The Government Forces Indians onto Reservations
This Grade 3 history skill from California myWorld Interactive explains how the U.S. government broke its treaty promises and forced California Indians onto reservations, taking away their ancestral lands after the Gold Rush, covered in Chapter 3: Changes in California Over Time.
Key Concepts
After the Gold Rush, the U.S. government made agreements with California Indian leaders. A written agreement like this is called a treaty . The government promised to protect some Indian lands, but it did not keep these promises.
Instead, the government forced California Indians to leave their homes and move to small areas of land. This land was called a reservation . By moving to reservations, California Indians lost the ancestral lands where their people had lived for thousands of years.
Common Questions
How did the government force Indians onto reservations?
After the Gold Rush, the U.S. government made treaties with California Indian leaders, promising to protect some of their lands. But the government did not keep these promises and instead forced California Indians to move to small areas of land called reservations.
What is a treaty and how were California Indian treaties broken?
A treaty is a written agreement between parties. The U.S. government made treaties with California Indian leaders promising to protect their lands, but then broke these agreements by forcing tribes off their ancestral lands and onto reservations.
What are reservations and how did California Indians end up there?
Reservations are small areas of land set aside for Native Americans. California Indians were forced onto reservations after the government broke treaty promises, losing the ancestral lands where their people had lived for thousands of years.
What chapter covers reservations in California myWorld Interactive Grade 3?
The government forcing Indians onto reservations is covered in Chapter 3: Changes in California Over Time in California myWorld Interactive, Grade 3.
Why did California Indians lose their ancestral lands?
California Indians lost their ancestral lands because the U.S. government did not honor the treaties it made. Instead of protecting Indian lands, the government forced tribes onto small reservations, displacing them from lands their people had inhabited for thousands of years.