All language subtitles for The Indian Wars A Change of Worlds s01e06 The Wounded Knee Massacre

Up until 1875, the American Indians had
had little success in retaining their

lands against the growing white
immigrant population.

By the end of the 19th century, the
lives of tribes all across the United

had been forever altered, some tribes
having been completely wiped from

existence.

And hundreds of thousands of others
having been moved to designated

far from their own loved homelands.

Most of these reservations were in areas
where the conditions were unusable for

sustainable farming, and government
-provided food and supplies were poor.

On June 25, 1876, the Hunkpapatsu
Indians banded together with

the Cheyenne.

and defeated General Custer at the
Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and several
other warrior chiefs outnumbered Custer

and his army, who had grossly
miscalculated the truly vast number of

forces that they would be up against.

This victory over Custer is paramount in
Native American history and unavoidably

recognized.

as an embarrassing failure for the U .S.

Like Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse had been
adamantly against

the removal of his people from their
land to government -established

reservations.

And he avoided interaction with the
white man as much as possible.

But in the mid -1800s, Crazy Horse found
himself caught up.

in the middle of white western expansion
and the persistence of newcomers to

Lakota territory put a strain on their
resources.

The arrival of these settlers also
brought the spread of disease, which, as

other tribes, meant a devastating effect
on the Lakota population.

On August 19, 1854, a small skirmish
started after several U .S. soldiers

entered a Sioux encampment in search of
an Indian who had stolen a white man's

cow.

Ordinarily, and as stated by treaties in
effect at the time, a U .S. Indian

agent would have handled such a
situation.

But this formality was overlooked.

It was but moments upon the soldiers'
arrival that one of them shot and killed

Chief Conquering Bear.

The Lakota return fire was immediate and
they began to fight back.

In the end, 29 soldiers were killed,
including Lieutenant John Gratton.

It was the American press that labeled
this event as the Grattan Massacre.

And it became the event considered to
have started the first Sioux War.

The conduct of the soldiers and the
killing of Conquering Bear was all that

Crazy Horse needed to become decidedly
mistrustful of whites. And he would

remain so for the rest of his life.

When Crazy Horse joined Sitting Bull in
the fight to keep his people on their

land, he proved his fighting skills and
lived up to his reputation as a fierce

warrior, determined to preserve the
Lakota way of life.

But a year after the battle at Little
Bighorn, Crazy Horse was captured and

taken to Fort Robertson, Nebraska.

When he resisted confinement, a U .S.
soldier stabbed and fatally wounded

Horse with a bayonet.

This was one of many versions of Crazy
Horse's death.

But as his capture followed so closely
on the heels of the U .S.'s embarrassing

loss at Little Bighorn, it would not be
at all surprising if the event was

indeed a murder rather than an accident.

By the mid -1800s, wide expansion across
the continent and continuous conflict

between European immigrants and American
Indians was in full swing.

In 1866, 200 ,000 African -American
servicemen became part of six

all -African -American army units,
making up the

9th and the 10th Cavalry and the 38th
39th, 40th, and 41st Infantry

Regiments.

These were the Buffalo soldiers, and
their purpose was to guard and

protect white settlers moving west, as
well as civilized Indian tribes from

wayward Indian attacks.

These soldiers were also put to work
building roads and military structures.

One famed Buffalo soldier was Henry O.
Flipper,

former slave and the first African
-American soldier to

graduate from the West Point Academy.

The Buffalo soldiers gained their name
due to a variety of reasons, one being

that these soldiers had curly hair,
similar to that of the Buffalo.

They also possessed a fierce fighting
nature, which again mimicked the

after which they were named.

In addition to those two details, during
the harsh winter months, these soldiers

would wear coats made of thick buffalo
hides.

The title Buffalo Soldier became a
respected and honorable one, even to

the Indians.

Though they were never involved in any
of the documented Indian massacres and

any killings committed were out of duty
alone, the reputation and the presence

of the Buffalo soldiers in territories
belonging to the Plains Indians were

enough to keep the Native Americans on
edge.

After the conclusion of the Indian Wars,
during which 19 U .S. soldiers received

medals of honor, the Buffalo soldiers
continued to serve and were involved in

the Spanish -American War at the end of
the 19th century.

