Red Cloud's War

• When did Red Cloud's War occur?

  It occured through 1866-1868.
• What was the background of Red Cloud's War?

  • The discovery of gold in 1862 Montana led to the Bozeman trail being set up so that miners could reach the gold fields which broke the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty as it crossed the Lakota Sioux hunting lands.
  • Red Cloud was forced to sign an agreement with the council that stated that people could cross the Bozeman trail in return for gifts and undisturbed hunting grounds.
• What are some key events of Red Cloud's War?

  • Red Cloud realized the government were making military forts around the Bozeman Trail.
  • Red Cloud did not trust the government after Little Crow's death.
  • Red Cloud chose to fight against the government by attacking the Bozeman Trail and managed to get other Lakota Sioux leaders (Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse) and Cheyenne and Arapaho bands to fight with him.
  • They stopped people using the Bozeman trail and laid siege to the forts, trapping and killing an army detachment.
• What were the results of Red Cloud's War?

  • Lakota Sioux killed 80 cavalry men and Captain William Fetterman which is now called Fetterman's Trap.
  • They surrounded Fort Phil Kearny and killed the soldiers inside.
  • The Native Americans could not capture the forts but no soldiers or travellers could use the Bozeman Trail (the government had found another route).
  • The new 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty agreed to close the Bozeman Trail and the Great Sioux Reservation was created further west.
  • Chief Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse did not sign the treaty or live on the reservation.
• How many Native Americans did Red Cloud involve in the war?

  Around 3000 Native American Warriors were involved in fighting soldiers.
• How many US soldiers did the Native Americans fight?

  Around 700 US soldiers fought the Native Americans.
• How many cavalrymen did the Lakota Sioux kill in Fetterman's Trap?

  All 81 cavalrymen involved in the battle, including Captain William Fetterman, were killed by the Native Americans.
• What President created a "Peace Policy" because of Red Cloud's War?

  President Grant created a Peace Policy in 1868.
• What did the Peace Policy state?

  • Resevation agents would be swapped to religious men (specifically Quakers) to make 'policing' more fair and peaceul.
  • They hired American Indian Ely Parker to be the commissioner of Indian Affairs.
  • $2 million was given to ensure Plains Indians were taken care of on their reservations. However, if a Native American was not on a reservation they were treated as hostile.
  • Ely Parker made the government treat Indians as ignorant wards (kids under adult guardianship) rather than independent nations.
• Why did the Peace Policy 1868 not work?

  In 1871, the Indian Appropriation Act went back on the Peace Policy and made it so that Indians weren't an independent nation so that they could take land from them easily.