The nineteenth century was a time of hardship and loss for the Native Americans that included many fierce battles against the United States government in an effort to keep their homeland. Determined to maintain their culture and resist the efforts by the U.S. Army to force them onto reservations, the Plains Indians, which included the Sioux, Arapahoe, and Cheyenne tribes banded together to fight for their land. In the summer of 1876, an emboldened army of Plains Indians led by Sioux Chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse fought in what is now known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The Indians killed Lieutenant Colonel George Custer and nearly wiped out the 7th Cavalry. Even though the Battle of the Little Bighorn was a great victory for the Native Americans it was not enough to put an end to their inevitable loss of the war against the United States for their homeland. In 1868, the United States signs the Fort Laramie Treaty with the Sioux in an effort to bring peace between the white settlers and the tribe. Under the terms of the treaty, the U.S. agrees to withdraw from …show more content…
The people were afraid of more attacks by the Indians, enraged by Custer’s death, and wanted revenge for their murdered hero. Having won the battle did nothing to improving the Indian’s chances of regaining their lands. Instead, in Americans minds it only confirmed their belief that Indians were nothing more than bloodthirsty savages. In turn, the U.S. government became even more determined to drive out or destroy the Indians. Doubling its efforts, the U.S. Army returned with a vengeful fury and within five years most all Sioux and Cheyenne Indians were confined to a reservation or dead. To live out a harsh life on barren lands, suffering and dying from disease and starvation with little to no hope of returning to the days of old where the people lived peacefully and free of oppression from the