4.3 Plains Indian Wars

Origins of Plains Conflicts

Westward expansion in the 19th century set off decades of conflict between the U.S. government and Native American nations on the Great Plains. Federal policies actively encouraged white settlement of lands that tribes had occupied for centuries, and the collision between nomadic Plains cultures and agricultural settler society made violence almost inevitable.

Westward Expansion Impact

Manifest Destiny, the belief that Americans were destined to settle the entire continent, provided the ideological fuel for expansion. The Homestead Act of 1862 accelerated the process by offering 160 acres of free land to settlers willing to farm it. For Plains tribes, this meant displacement from traditional hunting grounds and sacred sites. As settlers moved in, they disrupted buffalo migration patterns, threatening the resource that Plains Indians depended on for food, shelter, clothing, and spiritual practice.

Resource Competition

Settlers and Native Americans competed for the same limited resources. Buffalo herds, once numbering in the tens of millions, declined dramatically due to overhunting by settlers and deliberate military strategy. Gold rushes brought additional pressure: the 1874 discovery of gold in the Black Hills (land guaranteed to the Lakota by treaty) sent thousands of prospectors flooding into Native territory. Water rights disputes also intensified as settlers diverted rivers and streams for agriculture.

Cultural Misunderstandings

Many of the conflicts stemmed from fundamentally different worldviews. Plains tribes did not share the European concept of individual land ownership, which led to very different interpretations of treaties. The spiritual significance of specific lands was routinely dismissed by U.S. negotiators. Language barriers made effective communication difficult, and the gap between nomadic lifeways and settled agriculture created friction that neither side fully understood.

Major Plains Indian Wars

From the 1850s through the 1890s, a series of armed conflicts between Native American nations and U.S. military forces reshaped the Great Plains. These wars grew out of broken treaties, land disputes, and the federal government's determination to confine tribes to reservations.

Sand Creek Massacre

On November 29, 1864, U.S. Army forces under Colonel John Chivington attacked a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho people in Colorado Territory. The village was flying an American flag and a white flag of truce. Troops killed and mutilated an estimated 150-200 people, mostly women, children, and the elderly. The massacre sparked outrage on both sides: it intensified Native resistance across the Plains and drew condemnation from some members of Congress, though Chivington was never formally punished.

Red Cloud's War

This conflict (1866-1868) pitted Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho forces against the U.S. Army over control of the Powder River Country in present-day Montana and Wyoming. The war is named after Oglala Lakota chief Red Cloud, who organized a remarkably effective alliance. The Fetterman Fight of December 1866, in which warriors killed all 81 soldiers in Captain William Fetterman's command, demonstrated the alliance's military capability. The war ended with the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, one of the few instances where the U.S. agreed to Native demands, closing the Bozeman Trail and abandoning its forts in the region.

Great Sioux War

The Great Sioux War (1876-1877) erupted after the U.S. violated the Fort Laramie Treaty following the discovery of gold in the Black Hills. The government attempted to force Lakota and Cheyenne bands onto reservations. The war included the famous Battle of Little Bighorn but ultimately ended in defeat for the Native forces. By 1877, most Lakota and Cheyenne had been confined to reservations, and the Black Hills were seized without legitimate consent.

Key Native American Leaders

The Plains Indian Wars produced leaders whose military skill, political vision, and spiritual authority shaped the course of resistance. Their legacies remain central to Native American identity today.

Sitting Bull

Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotanka), a Hunkpapa Lakota chief and holy man born around 1831, became one of the most prominent figures of Native resistance. He led Lakota warriors against U.S. encroachment and played a key role in the victory at Little Bighorn in 1876. Before the battle, he performed a Sun Dance and had a vision of soldiers falling into the Lakota camp, which strengthened his people's resolve. After Little Bighorn, he led his followers into Canada rather than surrender. He returned in 1881 and eventually settled on Standing Rock Reservation. On December 15, 1890, Indian agency police killed him during an attempted arrest, just two weeks before the Wounded Knee Massacre.

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse (Tashunka Witko), an Oglala Lakota war leader born around 1840, was known for both his military brilliance and his spiritual commitment. He fought alongside Sitting Bull at Little Bighorn and led successful guerrilla campaigns that frustrated U.S. forces. Crazy Horse was also a key leader in the Fetterman Fight during Red Cloud's War. He surrendered in May 1877 and was killed under disputed circumstances at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, that September. He never allowed his photograph to be taken, and no verified image of him exists.

