The
1800s represented a century of despair for the Indian nations as the
burgeoning population of white settlers moved further westward,
placing heavy demands on the land and natural resources. As the era
progressed, the Indians were pushed onto increasingly smaller living
areas, forced to sign treaties that were invariably broken by whites,
and unable to stop the vanishing of their primary food source, the
buffalo.
As the end of the nineteenth century drew to a
close, the few remaining free-roaming Indian tribes were pushed onto
reservations and forced to become dependent on government rations and
relinquish their customary way of life. In addition, throughout the
century there had been numerous armed conflicts between the U.S. army
(which was carrying out the government policy of manifest destiny)
and the Indian tribes who resisted the destruction of their own
cultural values. In particular, tension between the U.S. government
and the Sioux nation escalated after the Indians, led by Sitting
Bull, defeated Gen. George Custer at The Battle at Little Bighorn in
1876.
Wounded
Knee Research Resources
Return to 1890s
America: A Chronology
Contributed by Lori
Liggett
Bowling Green State University, American Culture Studies Program
Summer 1998