The Flight Of The Nez Perce And The Cheyenne Odyssey

In American Indian Stories, University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London edition, the author, Zitkala-Sa, tries to tell stories that depicted life growing up on a reservation. Her stories showed how Native Americans reacted to the white man’s ways of running the land and changing the life of Indians. “Zitkala-Sa was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition” (back cover) is a great way to show that the author’s stories were based upon actual events in her life as a Dakota Sioux Indian. This essay will describe and analyze Native American life as described by Zitkala-Sa’s American Indian Stories, it will relate to Native Americans and their interactions with American societies, it will

Chief Joseph is the leader of the Nez Perce tribe. He led his tribe through many great accomplishments, although he had to end his success in a surrender. On October 5, 1877, Chief Joseph and to announce his surrender speech in the midst of a battle. In his famous speech, I Will fight No More Forever, Chief Joseph effectively uses appeals like ethos, logos, and pathos.

One extreme change for the Indians was the arrival of Anglo-Europeans. Native peoples’ lives were changed at the blink of an eye while new ideas, practices and beliefs were shown to them. The arrival of the Europeans changed the way the Indians viewed their world and manipulated their resources. This new change could be viewed as positive as well as negative, for while some tribes entered into trade relations with the Anglos, others were used as slave labor and all were subject to disease brought on by the European newcomers. However, despite all the advantages and disadvantages, no other introduction changed the lives of the Indians more than firearms and horses. West outlines one of the most important evolutions for Native life and how it represented a new way to harness resources and gain power. In just a few chapters, we are able to see the great advancements the Indians made in hunting and trade due to these new technologies and how they allowed the Cheyennes to rise to a new purpose as the Called Out People.

The Lakota, an Indian group of the Great Plains, established their community in the Black Hills in the late eighteenth century (9). This group is an example of an Indian community that got severely oppressed through imperialistic American actions and policy, as the Americans failed to recognize the Lakota’s sovereignty and ownership of the Black Hills. Jeffrey Ostler, author of The Lakotas and the Black Hills: The Struggle for Sacred Ground, shows that the Lakota exemplified the trends and subsequent challenges that Indians faced in America. These challenges included the plurality of groups, a shared colonial experience, dynamic change, external structural forces, and historical agency.

The natives didn’t get there rights they were promised,they were promised land yet they lost much,they were promised peace yet many died of war,the U.S. was unfair and unjust toward the nez perce and had forced them into signing the treatie and did not stand by it. Although the U.S, may say that they followed all the Natives rights and that they may not understand the treaties but still the natives rights weren’t followed as stated in the treatie.

When the Army arrived at Pyramid Lake, they spotted a small group of tribal members. As the group fled the troopers followed but, what the Americans didn't know is that they were heading to an ambush.The Americans arrived at a ravine with 300 Paiutes waiting for them. Seventy-six out hundred and five died in the ambush, and also William Ormsby died as well. The other surviving volunteers fled the scene being followed for twenty miles.

Moving east was a column led by Col. John Gibbon from Fort Ellis Montana. Under the command of Gen. George Crook from Fort Fetterman Wyoming, a column was deployed from the south near Wyoming Territory. On May 17th, Brigade General Alfred Terry moved west from Fort Abraham Lincoln Dakota. Gen. Alfred Terry’s column consisted of 879 personnel, the majority being of the 7th Cavalry under LTC George A. Custer. On June 22nd, Gen. Terry detached Custer and the 7th Cavalry to flank from the southeast and force the Indians upstream where he planned to engage them with a smaller force along Little Bighorn River. Custer moved to the headwaters of the Tongue and Bighorn Rive and on June 25th Custer’s Soldiers were approximately 25 miles out from a large Indian encampment southwest of his position. Custer sent out scouts, along with Crow scouts (Indian scouts/linguist) to gather intel on the native encampment. Scouts reported a larger number than expected, an estimated 8,000 personnel including 1,500 native warriors present in the village. They also reported that the unit’s fires could be spotted from the crow’s nest, giving away Custer’s position. Assessing the situation, Custer decided to advance on the enemy’s position towards Wolf Mountain which was 12 miles from the encampment. With the information gathered by the crow scouts weighing heavily on Custer’s mind, he decided to attack the encampment the next day to prevent losing contact of the Sioux. Custer split his Regiment into three squadrons: a supply train consisting of 125 personal, commanded by Cpt. Frederick Benteen, a three troop force consisting of 175 personnel, led by Maj. Marcus Reno, and a five troop force consisting of 210 personnel with

