Sioux Wars facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sioux Wars
Part of the American Indian Wars
"Custer's Last Stand" during the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. Like most battles between the Lakotas and the U.S. Army, it took place on ground not recognized as Lakota territory. (The battle stood in the Crow Indian Reservation).
Date 1854 (1854)–1891 (1891) Location Great Plains, United States, partly in 1851 Lakota treaty territory, but mainly in 1851 Crow treaty guaranteed country. Result United States victory, Sioux moved to reservations.
Belligerents
United States Allies: Arikara scouts Crow Pawnee Eastern Shoshone	Sioux Lakota Dakota Allies: Cheyenne Arapaho Kiowa Comanche
Commanders and leaders
John M. Chivington George Crook George A. Custer  † Nelson A. Miles Marcus Reno Plenty Coups (Crow) (?) Alligator-Stands-Up (Crow war-chief) Washakie (Shoshone chief)	Little Crow Red Cloud Crazy Horse  † Sitting Bull Black Kettle   †

The Sioux Wars were a series of fights between the United States government and different groups of the Sioux people. These conflicts happened in the second half of the 1800s. The first major fight was in 1854 near Fort Laramie in Wyoming. Sioux warriors fought with American soldiers in an event called the Grattan Massacre. The last conflict happened in 1890 during the Ghost Dance War.

Early Conflicts: The First Sioux War

The First Sioux War took place between 1854 and 1856. It started after the Grattan Massacre. A major battle during this time was the Battle of Ash Hollow in September 1855.

Dakota War of 1862: A Fight for Promises

In 1862, the Santee Sioux, also known as Dakotas, in Western Minnesota started a rebellion. This happened because the U.S. government did not give them the payments they had promised in the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux of 1851.

• The tribe attacked the nearby village of New Ulm and Fort Ridgely.
• They fought against U.S. Army forces in battles like the Battle of Birch Coulee and the Battle of Wood Lake.
• Many Santee warriors went west and north into Dakota Territory to continue fighting.
• Other Santees gave up to the U.S. Army at Camp Release.

Aftermath of the Dakota War

After the war, many Native Americans were put on trial. A large number were sentenced to death. After a review, 38 were executed in Mankato on December 26, 1862. This was the largest mass execution in American history.

• Battles continued through 1864 as U.S. troops chased the Sioux.
• Colonel Henry Sibley's army defeated the Lakota and Dakota in several battles in 1863. These included the Battle of Big Mound, Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake, Battle of Stony Lake, and Battle of Whitestone Hill.
• In 1864, General Alfred Sully led forces that defeated the Sioux at the Battle of Killdeer Mountain and the Battle of the Badlands.
• The remaining Sioux were forced to move to a small reservation on the Missouri River in South Dakota. Their descendants live there today on the Crow Creek Reservation.

Colorado War: Attacks and Massacres

The Colorado War began in 1863. It mostly involved American volunteer soldiers. Several Native American tribes attacked American settlements. The Lakota Sioux were among those who raided areas in northeast Colorado.

Sand Creek Massacre

On November 29, 1864, Colorado volunteers led by Colonel John Chivington attacked a peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho village. This village was camped on Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado. The soldiers killed about 150 people, including men, women, and children. The U.S. government had told these Native Americans they would be safe in that area.

• After the Sand Creek massacre, survivors joined other Northern Cheyenne camps.
• They planned an attack on the stage station and fort at Julesburg in January 1865.
• This attack, known as the Battle of Julesburg, was successful. It was led by the Sioux.
• Many raids followed along the South Platte River.

Fights at Mud Springs and Rush Creek

In February 1865, Native American warriors attacked a telegraph station at Mud Springs. Soldiers from Fort Mitchell and Fort Laramie arrived to help.

• On February 5, 36 soldiers faced about 500 warriors and had to retreat.
• On February 6, 120 troops led by Colonel William O. Collins faced 500 to 1,000 warriors.
• The soldiers had Spencer repeating rifles and held their ground.
• The warriors eventually left and moved their village.
• Collins' forces followed them but faced about 2,000 warriors at Rush Creek.
• The fighting was not decisive, and the pursuit was stopped.

Continued Raids in 1865

Raids continued along the Oregon Trail in Nebraska in the spring of 1865.

• On January 27, 1865, the army set fire to the prairie from Fort McPherson to Denver.
• The Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Northern Arapaho raided the Oregon Trail.
• In July 1865, they attacked troops at the bridge across the North Platte River. This was the Battle of the Platte Bridge Station.

Powder River War: Protecting the Land

Map indicating the battlefields of the Lakota wars (1851–1890) and the Lakota Indian territory as described in the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851). Most battles "between the army and the Dakota [Lakota] were on lands those Indians had taken from other tribes since 1851", and the ongoing conflict between the United States and the buffalo seeking Lakotas in the 1860s and the 1870s was a "clash of two expanding empires". The steady Lakota invasion into treaty areas belonging to smaller tribes ensured the United States firm Indian allies in the Arikaras and the Crows during the Lakota Wars.

In 1865, Major General Grenville M. Dodge ordered a military operation against the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes. These tribes lived in the Black Hills region. General Patrick E. Connor led this operation with many soldiers.

• Connor divided his forces into three groups.
• Only small fights happened until August 29, 1865.
• Connor's group of about 400 men met about 500 Arapahos led by Chief Black Bear in the Battle of the Tongue River.
• Connor's men attacked and captured a village. The Arapahos tried to fight back but failed.
• A few days later, a small group of soldiers was attacked by Arapahos in the Sawyers Fight. This was the last fight of the Powder River War.