While the primary role of the Buffalo
Soldiers was to fight Native Americans,

they gained the respect of many tribes
for their dedication and abilities in

combat.

And unlike their white counterparts, the
Buffalo Soldiers did not make frivolous

attacks against the Indians.

Shortly after the end of the Civil War,
the views of some that Native Americans

were inferior beings began to shift, and
the U .S. Army began to hire them as

scouts.

In 1866, the Army Reorganization Act was
created to enlist and

employ in the territories and Indian
country a force of Indians.

not to exceed 1 ,000, to act as scouts
who shall receive the pay and allowances

of cavalry soldiers and be discharged
whenever the necessity for further

employment is abated at the discretion
of the department commander.

Enlistment terms lasted three to six
months, after which they were allowed to

-enlist for another term.

Some enlisted up to 20 times.

Records of these scouts were kept and
served as an excellent tracking system

information on the scouts' health,
hospitalizations, arrests,

and enlistments, as well as information
on their families.

Documented widows of Indian scouts were
eligible for pensions, thanks to an act

created on March 1917 in relation to the
Indian Wars occurring between 1859 and

1891.

For the most part, white members of the
U .S. Army viewed having Indians among

them as an asset.

This wasn't the first time Native
Americans had served in militia units

United States.

During the Revolutionary War, They had
fought alongside both the Americans and

the British.

But this time, and remarkably so,
Indians were to be paid the same as

white cavalry counterparts.

Though it was a rare and short -lived
gesture, it was a significant

acknowledgement of Native American
equality.

It was also during this time that four
Medals of Honor were awarded to several

Seminole Indian scouts for their valor,
while others were able to reach higher

ranks amongst their troops.

Even as the U .S. government had moved
to allow Native Americans to participate

in its army, the disregard for Indian
life remained in full effect.

It was widely known that the buffalo
roaming wildly in the West were vital to

Native Americans, not only as a means of
food, but also as a part

of their spirituality.

Whether it was simply a low -down way of
settling up with the Plains Indians

over conflicts between them and the U
.S. government, or for the simple and

greedy desire to take more land.

The systematic slaughter of the buffalo
population began.

The government saw this as a way to push
the Indians out of the way and to

comply with new regulations.

If the Plains Indians lost the buffalo
as a major source of their food, then

they would have no choice but to move
on.

This also meant that the Indians would
be forced to live off of what provisions

were available on U .S. designated
reservations.

Unfortunately, these supplies were of
poor quality, thanks to the corrupt

government -appointed Indian agents who
were supposed to manage and distribute

food and supplies.

In addition to removing Indians, the
Buffalo had to be dealt with to make the

building and cross -country extension of
the railroad possible.

Even after the tracks were laid, Buffalo
posed a safety error for the trains

passing through.

They delayed trains and destroyed
massive sections of the track.

For this, Hunters had to be hired.

It wasn't long before traders and
trappers arrived in the plains and

to the decline of the buffalo.

They killed the animals
indiscriminately, taking only the hides

leaving the rest of the carcass to rot.

As it was, Only one in every four
buffalo hides was salvageable.

It wasn't until the later part of 1872
and going into 1873 that hides were

used as belts for machinery, and by then
more than 1 .5 million buffalo hides

had been sold to make fashionable robes.

Even with this massive number of buffalo
already lost, their destruction picked

up speed.

Tourists were taken out west by train
and allowed to shoot as many buffalo as

they could from within the train cars
for sport.

This led to buffalo killing contests,
with the record for the most buffalo

killed in 40 minutes topping off... at
120.

At one point, this hunting special had
to be put on hold because the carcasses

weren't removed and the smell of rot was
a deterrent to touring passengers.

As part of the culling process, the
infamous Buffalo Bill Cody was hired.

He killed 4 ,000 buffalo within just two
years.

Clearing the land of buffalo wasn't just
for the sake of preserving the

railways.

Though the federal government never
authorized an official desire to render

creatures to extinction, it was widely
known that their disappearance would

to that of the Indian problem as well.

In 1874, the Secretary of the Interior
was none too diffident about his opinion

of the effect that killing off the
buffalo would have on Native Americans.

The buffalo are disappearing rapidly,
but not faster than I desire.

I regard the destruction of such game as
Indians subsist upon as facilitating

the policy of the government of
destroying their hunting habits,

on reservations, and compelling them to
begin to adopt the habits of

civilization.

Texas Senator James Throckmorton's views
on the matter were no different.

It would be a great step forward in the
civilization of the Indians and the

preservation of peace on the frontier.

if there was not a buffalo in existence.

Their hopes of seeing the end of the
American bison was nearly realized.

Between 1868 and 1881, approximately 31
million

buffalo were killed, leaving only 500 by
1885.

While it did, in fact, devastate the
lifestyles of the Plains Indians and

resulted in the desired effect, the
evidence that the buffalo had been there

still remained for decades to come and
posted new problems for settlers who

over the land.

One such settler was A .M. Bede of North
Dakota.

The country out here looks like a...

Carnal house with so many skulls staring
at a man and so many bones that

newcomers felt nervous and in some cases
could hardly plow the land.

Through diligent, though belated,
protective conservation, the current

population has been restored to around
150 ,000.

It has taken a century for this
accomplishment.

But the damage done to those the
slaughter affected throughout the

generations can never be reversed.

The near destruction of the buffalo
population may have had a devastating

immediate impact on the Plains Indians.

But it did not silence or stop Indians
nationwide from continuing to fight for

their lives and their lands.

Before the Civil War had commenced,
Apache -born leader Geronimo had already

participated in the Mexican -American
War in the late 1840s.

Geronimo was born in Nodoyon Canyon,
Mexico, in 1829.

He had a gift for hunting, and it was
said that he swallowed the heart of his

first kill.

as a way of ensuring a life of success
during the hunt.

His tribe was the smallest band within
the Chiricahua, the Bedongcohe.

They were constantly surrounded by their
enemies, Mexican, Navajo, and Comanche.

Geronimo became used to raids early on.

When the Mexican government put a hefty
bounty on Apache scalps, Geronimo, then

just a young man, led several raids to
fight back.

It was during a raid and while away from
his camp, the Mexican soldiers arrived

and killed Geronimo's mother, wife, and
three children.

During Geronimo's grieving, he had a
spiritual revelation during which...

A voice told him, No gun will ever kill
you. I will take

the bullets from the guns of the
Mexicans. I will guide your arrows.

Geronimo immediately gathered 200
warriors to hunt down the Mexican

had killed his family.

This vengeance against the Mexican
government went on for ten years.

At the end of the Mexican -American War
in 1848, things began to change for the

Apache.

The U .S. had begun to claim large
expanses of land, both for settlement

reaction to the discovery of gold in the
southwest.

The Apaches had little choice but to
stand their ground.

and defend against this invasion.

And many ambushes upon stagecoaches and
wagon trains were made.

It was Geronimo's father -in -law,
Cochise, who put an end to the war by

agreeing to have his people moved onto a
government -approved reservation.

It was only a few years later that
Cochise died, and the federal government

pushed the Chiricahua north to make room
for new settlers.

It refueled Geronimo's anger and the
fighting persisted.

It wasn't until 1877 that the
authorities finally caught up with

He was captured and sent to an Apache
reservation in San Carlos.

He remained there for four years before
escaping in late 1881.

He and a small group of followers spent
the next five years fighting against

American troops in the battles that
would conclude the Indian Wars against

.S.

Many of Geronimo's people considered him
the last great defender of Native

American life, while others viewed him
as reckless, stubborn, and driven by

vengeance to the point of endangerment
of his people.

His reputation as a defender reached the
newspapers, while nearly 5 ,000 army

troops sought his capture.

In 1886, Geronimo surrendered and was
taken to a prison in Florida.

He and several of his people were moved
to various prison camps over the next 27

years.

But Geronimo's reputation as a legendary
and fierce warrior attracted white

visitors, and helped boost his status as
a celebrity.

In 1905, he published his autobiography
and was granted a private meeting with

President Theodore Roosevelt.

Geronimo tried to gain his freedom
through the president, but he was

unsuccessful.