His death led to a series of events that quickly elevated to a full on war, known today as the Nez Perce War. The settlers made no hesitation to enlist the help of the U.S. Government. When Chief Joseph still refused to give up his and his tribe’s home, the U. S. Army came. This was how and when the War began. The Nez Perce War was 4 months long, full of skirmishes, casualties, and hope of victory for both sides. (Lafarge, Oliver, “American Indians” 12). Some of the major mini battles, were The Battle at Big Hole, The Battle of White Bird Canyon, and The Battle of Bear Paw. The battle of white bird canyon was the very first battle of the whole war. For the Nez Perce, only 3 warriors were injured, out of the 70 that had gone to the battle. Not one on the Nez Perce side was killed in the first war. On the U. S. Army's side, 34 were killed out of the 117 warriors and 13 scouts that entered the battlefield. The battle lasted one day, and the end of this first battle was declared a Nez Perce victory. The battle of Big Hole was much different. This two-day battle ended as a tie between the Indians and the U. S.

The military doctrine at the time of Western expansion and the Indian Wars is hard to pinpoint into a concise statement. This is due to the fact the United States government wanted to treat the Native American’s with decency while also caging them into reservations. This “peace policy” was complicated by an excitable populace that was keen on seeking revenge against any suspected provocation from a Native American tribe. Altercations often resulted in the United States military intervening to restore “peace”. Once the military became involved in the pursuit of a tribe, human decency was often pushed to the side. Countless murders of innocent Native American noncombatants during the late 19th century, such as the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 in Colorado or the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890 provide enough evidence to validate this idea. In more emotional and humane terms, these noncombatants were women, children, and the elderly. The pursuit of the Nez Perce was no different, as I will touch on throughout this

On September 1, 1876, Nez Perce riders traveled through the valley, stopping at every settler’s cabin and delivering the message that all whites, including Findley and McNall, were to attend a council the next day at Indian Town. On September 2, seventeen settlers showed up, but Findley and McNall stayed home. At the meeting, the Nez Perce insisted that the whites leave the valley and turn over McNall and Findley. When the settlers refused, the meeting ended with an angry agreement to meet the next day at the McNall cabin.

The Coastal Makah and the Plateau Nez Perce are different because of how they gather food. With evidence from the film “Native Peoples of the Northwest” and in the textbook “The Washington Journey” The Makahs used spears and nets to hunt for fish like salmon or sometimes hunt a whale. This proves what the Makah does instead of the Nez Perce.The Nez Perce males hunted, fished, and gathered wild plants while the women dried meat and fish for eating. This would prove the difference in what the Perce does instead of the Makah.The similarities with the two tribes is that they both hunted for fish. In conclusion, these were the differences between the two tribes.

The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict between several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the Palouse tribe led by Red Echo (Hahtalekin) and Bald Head (Husishusis Kute), against the United States Army. The conflict, fought between June–October 1877, stemmed from the refusal of several bands of the Nez Perce, dubbed "non-treaty Indians", to give up their ancestral lands in the Pacific Northwest and move to an Indian reservation in Idaho. This forced removal was in violation of the 1855 Treaty of Walla Walla, which granted the tribe 7.5 million acres in their ancestral lands and the right to hunt and fish in lands ceded to the government.

The Battle of the Little Big Horn is one of the most memorable battles between Native Americans and the Cavalry. In this battle the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes fought against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. The Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes became the major victors of the battle with only 40 dead vs the great loss of the 7th Cavalry Regiment being 268 dead. This battle famously serves as a symbol of the clash between the “civilized” men of the United States and the “barbarian” Indian men of the West. The United States government became even more determined to rid Native Americans of their freedom because they were perceived as dangerous. Thus they became even more strict in their Indian

Mainly the Nez Perce were not a war tribe, but had warriors as all tribes did. When Lewis and Clark met the Nez Perce, they described them as peaceful. The Nez Perce gave the captains vittles and medicinal plants for their journey. The captains gave the Nez Perce trinkets, but no weapons. The Nez Perce were not a very wealthy tribe and did not have the ability to obtain weapons from French-Canadian traders. Enemies of the Nez Perce were the Shoshone and the Crow. There is no record of any skirmishes with these tribes though. Occasionally the Nez Perce traded with were the Coeur D’alene, the Yakima and the Salish. The Nez Perce mainly traded with the Salish. They also hunted with the Salish for the Nez Perce had no guns, but both tribes had

Met the Nez Perce Indians and they invited us to stay with them. This tribe has been the most impressive so far. Our first impression of the men we met from this tribe was, tall, proud, and dignified. They were not afraid to come up to us. When they did, they asked Clark if we would like to stay with them at their village. Our main goal is to make peace and we were tired so we excepted. When we arrived everyone welcomed us. We noticed all the colorful bead work and quillwork the women made. They women made us warm clothes so we wouldn't be cold. They offered trade and we couldn't refuse. Their horses were gorgeous. As I was walking with the chief and Sacagawea while she was translating for him, he told me stories about how they take great pride