During his absence, however, a decisive battle occurred in his homeland. TECUMSEH’s brother TENSKWATAWA , who had meanwhile taken over TECUMSEH’s role, was no match for the invading American army. Contrary to the instructions of his brother, TENSKWATAWA led the fight rashly and without strategy. As a seer and prophet, he was convinced that there was a higher power would bring about the victory of the Indians. On November 7th, 1811 the Shawnee were defeated by GENERAL JUSIAH HARRISON, their entire arsenal destroyed and the territory razed to the ground. The consequence of this defeat was that the Indian alliance dissolved.
TECUMSEH joined the English in the Anglo-American War and fell on the battlefield on October 5, 1813.
The last Indian Wars
The clashes between settlers and Indians took on a new dynamic when gold was found in California in the mid-19th century. Now there was no stopping the settlers, the push to the west was more aggressive than ever before. In the Great Plains in the Pacific Northwest, the Sioux and the Cheyenne were fought, after the civil war troops formed from volunteers who subjugated the Navajos in the southwest in the 1860’s. In 1862 the Sioux fought back in a counterattack in Minnesota. 800 settlers were killed. In revenge, the white troops attacked Sand Creek in 1864 Colorado Territory.
In the late 1860’s, some chiefs of the tribes settled in the west gave in and agreed to lead their peoples to reservations made for them. This solution, called the Peace Policy by the American government, turned out to be a bitter disappointment for the Indians, as they were deported from their homeland by force of arms and brought to a country that was not attractive to the whites. 4,000 Cherokee alone died on such a track, they called it the Trail of Tears.
In 1876 the Sioux and Cheyennes in the Northern Plains saw their last riot . The legendary battle between the chiefs CRAZY HORSE and SITTING BULL against the American general CUSTER on June 25th killed over 200 soldiers. SITTING BULL initially managed to escape, CRAZY HORSE surrendered and died in captivity. When SITTING BULL also surrendered to a promise of amnesia in 1881, the last resistance of the Indians collapsed.
The terrible massacre on the Wounded Knee that US troops carried out on the Sioux Reservation was the last.
America was now occupied in all its vastness by whites. There were no more Indian territories to conquer. While the white settlers had won everything, the Indians had lost everything: land, living space, freedom, identity. You are to this day an underdog group in Melting Pot America.
SITTING BULL (1831 to 1890)
Tatanka Yotanka, the Indian name of the English translation for SITTING BULL, was born around 1831 on the Grand River in South Dakota. He was raised by his uncle after the death of his father, from whom he was also introduced to martial arts. It is said that SITTING BULL was already in the lead as a 14-year-old and fought against the crow.
When gold was found in the Black Hills in the Sioux area in 1872, countless prospectors invaded South Dakota. After SITTING BULL and CRAZY HORSE initially waited to see the reaction of the American government to this invasion. To see, they were offered a purchase price that was far too small for their land. During the negotiations on September 20 and 23, 1875, the Indians refused any offers.
Now the government asked them to surrender; the Indians were supposed to report to Indian agencies by January 31, 1876, which amounted to a declaration of war for them. SITTING BULL called on the allied tribes to fight the Long Knives, as the whites were called by the Indians. A remarkable bastion was built on the Rosebud River.
After CRAZY HORSE fought a successful battle against GENERAL CROOK’s advancing army, the tribes moved to the Little Bighorn River in Montana.
A decision was to be made there on June 25, 1876. Under the leadership of GENERAL GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER, the US Army attacked and was knocked down by CRAZY HORSE. After this victory, the tribes decided to split up.
SITTING BULL moved to the Yellowstone River to negotiate with COLONEL MILES. They did not come to an agreement, so SITTING BULL immigrated to Canada on April 22, 1877.
During his four years absence, the Dakota Indians were repeatedly cheated of their land and relocated to new reservations.
In July 1881, SITTING BULL returned to America. He was imprisoned for two years and then transferred to the Hunkpapa reservation. There he took part in ceremonies for the ghost dance (ghost dance), in which the drums were danced until one fell into a trance. The Americans were unsettled by these dances and feared new uprisings. During this time, SITTING BULL was also hired on the Wild West Show by BUFFALO BILL.
There were repeated unrest, culminating in the fact that SITTING BULL was captured and was shot in the back in a fight on December 15, 1890.
