The Concentration Policy of 1851

Portrait describing one of the many battles fought during the Sioux Wars

Treaty established between the Sioux and the United States Government, known as the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851)

Poster created in response to the Treaty of Fort Laramie being broken

Portrait depicting Custer's Last Stand at Little Bighorn

Picture created to depict the lasting effect of American's on Native American society

Sources:

Confrontations with Native Americans

Native American Policy

Sioux Wars

Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 - Articles

Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 - Information

Black Hills Expedition of 1874

Trail of Tears

Custer's Last Stand

Dakota Bush

10/28/2014

History – Essay

            In most history textbooks, (when referring to the westward expansion) there are only stories beginning with the “great Christopher Columbus” and his discovery of America, and how we had several wars with Native Americans over land upon settling in America, and the tales about cowboys and the Wild West. However, the untold stories are the devastation that we caused to the Native American society, and the genocide we brought upon their people. This all truly began with the system we call the concentration policy. The concentration policy was a broad term used to describe the many policies, treaties, and systems enacted in an effort to move all of the Native Americans in the east into the west, and then later force them into small, defined reservations throughout the west. The intentions for doing this were not only to “protect white settlers,” (as stated by the U.S. Government) but also to make it simpler for Americans to divide and conquer the Native Americans, in hopes of eradicating their ideals, their culture, and their race.

It all began with the assimilation and removal policies of 1830 which forced Native Americans to assimilate to European-American ideals (such as having a written alphabet, knowing how to farm, and having a set system for education) and move from their eastern homelands to the west (more commonly known as the Trail of Tears). After most Native Americans had fled the east and moved into the west, white settlers were still unhappy about the situation, as they were continually under a threat of attack while crossing Native American lands. Less than twenty years later, another “treaty” was formed, called the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. This policy forced the remaining Native Americans living in the west to move into defined boundaries, or “reservations,” throughout the west. This was claimed to have been enacted in an effort to protect white settlers and end intertribal rivalry and conflict. Though, as proven by later acts of war against the Native Americans, this policy was mostly created to make it easier to destroy the remaining tribes while they were scattered throughout the west.

After moving the Native Americans who were living in the west into reservations, and promising a safe treaty between the two (referring to the tribes and the United States), both continued to break the treaty, with the majority of the fault leaning towards the United States. The breaching of the treaty began with many Lakota and Dakota natives who never knew about the treaty, and thus they continued their intertribal raiding. Also, white settlers continued to traverse across the defined Indian territories and upon the discovery of gold near the Missouri river ten years later, the amount of white travelers across the Indian lands greatly increased. Both sides were at a breaking point until the United States finally broke the treaty and started a war just a little more than ten years later.

In 1874, gold was discovered in the Black Hills (which were owned by the Sioux at the time), causing a widespread movement of white settlers into the Native American lands. General George Custer and his army were sent to the area to “investigate the area’s resources,” finally pushing the Native Americans to the brink of war, and causing the gruesome battle known as the Sioux War two years later. The most famous and devastating skirmish of the many battles that took place during the war was Custer’s Last Stand, at Little Bighorn. This is where General George Custer and his army of 300 men were slaughtered at the hands of a Sioux and Cheyenne war party. Though, the Native Americans later realized that they may have won the battle, but they surely lost the war.

While history textbooks won’t truly explain all of the bloodshed between the Native Americans and the United States, it is easily the largest carnage in history, and one that we can never forget. It began with the concentration policy which was a system composed of several treaties set upon the Native Americans in an attempt to bring order and peace between them and the people of the United States, and it ended with the many wars that followed the attempted imprisonment of the Native American culture and their people. While many can claim the United States is based on freedom and equality, others can claim that no matter what we are based on, we were created by the genocide and ethnocide of one race, and built on the enslavement of another. History can be spoken from many different righteous perspectives, but history is only truly told and heard by the victors of war.