the leader of the Strong Hearts after receiving a bullet wound which left him with a permanent limp. Although Sitting Bull was a brave soldier what he did on the battlefield is not the only reason he is…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    As depicted in The Snow Walker, the Inuit Tribe was mostly contained within the Arctic Tundra. Whereas, in Dances With Wolves, the Sioux Indians were west of the Mississippi River in what is known as the prairies and plains. During the 19th century as Europeans ventured westward and began to settle in what we now know as the United States. (Strudwick) Conflict grew out of the Native Americans reverence for Mother Earth and the European’s concept of land ownership. These earlier territorial concepts were a premonition to the overall Indian-white conflicts. The Native Americans were treated as obstacles in the white man’s path to advancement and their interpretation of manifest destiny. The Europeans would aggressively force Native Americans off of their land and claim it as their own. Though, Native Americans believe that “no man owns land, which it belongs only to Mother Nature”. (Johnson) The Native Americans would wage wars; however, they were futile in their attempts due to using primitive weapons against guns carried by the white man. Eventually, the Native American population began to drop rapidly due to warfare, disease, and the white man’s brutality.…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Human history started out with people making a living by foraging necessities directly from nature. It was an egalitarian system, where everyone had equal access to everything they needed. The Cheyenne tribe were considered equestrian foragers, concentrating on hunting large animals, primarily buffalo (O’Neil). They lived in the Great Plains in what is now South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas (Englar 6). Today, the Cheyenne are split into two groups. The Northern Cheyenne live in Montana and the Southern Cheyenne live in Oklahoma. They consider themselves one people (Englar 6). As past equestrian foragers, the Cheyenne tribe had an interesting way of expressing kinship and religion.…

    • 1380 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Chief Red Cloud of the Oglala Sioux took a stand in history when he refused to give up his tribe’s land, proving the strength of the Native Americans and providing for a better recognition of American Indians in the future. Before the exploration of the American West, Sioux Indians led favorable, happy lives. Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Sioux tribes resided in present-day North…

    • 2052 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Crazy Horse is one on the most ambiguous yet legendary leaders in the American Indian history. The book Crazy Horse: A Lakota Life attempts to tell the story of one of the most feared by foes, and honored by allies American Indian leaders. Kingsley M. Bray draws from primary sources and other biographies to construct the tragic sequence of childhood conflict, deception, and misjudgments that shaped the leader’s adulthood affairs and eventually led to his demise. The book reveals a new biography not only in the warrior’s battles, but also the often time overlooked political and religious struggles he faced. It gives a new outlook on the man inside the legend.…

    • 666 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    500 Nations

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Divergent Indian Tribes, throughout North and South America, had been thriving and living for generations with a deep reverence for their God or Spirit, and living in symbiosis with the land. As the new settlers arrived, they introduced their own brand of social order, however, they failed to understand the impact their desire to conform or corral the native people would forever alter, and in some instances destroy, the lives of future generations of Indians. One of the most startling examples of this was the decimation of the Lakota Indians by the 7th Calvary at Wounded Knee, South Dakota in 1890. Their leader, Big Foot, certainly was feeling the hopelessness and frustration of his people living on the Cheyenne River Reservation having to rely on the handouts from corrupt government officials for survival. It is likely, compelled by the desire to create a better existence for his people; Big Foot left the reservation in late December with approximately 300 of his people to meet Red Cloud, the Oglala Indian leader, at Pine Ridge. Previous to their ill- fated journey, their hopes had been temporarily inspired by Sitting Bull’s Ghost Dance; the Lakota Indians would dance tirelessly and endlessly whereby hoping to restore their nation’s personal freedoms and way of life prior to the intrusion of the white settlers on their lands. Unfortunately, their efforts would prove unsuccessful and succeeded only in producing further doubts by the white settlers and, likely, the justification for the actions of the 7th Calvary soldiers at Wounded Knee when the Lakota would be summarily executed even as they stood…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays