Lets consider some major events. It was during his presidency that the socalled great sioux uprising, what we call the dakota war, occurred. It was drenched in blood as impoverished and hungry dakota waged war on settlers and faced the wrath of whites, who hunted down suspected culprits tried, convicted, and sentenced to death, 303 men. Lincoln commuted the sentence of most of these individuals but in the end, 38 were hung in what remains americas largest max mass execution. It was during the lincoln presidency that the navajo, or dine, as they call themselves, walkmade to endure a long hundreds of miles from their homeland to a new reservation in eastern new mexico. To convince the navajo, american soldiers burned crops, destroyed livestock, and sacked their homes. They suffered from a lack of food, diseases, and raids. It was during the lincoln presidency that one of the most atrocious episodes in u. S. Indian affairs occurred, and that was the massacre at cheyenne and eastern colorado. On november 29, 1864, colorado volunteers burst upon a Cheyenne Village killing over 270 natives , over two thirds of them being women and children. Some terrible events indeed. Should we adhere to a buck stops here interpretation of lincoln . That he has responsibility for these terrible events in American Indian history . Or should we perhaps give him a pass . Hes fighting the civil war, perhaps some of these events were out of his control. How can these events reflect noticeably on his stature . Lets wrestle with some of these questions in this class today. Abraham lincoln must have formed impressions of the American Indians. He lived in indiana, and illinois during a time in which numerous Indigenous Peoples were facing increased pressure to give up their land and move to the west. This happened in lincolns transformative years. Lincoln could not have been ignorant of these troubles and indeed, when troubles erupted sack at fox, led by blackhawk, lincoln eagerly volunteered for military service and was in fact elected captain of a militia unit. Lincoln served in the military. He did not see much military action. He later recalled about his military career. Pleasure than i had ever had since, but i had a good many bloody struggles with mosquitoes, but did not see a live fighting indian. This was unlike lincolns grandfather and namesake, who suffered death from indian attack after moving from virginia or kentucky, from virginia to kentucky in the early 1780s. Lincoln only mentioned his Family History in passing and it does not appear that his willingness to engage in combat occurred due to a desire for revenge. Lincoln seems to have been driven by something more useful to him. Prestige. Or indeed after his black hawk war, he would use his prestige to run for elected office, the state legislature in illinois. Wouldt, but of course, he be involved in many other elections, some he won and some heat loss, and the ultimate won theat he presidency. He was a member of the whig party during the indian removals of the 1830s and 1840s. But he seemed to say very little about indian removal. The one thing he did say removal and one thing he did say was a criticism of the democrats for being inefficient, for spending too much money on removals of cherokees or wars against the seminoles. He prayed when the military commander who oversaw cherokee removal that weve learned about already he said of Winfield Scott and coming to his defense, Winfield Scott was actually a whig but was ordered to oversee cherokee removal by president martin van buren, a democrat. He came under scrutiny for his operations for being too lenient about the cherokee, as i mentioned before, and got criticized by the democrats. Countered, and Abraham Lincoln set of Winfield Scott that he was a noble hearted man and christian gentleman who did basically a good job and was no fool. Theres very little of the documentary record to believe that Abraham Lincoln deviated much from widespread assumptions of American Indians and removal policies. The policies of concentrating them on reservations and insisting on cultural transformation. Jumping ahead, when hes president , for example, he once told a visiting delegation of inins indians that visited march 1863. Pay attention to that date, march of 1863. He said to these visitors, the pale faced people are numerous and prosperous because they cultivate the earth, produce bread, and depend upon the products of the earth rather than wild game for a subsistence. This is the chief reason of the distant, but theres another. Although we are engaged in a great war with another, we are not as a race so much disposed to fight and kill one another as our red brother and. I can only say where i can see no way as your race can become as numerous and prosperous as the white race except for the cultivation of the earth. This is in whats ironic about march 1863. The way he characterizes Indigenous Peoples . Anybody . We were on the cusp of the civil war and the expansion of slavery west already had numerous violent outbursts between white men. Prof. Kelton right. Whats happening in the civil war . Tens of thousands of americans are dying in horrendous battles, and hes saying indians are inherently warlike, unlike good allamericans. Tens of thousands of americans are dying in these horrendous so in Abraham Lincolns words, is this idea that Development Must proceed. Lincoln is a proponent of manifest destiny, the great engine of destruction that bore down on native american people. He was all in favor of building railroads and bringing western resources into eastern rockets including the gold and silver that led to things like the genocide of california indians. Of course he was all in favor of white people being able to expand into the west and settle and carve up the land in two forms. And that he agreed with , southerners that western devout and