The Skeleton Cave Massacre

1105 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Manifest destiny and its consequences

The injustice to the Native American Indians would carry over to the 19th Century through the spread of the US colonies to western territories. With support from the Manifest Destiny, Americans were able to legally obtain land west of the Mississippi all while disregarding the wellbeing of the Native Indians. Following the California gold rush, several Indian massacres took place that resembled the same violence and abuse they had endured ever since the arrival of European whites to America. During the expansion of the United States into western territories Americans found themselves deviating from treaties that were set in place to guarantee Native Americans land. This form of departure led to such massacres such as Indian Island Massacre, …show more content…

Leading up to the Skeleton Cave Massacre, newspapers and the public media expressed a growing anti-Indian emotion. This sentiment was increasing due to the back and forth battles between Indians and settlers. The U.S. army had begun to recruit Apache Indians to serve as scouts for helping finding Indian camps. After receiving what would later turn out to be false information, General George Crook led a group of U.S. soldiers and Apache to a cave where an Apache chief was supposedly hiding out amongst a group of warriors. The location of the cave was confirmed by a child who was a scout and interpreter for the U.S. named Hoo-Moo-Thy-Ah. Once the cave was found with the advantage of Apache skills, the U.S. massacred the supposed Apache Indians. It would turn out that neither the Apache chief or warriors were in the cave but instead the relatively peaceful Yavapi Indians. Just like the Indian Island and Sandy Creek Massacres, more women and children were killed than warrior aged men. Not only were a lot of women and children killed they were brutally murdered and to add insult to injury the local media celebrated the U.S. victory (The Skeleton Cave …show more content…

All of the major Indian massacres of the 19th Century happened in the winter months and Wounded Knee was no exception, it took place in December of 1890 in South Dakota. The U.S. had grown irate over the Indians increased religious enthusiasm and even after banning it they still continued to partake. The same white officials that created the ban ordered the U.S. military to put an end to the Indians disobedience at any cost. A fight broke out that involved the police and Indians which left six police officers and Sitting Bull as well as seven warriors dead. This altercation led to the warrant of arrest of several so called Indian renegades. Led by Colonel James Forsyth, the U.S. army surrounded the campsite of the Lakota Indians with Hotchkiss canons and outnumbered the Indians 250. After receiving resistance from the Indians the army opened fire on the Indians who were trying to run for cover killing men, women and even children

Show More
Related

  • Tecumseh And The Quest For Indian Leadership Summary

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    America had a newfound fervor for land already occupied by the Indians. Although the Treaty of Paris ended the war, in the west, war continued. In the treaty the British gave up all claims to the lands, but declared the Indians still owned their lands. America thought the Indians had no real claims to the land so they made treaties to legitimize American expansion.

    Read More

  • Battle Analysis of the Battle of Little Bighorn

    2009 Words  | 5 Pages

    At the conclusion of the battle, the stories of the Indian savagery were used to demonize their culture and there were no survivors from the 7th cavalry to tell what really happened. The Strategic Setting In 1875, Custer had made a commitment to the Sioux (aka. Lakota) that he would no longer fight Native Americans. Custer's promise came as a U.S. Senate commission meeting was taking place with the Lakota in an effort to purchase the gold mining fields in the Black Hills (which Custer had discovered a year earlier). The Lakota rejected the Senate’s offer in favor of sticking with the 1868 treaty that promised protection of their lands.

    Read More

  • Wounded Knee And The Battle Of Tippecanoe

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    On December 29, 1890, the army decided to take away all of the Sioux weapons because they weren’t sure if they could trust those indians. Some people think a deaf man did this, but one man shot his gun, while the tribe was surrendering. Studies think that he didn’t understand the Chiefs surrender. The army then opened fire at the Sioux. There was over 300 indians that died, and one of them was their chief named Bigfoot. This is an example of how we didn’t treat Native Americans fairly, because if it was a deaf man then we probably should of talked it out before we killed all those innocent

    Read More

  • Deciphering Wounded Knee: Hollywood Vs Historical Fact

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    Grua details how, although this massacre was initially "heralded as the final victory in the 400 year 'race war ' between civilization and savagery," it now is "an internationally-recognized symbol representing past massacres and genocide, as well as indigenous demands for recognition and sovereignty." Grub gives examples of how the survivors of this massacre found ways to record their eye-witness accounts, challenge the army 's "official memory," and persistently seek compensation from the government for the losses suffered by the Lakota people on this tragic day. The written documentation provides unchanging evidence of the injustices suffered by the victims of the Wounded Knee massacre. Oral history, kept alive by survivors ' descendants, has also preserved the stories of that terrible day. Wounded Knee has gained symbolic power "in hopes that such remembrance will lead to the eradication of violence, massacre, and

