A Brief Review on the Plains Indians in the Late 19th Century

A Brief Review on the Plains Indians in the Late 19th Century (And Custer's Last Stand)

          During the late nineteenth century, many American Indians began to be severely attacked by the American government and were seen to be an obstacle for the country's progress. Due to the natives being seen to be an obstacle, particularly the Plains Indians, many tribes were sought to be removed. This ideology for the American Indians, for example, produced terms like "white eyes" in regards to the impending fear that white individuals were to come and rid them of their homeland. This would all eventually lead into the great Battle of the Little Bighorn where a surprising turn of events and victory would come as a result.

          Before the historic battle took place, one must take note of the Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1868. It was dictated in the treaty that the praised Black Hills would be guaranteed ownership by the Lakota tribes. The Black Hills was seen to be a place where a Great Spirit resided and assisted in the flow of the buffalo, according to the Plains the Indians. However, gold was then discovered in the Black Hills and the treaty was then not honored. This, among other factors, led to the wish to drive out Indian tribes from their homelands and place them somewhere else. American Indians were placed into reservation systems on land that was unwanted by the Americans. In addition to placing the tribes elsewhere, it was hoped that the reservation systems would force the Plains Indians to conform to white American culture. The general Indian policy was completely overlooked at this stage in history. Thus, a seemingly never ending cycle of persecution by Americans was created for the Native Americans. The reservation systems were then paired with the the Panic of 1873 which impacted Indian tribes negatively, for Americans began to demand the Indians to vacate the land completely due to extreme economic issues. With seemingly no victory for the Indians in sight, one chance would eventually be in reach.

          The leader of the American regiment for the Battle of the Little Bighorn was the popular General George Custer. Through substantial amounts of self-promotion by even submitting articles about himself under a different name, General Custer's positive image was created. His story was one that was relatable to others at the time, for he wished to travel westward in order to grow in wealth and status by becoming an officer. General Custer's job was to locate the Indians, and then wait for reinforcements. Instead, Custer divided his group into three groups and ignored the truly significant amount of Indians. This then led to unsuccessful Battle of the Little Bighorn which occurred on the days of June 25th and 26th of 1876. According to Sitting Bull, the leader of the Lakota tribes, General Custer and his men rode into their deaths and was not as the American press had assumed the event to be. The press described the event to be a extreme massacre where the Americans were the unfortunate victims. In addition, the press had to conjure up reasons as to how the minority group won over the seemingly untouchable American troops. Such reasons were truly ludicrous in retrospect including Sitting Bull being noted as having been trained by a French priest. By creating this false and negative image of the the American Indians, the press was then able to discuss and gain support for the literal removal and/or extermination of the tribes. Such gestures towards this idea were made, for the American Army responded by burning villages and robbing the natives of supplies and food to punish them for their seemingly ruthless actions at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Poster for the 1936 film

          In addition to the press, Custer and his men's actions during the battle were continued to be misrepresented by authors and filmmakers. For example, his wife, Elizabeth Custer, wrote multiple best-selling books depicting him as a heroic individual who was brutally killed by the native Indians. In American film and media, as late as the mid-twentieth century, Custer and his men were continued to be portrayed as such heroic individuals where the Indians were the hellish enemy. Multiple films each depicted his "last stand" in such a light. However, this is extremely different from what the American Indians would have to say about the matter.

          By taking a look into the many events of the late nineteenth century, such as the historic Battle of the Little Bighorn, one can understand the extreme impact the American government and, eventually, media had on the native tribes. The severe distrust between these two conflicting groups of people grew to such a high during the time thanks to such governmental, economic, and technological developments of the United States of America.