Broken Treaties and the Reservation System
Examine how the reservation system confined Native Americans to limited lands, broke treaty promises, and stripped tribal sovereignty in the post-Civil War West in Grade 8 history.
Key Concepts
As American settlers moved west, the U.S. government created a policy to move Native Americans onto specific, limited areas of land called reservations . This policy was designed to clear the way for railroads and new settlements, confining tribes to lands that were often undesirable.
Government officials used treaties to acquire tribal lands, but these agreements were often deceptive or ignored. Many broken treaties , like the one that took the Black Hills from the Sioux, led to distrust and conflict. When treaties failed, the U.S. Army used force to remove Native peoples.
Common Questions
What was the reservation system?
The US government created specific, limited areas of land called reservations where Native Americans were forced to relocate, removing them from ancestral territories.
How did the government break treaties with Native Americans?
When valuable resources were discovered on reservation land or settlers demanded more territory, the government repeatedly broke treaties and reduced reservation boundaries.
How did the reservation system affect Native American cultures?
Confinement to small reservations disrupted traditional hunting and farming, forced dependency on government supplies, and undermined tribal governance and cultural practices.