Red Cloud

Red Cloud (Mahpiya Luta), born in 1822, was the Oglala Lakota chief who led the only war against the U.S. that ended in a treaty favorable to Native Americans. After securing the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, he shifted to diplomacy, visiting Washington, D.C. multiple times to advocate for his people's rights. He navigated the difficult transition to reservation life while continuing to push for better conditions. He died in 1909 on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

U.S. Military Strategies

The U.S. military adapted its approach over the course of the Plains wars, moving from conventional engagements to strategies designed to break Native resistance by targeting food supplies, exploiting tribal divisions, and forcing confinement.

Scorched Earth Tactics

The most devastating strategy was the systematic destruction of Plains Indians' food sources, above all the buffalo. General Philip Sheridan reportedly endorsed this approach, and the military actively encouraged commercial buffalo hunters. Between 1870 and 1883, the great southern and northern herds were virtually wiped out, dropping from an estimated 30 million animals to fewer than 1,000. Without buffalo, Plains tribes lost their primary source of food, clothing, shelter, and trade goods, making resistance nearly impossible.

Divide and Conquer Approach

The U.S. military exploited existing rivalries between tribes. Crow and Pawnee scouts, for example, served with the Army against their traditional Lakota and Cheyenne enemies. The government also offered preferential treatment to bands willing to cooperate, creating divisions within tribes between those who favored resistance and those who sought accommodation.

Reservation System Implementation

Reservations served a dual purpose: they confined Native peoples to specific areas while opening the rest of the Plains to white settlement. Nomadic tribes were forced into sedentary lifestyles that clashed with their cultures. Reservations were typically located on marginal lands with poor soil and limited game. The system was also a tool of assimilation, with the government using ration distribution as leverage to enforce compliance with its "civilizing" programs.

Native American Resistance Tactics

Plains tribes developed sophisticated military and cultural strategies to resist U.S. expansion. While they faced overwhelming disadvantages in numbers and resources, their tactics proved effective in numerous engagements.

Guerrilla Warfare Techniques

Plains warriors used hit-and-run tactics to avoid pitched battles against larger, better-supplied U.S. forces. Their intimate knowledge of the terrain allowed them to ambush troops and supply lines, then disappear before reinforcements arrived. Decoy tactics were a specialty: at the Fetterman Fight, a small group of warriors (including Crazy Horse) lured soldiers into a carefully prepared ambush. Traditional skills in horseback riding and marksmanship translated directly into military advantages.

Alliance Formation

Tribes that had historically been rivals formed coalitions against the common threat. The Lakota-Cheyenne-Arapaho alliance was the most significant, producing victories at the Fetterman Fight and Little Bighorn. These alliances required overcoming real cultural and political differences. They tended to be temporary, dissolving after immediate threats passed, which limited their long-term effectiveness.

Spiritual Resistance Movements

Resistance was not only military. The Ghost Dance movement, which emerged in the late 1880s under the Paiute prophet Wovoka, promised the restoration of traditional ways, the return of the buffalo, and the departure of white settlers. The Sun Dance reinforced tribal unity and spiritual strength. Medicine men and spiritual leaders maintained morale and cultural identity during a period of enormous upheaval. The U.S. government viewed these movements as threats, and its attempt to suppress the Ghost Dance directly led to the events at Wounded Knee.

Battle of Little Bighorn

The Battle of Little Bighorn (June 25-26, 1876) was the most famous engagement of the Plains Indian Wars and the greatest military victory for Native forces during the conflict. It became known in American popular culture as "Custer's Last Stand."

Causes and Context

After gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874, the U.S. government pressured the Lakota to sell the land. When they refused, the government issued an ultimatum: all Lakota and Cheyenne bands must report to reservations by January 31, 1876, or be considered hostile. This was a direct violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse led the resistance, and thousands of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho gathered in a massive encampment along the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory.

Battle Strategies

The Native encampment was far larger than U.S. intelligence had estimated, with an estimated 1,500-2,500 warriors present. Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, commanding about 700 men of the 7th Cavalry, made a fateful decision to divide his regiment into three battalions and attack without waiting for reinforcements.

1. Custer sent Captain Frederick Benteen with one battalion to scout to the south.
2. Major Marcus Reno attacked the southern end of the village but was quickly driven back across the river.
3. Custer led five companies (roughly 210 men) toward the northern end of the camp.
4. Lakota and Cheyenne warriors, using their knowledge of the terrain, surrounded Custer's force on the ridges above the river.
5. Custer's entire command was killed. Reno and Benteen's forces survived by digging in on a hilltop until reinforcements arrived two days later.

Aftermath and Consequences

All roughly 210 men under Custer's immediate command were killed. The defeat shocked the American public and became a rallying point for increased military spending on the Plains. Congress authorized additional troops and funding, and the Army launched aggressive winter campaigns that forced most Lakota and Cheyenne bands onto reservations within a year. The victory at Little Bighorn, while significant, ultimately accelerated the end of armed resistance.