    Read More

  • Influence of Settlers on the Indians

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 1830's the Plains Indians were sent to the Great American Deserts in the west because the white men did not think they deserved the land. Afterwards, they were able to live peacefully, and to follow their traditions and customs, but when the white men found out the land they were on was still good for agricultural, or even for railroad land they took it back. Thus, the white man movement westward quickly began. This prospect to expand westward caused the government to become thoroughly involved in the lives of the Plains Indians. These intrusions by the white men had caused spoilage of the Plains Indians buffalo hunting styles, damaged their social and cultural lives, and hurt their overall lives.

    Read More

  • Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

    388 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Sioux band tougher led by Little Big Foot. They were heading to Pine RidgeReservation in South Dakota, when the army stopped them and held them at gun pointovernight. Big Foot’s group contained about 300 people two-thirds of them were women and children. While the soldiers numbered around 500 and were armed with automatic weapons. The next morning when the army began to disarm the Indians a shot rang out then the gun fire began leaving about 200 Indians dead in the snow. Thirty soldiers were also killed in the massacre. The soldiers that lost there lives were most likely killed by their own men in friendly fire. Wounded Knee is said to have been the last battle of the war but it was not so much a battle as it was a massacre. It was in fact the last exchange of fire between the army and the Sioux.

    Read More

  • Violence in the Old West

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the main forms of violence in the Old West was murder; the rising tension between the American soldiers and the Native Americans was a main contributor to this violence. An example of this strain is the Sand Creek Massacre. American soldiers attacked unaware Native Americans of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe ethnic groups. All men, women, and children were killed and/or tortured. There were no survivors. “Two soldiers drew their pistols and shot her [a little girl]”, portraying that these sort of crimes came about regularly in the West (Document G). Another example of this is the Battle of Beecher Island. The Battle of Beecher Island, also known as the Battle of Arikaree Fork, was the armed disagreement between soldiers of the U.S. Army and a few Native American tribes. According to Document H, there were “at least 50 [men dead]; perhaps as many as 200 [men] were wounded” (Document H). Adding on to the uneasiness between the Native Americans and the white soldiers, many killings were encountered by foolishness, not battle. The Native Americans and the soldiers wanted to prove that their race is more macho and better than the other. Even though Document L states that “113 [people] recorded no trouble with the Indians”, Document M detects many problems with the Native Americans resulting in “919” troops killed (Document L, Document M). The white soldiers in the Old West would have loved to kill the Native American’s buffalo popu...

    Read More

  • Exploring the California Act's Impact on Indigenous Rights

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    4. In 1850, California passed an Act that would take away more of the rights that Indians had. The Act contained the statement “in no case shall a white man be convicted on any offense upon the testimony of an Indian.” (California’s War on Indians 1). Basically, if a white man were to murder someone or did anything illegal and if only Indians saw it happen, they wouldn’t be able to convict the white man because of the witnesses race. The Act also narrowed down the Indians land rights, also enforced a slave like law in which white people were allowed to go and pick up Indian children

    Read More

  • Battle Of The Little Big Horn

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    The journey of exploration to the western territories brought the white man many great things, but they did face some opposition. The US government made plans to explore the Black Hills, after hearing of the gold it contained. This was not an easy task. The Sioux, with strong force, were not giving up their sacred land easily. The only way to gain the territory of the Black Hills was to wage war against the Sioux. The Battle of the Little Big Horn was one battle that the US will never forget. General George Custer led an army of men to take out the Sioux, one of the battalions was completely wiped out including Custer. The Sioux were very strong, but US had a lot more power and technology. Why did we get massacred? This question has been a mystery to many people throughout the years. Sergeant Windolph, of Benteen’s cavalry, and John F. Finerty, from General Crooks cavalry, bring us some personal accounts and memories of this tragedy.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Westward Expansion on The Cherokee Nation

    1470 Words  | 3 Pages

    Natives were forcefully removed from their land in the 1800’s by America. In the 1820’s and 30’s Georgia issued a campaign to remove the Cherokees from their land. The Cherokee Indians were one of the largest tribes in America at the time. Originally the Cherokee’s were settled near the great lakes, but overtime they moved to the eastern portion of North America. After being threatened by American expansion, Cherokee leaders re-organized their government and adopted a constitution written by a convention, led by Chief John Ross (Cherokee Removal). In 1828 gold was discovered in their land. This made the Cherokee’s land even more desirable. During the spring and winter of 1838- 1839, 20,000 Cherokees were removed and began their journey to Oklahoma. Even if natives wished to assimilate into America, by law they were neither citizens nor could they hold property in the state they were in. Principal Chief, John Ross and Major Ridge were leaders of the Cherokee Nation. The Eastern band of Cherokee Indians lost many due to smallpox. It was a year later that a Treaty was signed for cession of Cherokee land in Texas. A small number of Cherokee Indians assimilated into Florida, in o...

