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Native Americans: Post Civil War - Coggle Diagram
Native Americans: Post Civil War
Position of Native Americans
Lincoln left Native American affairs almost entirely to Congress and the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Not seen as a priority
Lincoln displayed the common paternalistic attitude that tribal peoples required white men's "civilizing" influence
Lincoln signed laws that gave away millions of acres of tribal land
In 1862 alone, he signed into law the Homestead Act and the Pacific Railroad Act, which shifted millions of acres of tribal land to settlers and railroad companies, respectively
He approved the mass execution of 38 Dakota Sioux warriors
1865
There were 300-400,000 Native Americans. This was reduced from the pre-columbian estimate of 5.65 million and the 1800 population of 600,000
Impact of Plains wars (one year after Sand Creek massacre)
Land
Impact of Civil War
Lincoln had not prioritised
Desire to assimilate Native Americans
Civil Rights
The recovery of lost land
The right to self-determination (to live according to their own laws, customs and religious beliefs)
The American government largely followed a policy of assimilation during this period, and consequently tried to destroy individual tribal cultures and loyalties
It was only when later inspired by African Americans Civil Rights movement that they eventually united in their opposition to assimilation
Land & Westward Expansion
By 1867, the Sioux tribes (Minnesota) handed over 24 million acres of land to the federal government. They were then confined to reservations
However, after 1871 the Indian Appropriations Act meant that there were no more treaties
It declared that "no Indian nation or tribe" would be recognized "as an independent nation, tribe, or power with whom the United States may contract by treaty.”
The statute also declared "no obligation of any treaty lawfully made and ratified with any such Indian nation or tribe prior to March 3, 1871, shall be hereby invalidated or impaired
Thus, it can be argued that this bill made it significantly easier for the federal government to secure lands that were previously owned by Native Americans