In February 1909, Geronimo was finally
able to ride home, but was injured after

being thrown from his horse.

He died six days later.

Still a prisoner of war, Geronimo
uttered these words while lying upon his

deathbed.

I should never have surrendered.

I should have fought until I was the
last man alive.

A Native American legend had been lost.

But stories of his bravery and
determination to support his people

continue on long after his death.

Quanah Parker was another American
Indian leader fighting to protect his

But his fame came during the Red River
War.

He was the last to surrender during this
war in 1875, and he remained an

important leader after becoming a
founder in the Native American church

movement.

His teachings involved adopting the
peyote religion after having endured a

severe injury.

He taught the peyote road, or the taking
of peyote during prayer, which he

claimed would lead church members to
Jesus' teachings.

through the visions that followed.

While many praised Korna, many also
criticized his motives, stating that he

sold out to the white man by changing
his lifestyle from warrior to rancher.

He merged his Comanche beliefs with
those of the white man by altering his

lifestyle and way of dress to a more
European style.

while still keeping to Indian traditions
of long and braided hair, and at one

time having as many as eight wives.

Juana was never officially elected as
principal chief of the tribe, as the

Comanche had no single chief, but rather
multiple chiefs of the various bands

within the tribe.

He died in February 1911.

at the age of 59, and was buried at Post
Oak Mission Cemetery in Oklahoma.

It wasn't until 1957 that his body was
exhumed and moved to Fort Sill Post

Cemetery, where his mother and sister
were buried.

Despite all efforts made by various
tribes to protect their homelands and

natural -born rights to stay there, the
Hunkapapa Lakota were met with

continuous resistance from the U .S.
government.

On December 29, 1890, on the Lakota Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation in South

Dakota, U .S. troops intercepted Spotted
Elk's Mini -Konju Lakota and several

members of the Hunkpapa Lakota.

The troops then escorted them five miles
west, where they stopped to make camp

at Wounded Knee Creek.

Shortly thereafter, the camp was joined
by the rest of the 7th Cavalry Regiment.

who happened to have four Hotchkiss
mountain guns in tow.

It was still morning when gunfire
commenced.

There's no solid claim as to who fired
the first shot, though some accounts

state that a deaf tribesman named Black
Coyote had started a scuffle when he

resisted in handing over his rifle to
the U .S. soldiers who had tried to take

it from him.

The disarmament of the rest of the
Indian residents had already begun.

However it started, the 7th Cavalry made
no hesitation in opening fire and

killed about 300 unarmed Indian men,
women, and children, including

Sioux leader, Bigfoot, in the process.

Many of the soldiers were also killed in
the gunfire, some by defending Lakotas

and others by their own men.

It has been heavily speculated that the
attack was in fact made in response to

the improved presence of the ghost
death.

It was a promise that more violence
would follow unless the Native Americans

ceased in their resistance against the U
.S. government.

The prophet, Wawoka, had had visions of
the return of Christian Messiah Jesus

Christ.

but in the form of a Native American.

In his vision, he had also seen the
return of the nearly extinct buffalo

population and the eradication of the
white man.

The ghost dance became part of a
religious movement that spread quickly

throughout local Indian tribes, and the
knowledge of what it stood for added to

the existing contention between the U
.S. government and those who practiced

Enough so that such acts as the Wounded
Knee Massacre continued to take place.

As the U .S. government was busy moving
Indians to appointed reservations, the

circumstances of tribes in the Wallowa
Valley of Oregon Territory were no

better.

Joseph the Elder had been baptized in
1838, becoming one of the early Nez

leaders converted to Christianity.

It had brought temporary peace between
his people and the nearby white

Two years later, his son was born, and
in 1855, a treaty put the Nez Perce on a

reservation.

Still, peace remained.

This began to change, however.

when gold was discovered on Nez Perce
land, and white prospectors began to

invade in search of promised fortune.

As it had already done in so many other
Indian territories, the U .S. government

retracted millions of acres of
reservation land and remapped it for the

white settlers.

Anger amongst the Nez Perce flared.

and Joseph the Elder denounced any
friendly connections with his American

neighbors.