Wounded Knee Massacre

The Wounded Knee Massacre on December 29, 1890, is widely considered the final major armed conflict of the Plains Indian Wars. It stands as one of the most tragic events in Native American history.

Events Leading Up

The Ghost Dance movement had spread rapidly among reservation communities in 1889-1890, alarming U.S. officials who feared it could spark an uprising. On December 15, 1890, Indian agency police killed Sitting Bull during an attempted arrest at Standing Rock Reservation. Following his death, a band of Miniconjou Lakota under Chief Big Foot (Spotted Elk) fled south toward the Pine Ridge Reservation. Big Foot himself was seriously ill with pneumonia.

Massacre Details

The 7th Cavalry (the same regiment that had fought at Little Bighorn) intercepted Big Foot's band of roughly 350 people near Wounded Knee Creek and ordered them to make camp. The next morning, soldiers began disarming the Lakota.

1. During the disarmament, a scuffle broke out over a rifle belonging to a deaf man named Black Coyote.
2. A shot was fired (accounts differ on who fired first).
3. Soldiers opened fire with rifles and four Hotchkiss mountain guns positioned on the surrounding hills.
4. The Lakota, largely unarmed at this point, were cut down as they tried to flee.
5. An estimated 250-300 Lakota were killed, including many women and children. Bodies were found scattered up to two miles from the camp.
6. Twenty-five U.S. soldiers also died, many from their own crossfire.

Twenty soldiers later received the Medal of Honor for their actions at Wounded Knee, a fact that remains deeply controversial. Efforts to rescind those medals have continued into the 21st century.

Legacy and Impact

Wounded Knee marked the end of organized armed resistance on the Plains. For the Lakota and other Native peoples, it became a symbol of the violence and betrayal that characterized U.S. Indian policy. The massacre site remains a place of mourning and remembrance. In 1973, members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) occupied Wounded Knee for 71 days to protest federal treatment of Native Americans, demonstrating the event's continued resonance.

Treaties and Agreements

Treaties between Native nations and the U.S. government were supposed to establish peace and define land rights. In practice, the treaty process was marked by unequal power, mistranslation, and systematic violation by the federal government.

Fort Laramie Treaty (1868)

This treaty, signed between the U.S. and the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, was one of the most significant agreements of the era.

• Established the Great Sioux Reservation, including the Black Hills, for the exclusive use of the Lakota.
• Required the U.S. to close the Bozeman Trail and abandon its forts in the Powder River Country.
• Stipulated that no future land cessions could occur without the consent of three-fourths of adult male Lakota.

The treaty was violated within six years. After gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874, the government attempted to purchase the land. When the Lakota refused, the U.S. simply seized it. In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians that the taking was illegal and awarded over $100 million in compensation. The Lakota have refused to accept the money, insisting on the return of the land. The trust fund has grown to over $1 billion.

Medicine Lodge Treaty (1867)

This was actually a series of three treaties signed with Southern Plains tribes: Kiowa, Comanche, Plains Apache, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho. The treaties aimed to end warfare on the Southern Plains by establishing reservations in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). In exchange for large land cessions, the government promised annuities, schools, and protection from white encroachment. The promises went largely unfulfilled, and continued settler intrusion onto Native lands led to renewed fighting, including the Red River War of 1874-1875.

Broken Promises and Violations

Treaty violations were not occasional failures but a consistent pattern:

• Annuity payments promised in treaties were frequently late, insufficient, or never delivered.
• Congress unilaterally modified treaties without tribal consent, most notably through the 1877 act that seized the Black Hills.
• Settler and mining interests routinely overrode treaty protections, and the government rarely enforced boundaries.
• After 1871, Congress stopped making treaties with tribes altogether, instead passing legislation that treated Native nations as subjects rather than sovereign entities.

Native Americans had almost no legal recourse when treaties were broken. The federal court system did not recognize tribal standing in most cases until well into the 20th century.

Technological Factors

Technology played a major role in determining the outcome of the Plains wars. U.S. advantages in transportation, communication, and industrial production ultimately overwhelmed Native resistance, though Plains warriors proved remarkably adaptable.

Firearms Advancements

The introduction of repeating rifles like the Spencer and Henry gave U.S. troops a significant firepower advantage over single-shot weapons. Native warriors, however, quickly acquired and became proficient with new firearms through trade, capture, and purchase. At Little Bighorn, some Lakota and Cheyenne warriors carried Winchester repeating rifles that were actually superior to the single-shot Springfield carbines issued to the 7th Cavalry. The arms trade with Native peoples became a major concern for the U.S. government, which attempted (with limited success) to restrict it.