Red Cloud's War: Defending the Bozeman Trail

The Bozeman Trail was a path to the Montana gold fields. The U.S. government wanted to make travel safe along this trail. They tried to make new agreements with the Lakota Indians. The Lakota legally owned the Powder River country, where the trail passed, according to the Treaty of Fort Laramie.

• The military sent soldiers to build new forts to watch over the Bozeman Road.
• Because of this, the Native Americans refused to sign any treaty. They left Fort Laramie ready to defend their land.
• Colonel Henry B. Carrington strengthened Fort Reno and built two more forts: Fort Phil Kearny and Fort C. F. Smith.
• Red Cloud and other chiefs knew they could not defeat a strong fort. So, they raided wagon trains and traveling groups along the road.

Fetterman Massacre

Young warriors from the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes formed war parties. They attacked groups cutting wood near the forts and also freight trains. Crazy Horse, Gall, and Hump were well-known leaders among them.

• On December 21, 1866, Native Americans attacked woodcutters near Fort Phil Kearny.
• Captain William J. Fetterman led a relief party.
• Fetterman's group was led into an ambush by an estimated 1,000–3,000 Native Americans and was completely wiped out.
• The Native Americans called this fight the "Battle of the Hundred Slain." White settlers called it the "Fetterman Massacre."

Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)

After the Fetterman Fight, the U.S. government realized the forts along the Bozeman Trail were expensive and not making travel safe. Red Cloud refused to meet with treaty groups in 1867.

• Only after the army left the forts in the Powder River country did Red Cloud agree to talk.
• The Native Americans burned down all three forts.
• In the summer of 1868, Red Cloud went to Fort Laramie.
• The Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) was signed. It created the Great Sioux Reservation. This reservation included all South Dakota territory west of the Missouri River. It also set aside more land for the Native Americans to use.

Great Sioux War: The Last Major Conflicts

The Great Sioux War refers to a series of conflicts from 1876 to 1877. These involved the Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne tribes.

Why the War Started

Many gold miners came to the Black Hills of South Dakota. This caused war to break out. Native Americans who followed Chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse left their reservations. They wanted to defend the sacred Black Hills.

Key Battles

• Battle of Powder River: On March 17, 1876, about 300 U.S. soldiers attacked 225 Northern Cheyenne and some Oglala Sioux warriors. The Cheyenne had to retreat, leaving weapons behind. The U.S. won this battle.
• Battle of Rosebud: On June 17, 1,500 Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne warriors, led by Crazy Horse, defeated 1,300 American soldiers. General George Crook retreated.
• Battle of Little Bighorn: This famous battle began on June 25. Lieutenant Colonel George Custer led over 600 troops. His forces were badly defeated, with over 300 men killed or wounded, including Custer himself.
• Battle of Slim Buttes: On September 9 and 10, U.S. cavalry attacked a Sioux village.
• Dull Knife Fight and Battle of Wolf Mountain: These were the last major fights. In the Battle of Wolf Mountain, Nelson A. Miles defended a ridge from Crazy Horse's attacks. Crazy Horse soon gave up at Camp Robinson, ending the war.

Ghost Dance War: A Final Hope

From November 1890 to January 1891, problems that were not solved led to the last major conflict with the Sioux. This conflict involved almost half of the U.S. Army's infantry and cavalry. The remaining warriors eventually gave up and went back to their reservations.

The Ghost Dance Movement

In the autumn of 1890, the Sioux were moved to a large reservation in the Dakota Territory. But the government pressured them to sign a treaty giving up much of their land. Sitting Bull had returned from Canada and helped keep the Sioux resistance strong.

• In 1889, the reservation agent, James McLaughlin, got the Sioux to sign a treaty. He kept the final meeting a secret from Sitting Bull.
• The treaty broke up their large reservation into six smaller ones.
• In October 1890, Kicking Bear and Short Bull brought the Sioux a new hope: the Ghost Dance.
• They learned this dance from Wovoka, a Paiute medicine man.
• Wovoka told them that the earth would be covered with new soil, burying white men. Native Americans who did the Ghost Dance would be safe.
• He said grass and buffalo would return, along with the spirits of their ancestors.
• The Ghost Dance spread across western reservations. The U.S. government saw it as a threat and sent the military.

Sitting Bull's Death and Wounded Knee

On the Sioux reservations, McLaughlin had Kicking Bear arrested. Sitting Bull's arrest on December 15, 1890, led to a struggle. Sitting Bull was killed during this fight between reservation police and Ghost Dancers.

• Two weeks later, the military stopped Big Foot's group of Ghost Dancers.
• These were mostly Miniconjou Sioux women who had lost family members in the wars.
• When Colonel James W. Forsyth tried to take a rifle from a Miniconjou man, a shot was fired.
• The soldiers around them opened fire. Hotchkiss guns destroyed the camp at Wounded Knee Creek.
• According to one estimate, 300 out of 350 men, women, and children were killed.

Aftermath at Pine Ridge

• Stranded 9th Cavalry: A group of the 9th Cavalry Regiment was scouting near the White River (Missouri River tributary). They rode all night to reach the Pine Ridge agency. On December 30, 1890, their supply wagon was attacked by 50 Sioux warriors. Corporal William Wilson bravely went for help and received the Medal of Honor.
• Drexel Mission Fight: This fight happened later on the same day.
• Winter Guards: The 9th Cavalry stayed on the Pine Ridge reservation through the winter of 1890–1891. They were the only regiment there after being the first to arrive.