By destroying his Bible and refusing to
release his people's land by accepting

new reservation boundaries.

In 1871, Joseph the Elder of the Nez
Perce Indians passed away, and his son,

also named Joseph, assumed the role of
chief.

Joining forces with fellow chiefs
Lookingglass and Whitebird, Chief Joseph

shared in his father's convictions and
held fast in refusing to accept the new

land arrangement.

In 1877, the U .S. forced the Nez Perce
onto a reservation.

Shortly beforehand, Whitebird's warriors
killed a group of white settlers, and

knowing the consequences would impact
the entire tribe, Chief Joseph led his

followers, including 200 warriors, in an
effort to escape to Canada.

The 1 ,400 -mile trek lasted for four
months.

During their journey, Chief Joseph and
his warriors faced off against U .S.

forces a number of times and were
victorious.

By autumn, they had reached the Bear Paw
Mountains of Montana and were within

the last 40 miles.

before reaching the Canadian border.

But Joseph's people were exhausted.

They had lost more than 100 of their
warriors, including Chief Joseph's

Olakut, and they were on the brink of
starvation.

He was left with little choice but to
surrender to the U .S. Army, and upon

doing so, delivered his infamous speech.

I am tired of fighting.

Our chiefs are killed.

Looking glass is dead.

Tuhulhutsuze is dead.

The old men are all dead.

It is the young men who say yes or no.

He who led the young men, Olikut, is
dead.

It is cold, and we have no blankets.

The little children are freezing to
death.

My people, some of them, have run away
to the hills and have no blankets, no

food.

No one knows where they are.

perhaps freezing to death.

I want to have time to look for my
children and see how many of them I can

Maybe I shall find them among the dead.

Hear me, my chiefs.

I am tired.

My heart is sick and sad.

From where the sun now stands, I will
fight no more, forever.

He had hoped that his compliance would
grant the return of his people to their

homeland, but instead Chief Joseph and
his tribe were sent to Kansas and later

to Oklahoma.

Not even a plea made to President
Rutherford Hayes in 1879 helped.

It wasn't until 1885 that Joseph and the
others were released to return to the

Pacific Northwest.

and then most of the Nez Perce in the
area had been killed during war or had

died from disease.

Chief Joseph died at age 49 on September
21, 1904, and was buried in the

Colville Indian Cemetery in Washington
State, never having made it back to his

homeland.

Though the focus of Native American
history has been primarily on

and accomplishments of Indian men,
Native American women have played

roles for as long as they have existed.

It is known that the men were in charge
of hunting, while the women tended to

crops, stored seeds, and oversaw the
majority of their agricultural world.

This division of tasks created a balance
between the sexes, as both contributed

equally to the most essential factors
for survival.

Indian women have also played a large
part in tribal politics and even warfare

by deciding on the fates of captives and
whether or not to go to war.

Some Indian women owned horses, which
have been a significant resource amongst

Native Americans.

And during the 1700s, Some Cherokee
women even possessed their own land.

That is, up until the U .S. government
began to seed and redistribute tracts of

Native land to white settlers.

Over the centuries, Native women have
taken on leadership roles within their

tribes, and this is a civil tradition
that continues today.

During times of earlier wars, They join
the American Red Cross, and in more

recent wars have enlisted to serve in
the U .S. Army.

It was not unusual for an Indian woman
to ride alongside her male warrior

counterparts and take up a weapon in
battle.

Buffalo Calf Robe, also known as Calf
Trail Woman, rode into battle with her

husband, Black Coyote, and displayed one
of the greatest acts of valor known in

history,

colostom. of the Crow, and Running
Eagle, of the Blackfoot Indians, were

renowned female warriors.

Even during the Battle of the Little
Bighorn, or as Lakota call it, the

of the Greasy Grass, one of the Lakota
leading warriors present was Tasha

Namani, Moving Row, a woman who had been
described by another warrior to be as

pretty as a bird while charging into
battle.

It was after the arrival of the
colonists that the matrilineal structure

Native American life began to feel the
forced, lopsided, patrilinear ways of

newcomers. As European colonists assumed
that the Native men were in control,

they refused to deal with female
leaders, especially in political

Indian women were never recognized as
heads of families.