Railroad Expansion

The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 transformed the Plains. Railroads allowed the rapid movement of troops, settlers, and supplies into previously remote areas. They also physically divided buffalo herds, disrupting migration patterns and making the animals easier to hunt commercially. Railroad companies actively promoted buffalo hunting, both for profit and to clear the way for settlement. The railroads were later used to transport Native Americans to reservations and Native children to distant boarding schools.

Telegraph Communication

The telegraph allowed U.S. military outposts to coordinate troop movements and share intelligence across vast distances, an advantage Plains tribes could not match. Native warriors recognized the telegraph's strategic importance and frequently cut lines to disrupt communications. The telegraph also shaped public opinion by transmitting news of battles and massacres to eastern newspapers, influencing both policy and public sentiment.

Cultural and Social Impacts

The Plains Indian Wars were accompanied by deliberate policies aimed at dismantling Native cultures. Military defeat and cultural suppression worked together to transform Native life on the Plains.

Disruption of Traditional Lifestyles

Confinement to reservations ended the nomadic hunting practices that had defined Plains cultures for generations. Without buffalo, tribes lost not just their primary food source but materials for clothing, shelter, tools, and trade, along with a central element of their spiritual life. Traditional leadership structures were undermined as the reservation system imposed government-appointed leaders. Forced relocations separated peoples from ancestral lands and the sacred sites tied to their identities.

Forced Assimilation Policies

The U.S. government pursued an explicit policy of cultural destruction. The most notorious tool was the boarding school system, beginning with the Carlisle Indian Industrial School founded in 1879 by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, whose stated goal was to "kill the Indian, save the man." Children were forcibly removed from their families, forbidden to speak their languages or practice their traditions, and subjected to harsh discipline. The Dawes Act of 1887 (General Allotment Act) broke up communally held tribal lands into individual plots, with "surplus" land sold to white settlers. This resulted in the loss of roughly 90 million acres of tribal land by 1934.

Reservation Life Challenges

Reservations were typically located on land that settlers did not want: arid, remote, and lacking in resources. Government rations were often inadequate, leading to malnutrition and disease. Restrictions on movement and cultural practices created deep social and psychological harm. Dependence on government supplies replaced traditional self-sufficiency, creating cycles of poverty that persist today.

Long-Term Consequences

The effects of the Plains Indian Wars did not end in 1890. They continue to shape Native American communities, federal Indian policy, and American society.

Land Loss and Displacement

Native Americans lost the vast majority of their land base during and after the wars. The original Great Sioux Reservation, for example, was reduced to five smaller, separated reservations. Ongoing legal battles over land rights, water rights, and mineral rights continue in federal courts. Some tribes, like the Lakota, continue to seek the return of specific lands (particularly the Black Hills) rather than accepting monetary compensation.

Population Decline

Warfare, disease, starvation, and the harsh conditions of early reservation life caused severe population declines among Plains tribes. Some bands were reduced to a fraction of their pre-war numbers. While Native American populations have recovered significantly in the 20th and 21st centuries, many tribes remain below their historical population levels, and the demographic disruption altered cultural transmission for generations.

Cultural Preservation Efforts

Despite the damage, Native communities have worked to revitalize their languages, ceremonies, and cultural practices. Tribal colleges and cultural centers educate younger generations. Federal legislation like the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) of 1990 provides legal protection for cultural artifacts and ancestral remains. The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 affirmed the right to practice traditional religions. There is growing recognition of the value of traditional ecological knowledge in areas like land management and environmental conservation.

Historical Interpretations

How Americans understand the Plains Indian Wars has changed dramatically over time. The shift reflects broader changes in who gets to tell history and whose experiences are centered.

Native American Perspectives

Oral histories and tribal accounts offer narratives that differ sharply from official U.S. records. These accounts emphasize resistance, survival, and cultural continuity rather than simply defeat. They also highlight the concept of historical trauma, the idea that the effects of violence and dispossession are transmitted across generations. Native scholars and communities stress that sovereignty and self-determination are not just historical issues but ongoing priorities.

U.S. Government Narratives

For most of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the dominant narrative framed westward expansion as progress and portrayed Native peoples as obstacles to civilization. Military campaigns and forced assimilation were presented as necessary or even benevolent. This narrative has gradually shifted. In 2009, Congress passed a formal apology to Native Americans, though it received little public attention and carried no legal implications.

Modern Scholarly Reassessments

Contemporary scholarship draws on archaeology, anthropology, environmental history, and Native American studies to build a more complete picture. Historians now critically examine the biases in traditional sources (military reports, government documents) and incorporate Native voices. There is greater attention to the environmental consequences of westward expansion, the diversity of Native experiences, and the agency that Native peoples exercised even under extreme pressure. The simple "cowboys vs. Indians" framework has given way to more complex analyses of power, economics, ecology, and cultural survival.