    Read More

  • Apaches Research Project

    2308 Words  | 5 Pages

    200 Apaches massacred, 100 more murdered, and 148 laying dead at Chihuahua Mexico, was something the Chiricahua Apache tribe, and many other tribes, lived through on a regular basis (Hoxie 1).  All of the previously mentioned, in addition to wars and being parted from their own land, were some of the consequences due to a country seeking to expand and conquer new territory, regardless of what or who they had to eliminate in order to accomplish this goal.  However, if Americans would have taken a more peaceful path in order to conquer the land of the Natives, if there would have been respect and honesty, and the many treaties made would have been honored, then these massacres would have been prevented and it would have been a dramatically different story.  Chiricahua Chief, Cochise, was one of the few people to realize that peace was the only way his people and the people around him could survive (Hoxie 1).  Honesty and respect was his method to come to an agreement. If more people had followed his example, what we know now as the "Indian Wars", would probably be known as the "Indian Compromises".  Events during that time were mostly responsible for all the chaos.  America was becoming more industrialized and new settlers were moving in to the "free" land.  The Apache were outnumbered and outgunned by these settlers.  Soon the Chiricahua found themselves on land that was not good, otherwise known as reservations.  The natives, including Chief Cochise, did not agree with this, and they let everyone know by rebelling and killing many new settlers. After a long struggle, the Chief gave his first step towards peace by giving the "We Will Remain at Peace with Your People Forever" speech on March 20, 1872 in Canada Alamosa, New Mexico. T...

    Read More

  • Westward Expansion and Those It Affected

    289 Words  | 1 Pages

    Many tribes had reigning governments and tribal counsels as a way of life. With westward expansion brought changes. Many Americans were killing their livestock, the food they ate, and Americans were settling more and more on the Indian lands. In time, Indians began to fight back and take what had been theirs. Once this happened, the Americans decided to make the Indians like Americans, so we took their land and tried to make them Americans.

    Read More

  • The Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier

    1495 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first Unknown Soldier’s corpse was from a battlefield in France. His remains were then put into a casket and sent to America. On the day of the tomb’s opening there was a large celebration that many attended to show reverence to the unknown, and to other men that died in battle. In America the soldier’s casket was followed by a large parade of military men to his resting place on top of a hill at the Arlington National Cemetery. In the video, US Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the narrator says, “In the amphitheatre of the Arlington Cemetery President Harding delivered a speech about the tomb. He then placed a congressional medal on the casket.” In this short video you can see the grief on all the civilians’ faces. This ceremony was a special part of America’s history. People were beginning to realize how real war was. People saw first hand that soldiers were putting their lives on the line for the sake of the U.S. citizens’ freedom. There were many soldiers to choose from to put into the tomb from each war. People who were high up in the military

    Read More

  • Twentieth Century Struggles of Native Americans

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the beginning of the 20th Century, there were nearly 250,000 Native Americans in the United States who accounted for approximately 0.3 percent of the population. This population was mostly residing in reservations where they executed a restricted extent of self-government. Native Americans have experienced numerous challenges related to land use and inconsistent public policies. Actually, during the 19th Century, Native Americans were dispossessed of a huge section of their land through forced removal westwards, through a series of treaties that were largely dishonored, and through military defeat by the United States in its expansion of control over the American West (Boxer par,1). Moreover, Native Americans have experienced

    Read More

  • Native American Reservation Life and History

    1235 Words  | 3 Pages

    On top of the farming craze, mining soon became very popular. Towns centered on mining would emerge, but shortly after they would disappear. This caused the Indians to move according to the mining towns. All this movement in the west caused life to become even more difficult for the Native Americans. When Americans and immigrants moved to the west they brought disease and violence with them. Ninety percent of Native Americans died after the gold rush in California (p. 501 Nash et al., 2010).

    Read More

More about The Skeleton Cave Massacre

Open Document