As Indian children were being hauled off
to Western boarding schools and

educated into a male -dominant culture,
the precious contribution of female

leadership began to be lost.

But after many more decades, and through
determination and access to education,

Indian women have regained their place
as leaders amongst their people.

Today, out of more than 500 of the
nation's federally recognized tribes,

women make up nearly a quarter of their
leaders.

Between the years of warfare that had
nothing to do with Native Americans,

marches, disease, and the intentional
destruction of food resources, the

population of American Indians went from
about one million at the end of the

18th century down to 237 ,000 by the end
of the 1800s.

The 1894 Census Bureau counted more than
40 U .S. government -instigated wars

against the Indians.

While some of these conflicts were
fueled by the rightful resistance of

Americans wanting to keep their
homelands, the majority of them were

the U .S. government's forceful taking
of those lands.

Many more cases. As with the California
Gold Rush, there is a complete disregard

for the lives of Indians, and bounties
were placed on them in an effort to

legally remove native peoples from
territory demanded by white settlers.

Like the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864,
the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, and

Battle at Little Bighorn in 1876, these
killings seemed to have very little

motivation, short of such a terrible
greed for property that it led to

less. than premeditated genocide.

Humans merely share the earth.

We can only protect the land, not own
it.

To the Indians, and as stated by Chief
Seattle, the land and all life on

it held far more value than it appeared
to white Americans.

Even when it came to eradicating native
Indians, the settlers would have no true

ownership of the land they took.

When the last red man shall have
perished from the earth, and his memory

the white men shall have become a myth,
these shores will swarm with the

invisible dead of my tribe.

The white man will never be alone.

Let him be just and deal kindly with my
people, for the dead are not

powerless.

Dead, did I say?

There is no dead, no death, only a
change of

worlds.

While these words of Chief Seattle were
part of a much longer speech, the

sentiments of these two pieces bear more
truth and relevance to the regard shown

towards Native American lives since the
arrival of Europeans than can be argued.

The moving oratory speech given by Chief
Seattle in 1854, the numerous battles

fought in defense of life and culture,
and the banding together of powerful

chiefs and warriors could not and would
not be the end.

of Native American bloodshed.

On October 5, 1898, a dispute between a
band of Chippewa Indians in Leech Lake,

Minnesota, and a third U .S. infantry
came to a head.

The Chippewa and other local tribes had
been repeatedly arrested for charges as

minor as the sale and consumption of
federally banned alcohol.

And when it came time for their trials,
the natives were moved far from their

reservations and left to find their way
back home.

The Chippewa were also dealing with
dishonest logging companies who were

the dead timber on reservation lands,
claiming that it was useless to pay the

Indians and therefore would not give
them a fair price for the wood.

In addition to this sort of swindling,
loggers would set fire to live trees and

then claimed that the dead wood was
available for the taking.

Following the arrests of Indian
protesters Bugana Vigejig and Shabun

pillagers attacked, and the two men were
able to make their escape.

The event caused Indian agent Arthur M.
Tinker to enlist the help of the U .S.

military, and a force of 20 soldiers
from the 3rd Regiment showed up.

An additional 77 soldiers were sent when
Bugana Vigejig refused to surrender to

authorities.

The battle that followed was the first
since the Black Hawk War 50 years before

and would be the last Indian uprising in
the United States.

As there seems to be with most
historical skirmishes of this kind,

speculation over who fired first.

General Bacon claimed it was an
accidental discharge.

which just happened to kill several
Indian women in a nearby canoe.

By mid -morning, the Battle of Sugar
Point was in full swing.

But it was short -lived, as both Major
Wilkinson and Sergeant William Butler

were killed.

As the evening hours approached, an
Indian policeman was also killed when

mistaken for a member of the pillagers.

And the death of a soldier followed
almost immediately.

Buganova Gejig was never found.

The news of this latest violence reached
nearby settlements within a day, and

panic ensued.

As a result, more federal troops were
sent from Fort Snelling, as well as the

Minnesota National Guard.

Many natives fled to more remote
territories of the reservation, fearful

retaliation was looming.

