Native Americans

• How were most tribes divided?

  Into bands, each with a chief and council
• What were bands?

  Most people in a band were related to each other. Bands were led by chiefs and had councils of advisers. Council members agreed everything the band did. The survival and protection of the band as a whole was seen as more important than the individuals within it
• What were chiefs?

  Chiefs were chosen because of their wisdom and skills as warriors/hunters. They were rarely chiefs for life. Chiefs and councils decided where their bands would go and what should happen to those who broke customs and traditions but they did not have to be obeyed
• What were tribes?

  Bands in the same tribe supported each other during crises. Tribal meetings of all the bands were held each year to arrange marriages, trade horses and discuss issues. Chiefs and elders formed the tribal councils that advised tribal chiefs. Some tribes e.g. the Sioux were part of larger groups called nations
• What were warrior societies?

  The best warriors from each band formed its warrior society. Members of warrior societies supervised hunts and protected their band from attacks. All short raids and wars were led by the warrior society and the band's council would always consult them before they made decisions
• What are the facts about leadership in native americans?

  No decision could be made until everyone at the council had agreed to it, the rest of the tribe did not have to obey the decision, chiefs and elders were often guided by the spirit world through visions. As a consequence of Native Americans viewing leadership differently to white American society, the US government thought that if a chief signed a treaty, all his tribe should obey the terms of the treaty e.g. chief Red Cloud signed a treaty in 1868 but many Lakota Sioux followed Chief Sitting Bull who opposed it
• What are the facts about band roles?

  A band saw every member as being equally important to its survival. Men ( braves ) hunted and fought enemies, women ( squaws ) made clothing, fed the family and looked after the tipi, elders were respected for their wisdom but were left behind to die if their weakness threatened the survival of the band, everyone looked after children who were taught the skills of their parents.
• What was a consequence of band roles?

  When the US government tried to break Native American society into family units or when Native American children were moved to schools far away from their tribe it meant they couldn't learn all the skills and traditions of their people which had an impact on Native American way of life
• What was the environment on the Great Plains like?

  Very tough. It was very dry with very hot summers and extremely cold winters. Native Americans depended on each other, the land and animals to survive
• What was the importance of horses?

  Horses had been introduced by Spanish invaders, people bred, traded or stole horses, wealth and status were measured by how many horses someone had, horses were used in war, horses carried people and their belongings on their journey to find buffalo, catching buffalo was quicker and easier on horseback
• What was the importance of buffalo?

  Every part of the buffalo was used for food, clothing and equipment except the heart which Native Americans believed gave new life to a herd, women and children cut up the buffalo meat and either ate it raw or cooked or made jerky for the winter
• What kind of lifestyle did Native Americans have?

  Nomadic. Most of them followed the buffalo migration patterns through summer and autumn and lived in tipis. As a consequence nomadic tribes found it hard to live on reservations because they were used to travelling and hunting freely. In winter the bands moved to sheltered valleys where they lived in wooden lodges, insulated with thick layers of soil
• What were tipis?

  They were made of wooden poles and covered in buffalo hide and were ideal for life on the Plains as their cone shape protected them against strong winds, flaps provided ventilation in the summer heat and they could be taken down and packed away in minutes
• Why did bands change size?

  They changed size depending on the amount of food available. When food became scarce, bands would split up and spread out so that there was more chance of everyone getting enough to eat. As a consequence, bands often moved outside of their tribe's traditional hunting grounds and into areas controlled by other tribes. Sometimes this was done by treaty with other tribes and sometimes it caused conflicts
• What were Native American beliefs about nature?

  Everything in nature had a spirit and these spirits could help or harm humans, humans were a part of nature and should work with the spirits of nature rather than try to control or tame them, they could contact the spirit world through visions and special ritual dances
• What were Native American beliefs about land and property?

  Tribes had sacred areas. For the Lakota Sioux, the Black Hills, Paha Sapa, were sacred because this was where the Lakota believed their tribe originally came from, Native American families sometimes had their own garden plots but generally no one owned land. For Native Americans land was no one's property and not something that one person could buy and keep just for themself
• What were Native American attitudes to war?

  Native American society was full of conflict but Native Americans had developed ways to avoid too much killing because young men were essential to each tribe's survival, the highest respect and prestige was given to warriors for counting coup, Native American war parties would also run away if the fight turned against them so as a consequence the US army found it difficult to fight an enemy that ran away rather than fighting to the last man and had to develop new techniques against Native American warfare
• What was counting coup?

  Landing a blow on an enemy and getting away without being injured
• Why did the US government want to keep Native Americans and white Americans separate?

  The US government was keen to expand the USA westwards but also believed it had to keep them separate to avoid conflict
• What key government policies were there 1830-1851?

  1830 Indian Removal Act, 1834 Indian Trade and Intercourse Act, 1848 US victory in the Mexican-American war, 1851 Indian Appropriations Act
• What did the 1830 Indian Removal Act do?


  The US government forced 46,000 eastern Native Americans to give up their lands in return for new lands west of the Mississippi River as white Americans thought that this land was useless as it was known as the Great American Desert
• What did the 1834 Indian Trade and Intercourse Act do?


  A permanent Indian frontier was set up which divided Indian Territory from the eastern states. Forts guarded the frontier to stop white Americans from crossing over to settle in Indian Territory
• What did the 1848 US victory in the Mexican-American war do?


  The situation changed when the USA gained new territories in the West. Instead of being on the western edge, Indian Territory was now sandwiched in the middle of the USA
• What did the 1851 Indian Appropriations Act do?


  It paid for moving Native Americans in Indian Territory to reservations in modern day Oklahoma. As well as keeping Native Americans and white Americans apart, the government hoped that reservations would help Native Americans assimilate by teaching them how to farm and live like white Americans. Reservations would become a way of controlling where Native Americans went and what they did
• Why was the 1851 Indian Appropriations Act made?


  By the 1850s white Americans wanted to use parts of land in the West that had been given to Native Americans. Reservations were the solution. The government paid Native Americans to give up lands that white Americans wanted and move to smaller areas
• Government support for western expansion

  The government needed US citizens to go and live in its new territories in the West which meant that people needed to be able to travel on trails across Native American lands so the US army forced Native Americans to move away from trails in case they attacked travellers migrating from east to west. As a consequence US policy started to change. The permanent Indian Frontier still marked the boundary but now white Americans were allowed to cross the frontier
• Detail on the Indian Appropriation Act 1851?


  By the 1850s, whites wanted to use parts of the land in the West that had been given to Native Americans. The government paid natives to give up lands that whites wanted and move to smaller areas. This Act paid for moving Native Americans onto reservations. As well as keeping Natives and whites apart, the government hoped that reservations would help Natives learn to farm and live like white Americans as white people could teach Natives about new ways of living. Reservations could become a way of controlling where natives went and what they did