However, instead of another deadly
altercation, the pillager chiefs had the

County pioneer publish a letter
expressing the true circumstances and

of their village.

We, the undersigned chiefs and headmen
of the pillager band of Chippewa Indians

of Minnesota, respectfully represent
that our people are carrying a heavy

burden, and in order that they may not
be crushed by it, we humbly petition you

to send a commission.

consisting of men who are honest and
cannot be controlled by lumbermen, to

investigate the existing troubles here.

We now have only the pine lands of our
reservation for our future sustenance

support, but the manner in which we are
being defrauded out of these has alarmed

us. The lands are now, as heretofore,
being underestimated by the appraisers.

The pine thereon is being destroyed by
fires in order to create the class of

timber known as dead or down timber so
as to enable others to cut and sell the

same for their own benefit.

This somewhat trifling event led to
negotiations between U .S. Commissioner

Indian Affairs, William A. Jones, and
the authors of the Cass County Pioneer

Letter.

The conclusion was that the arrests
being made were for the most part

and sometimes no reason was given at
all.

That the removal of Indians from the
area to be taken 200 miles away for

and then left there with no way to
return home was of absolutely no point.

Oddly enough, the U .S. Army felt that
this event was worthy of awarding a

of Honor.

This award went to a German immigrant,
Private Oskar Burkhardt, a hospital

steward who had rescued soldiers under
heavy fire and against the hostility of

Indians.

It was the last Medal of Honor to be
awarded during the Indian Wars and was

officially presented on August 21, 1899.

He would go on to fight and become a
major in World War I, likely fighting

alongside of those whose people he had
once saved others from.

Because the lives of Native Americans
weren't always well documented, birth

dates and locations were often
questionable.

Famed sports star Jim Thorpe was known
to have been born somewhere near the

of Prague, Oklahoma, on May 22, 1887, to
a farmer of Irish and

Sauk Indian descent and a French Indian
woman.

Thorpe would later claim, during an
interview, with the Shawnee News Star,

he was actually born on May 28, 1888, in
Pottawatomie County.

But most biographers and historians
still utilize the May 22 birth date as

was the one listed on Thorpe's Catholic
baptismal certificate.

Like many Native Americans of his time,
Thorpe faced his share of adversity and

sorrow.

Thorpe had a twin brother named Charlie.

who died when the Thorpe boys were just
nine years old.

Not knowing how else to deal with the
loss, Jim ran away, not once, but

times. To put a stop to this, his father
sent him to an Indian boarding school

in Lawrence, Kansas.

Jim Thorpe's childhood continued to be
rocky.

After his mother died a few years later,
Thorpe underwent depression and

struggled with continued strained
relations with his father.

Eventually, young Jim left home and
school to work on a horse ranch.

When he was 16, Thorpe attended the
Carlisle Indian Industrial School, where

ran track and played football under the
guidance of Glenn Pop Warner.

Thorpe went on to play semi
-professional baseball with the New York

later with the Milwaukee Brewers and the
Cincinnati Reds.

He participated in the 1912 Olympics,
and won gold medals for the decathlon

pentathlon.

However, he was stripped of his medals
when it was discovered that he had

two seasons of semi -professional
baseball prior to competing in the

This experience violated amateurism
rules, thereby disqualifying him.

There has been some historic speculation
that his medals had been taken due to

his ethnicity, as the U .S. government
had yet to recognize all Native

as American citizens.

Thorpe's medals would eventually be
restored to him, but not until 1983, 30

years after his death.

Centuries of colonist invasion, war,
raiding, theft of lands and resources.

and otherwise complete disregard for the
indigenous people would bring many

tribes together for a common cause.

For these people, it was not about greed
or power or financial superiority,

but for the sake of maintaining a
culture that had successfully carried

throughout time.

While white support of Native American
lives was minimal and nearly non

-existent at times, there were some who
would change their discriminating views

to help better Native lives.

And some were able to achieve new
heights previously unimaginable by

Americans and bring some improvement
within their lifetimes.

Even with these changes, America's first
residents would still face decades of

struggle, mistreatment, and
discrimination.

before much more improvement would ever
be made.