should continue but were he disagreed with southerners is on the expansion of slavery. Lincoln of course believed as many northerners did that slavery should not be allowed to expand in the west. That it would be unfair competition from ordinary southerners being able to make a living on the western land. For southerners, as we have talked about, they believed ardently in the expansion of slavery that if it did not expand it would die and their way of life would end. Southerners and northerners were part of this settler, colonialist mentality that dominated america at the time. That western land should become available, Indigenous People should be eliminated, and the land should be developed by whites in the case of northerners in the case of southerners, or whites who owned africanamerican slaves employing slave labor. That is the root of the civil war. Who should get control of the western land . Slaveowners or humble white folk . Indeed, much of the events that were going to talk about is very much part of the civil war. If the civil war was about furthering the expansion or stopping the expansion of slavery, onto whose land . Indigenous peoples. So these events are very much part of this larger american story of the civil war. The First Episode i want to talk about that lincoln played a direct role in is the dakota war of 1862. As ive talked about before, dakota belonged to a larger group of people that outsiders called the sioux, but the sioux called themselves dakota, lakota or others depending on the dialect, which means the people. Many of the socalled sioux did move out onto the Western Plains and adopt the horse and become fulltime buffalo hunters, living in teepees and searching for buffalo in the west. But i group of socalled sioux remained in minnesota. They called themselves the dakota. They traded first with the french, then the british, then the americans. As we talked about, when these trade relations are going on and when Indigenous Peoples are giving items, beaver pelts, buffalo hides, deer skins to these newcomers and newcomers are giving them manufactured goods, thats not just about an economic transaction. What is that about . What is being built . Kinship. Jesse said kinship. The dakota believed they had kinship relations with the newcomers, but by the 1840s, these kinship relations began to break down. Dakotas ares, the lacking in wild game to trade with traders. They are falling into debt. Of course, this is all to the joy of u. S. Policymakers, because part of u. S. Policy, which we have talked about, was to purposefully force Indigenous Peoples into debt so they would but,nothing left to sell everyone can say this what . Land. Exactly. There land. Signed a few treaties, including a treaty in 1851 that gave up a large chunk of what is today the state of minnesota, leaving them a small sliver of land along the minnesota river. These trees, of course, where, as many treaties course, asies, of many of these treaties were, were rife with problems. The dakota would be paid in annuities, yearly payments, but they often would never reach the dakotas. They would go straight into the pockets of traders who claimed the dakota owed them for past debt. One episcopal bishop that became aware of these problems and the fraud going on declared that a nation that selling robbery would reap a harvest of blood couldnt berse, he any more correct. Tensions got very intense in the summer of 1862. In the summer of 1862, the dakotas who had made some changes adapted to euroamerican , ways, some including going to church, becoming more fulltime farmers instead of hunting and gathering, wearing euroamerican clothing, and learning to speak english. But others had not, of course. But as i mentioned, by the summer of 1862, circumstances had growth grown very tense. They had grown tense because many dakotas were very hungry. Crops had not been as abundant as they had. The lack of land meant they lost access to traditional resources that would make up in times of dearth. They depended on those annuities. They depended on these annuities to buy food. But the federal government had not sent money to minnesota to pay the dakotas, money that they could have used buy food. Food, there was plenty of food, but it was stored in a warehouse near the agency. When the dakotas approached the agent and asked for food, they were denied. They did not have the money. One trader declared to the dakotas who didnt have money to pay for the food, declared to them, let them eat grass. Many dakotas had enough. One of those individuals was the leader, little crow. He had accommodated euro american and u. S. Civilization policy to a degree. He believed that the dakotas must change in order to survive on their land in minnesota, on their much reduced land. He had trouble becoming a farmer, becoming a christian, so he did not fully buy into the civilization program. He was looked upon as a brave leader and he was approached by Young Warriors who had had enough. They appealed to his valor that they must attack to drive the settlers out of their traditional hunting ground. And little crow reluctantly agreed. He agreed to lead the dakotas into war against the settlers. And indeed, the dakota sioux attacked minnesota settlers. Killed hundreds. Captured many others, and put minnesotans in a state of panic. The minnesota militia came in and counterattacked. The minnesota militia led by colonel henry sibley. He reached the dakota reservation and undertook the pursuit of little crow. September, month of sibleys forces chased the dakota northward. The dakota could not mount much of a counterattack. So it was mostly warriors who waged a war from little crows band. The majority of the dakota did not want anything to do with the conflict and try to remain peaceful, even surrendering to sibleys forces. So in the end, little crow never had the unity that the minnesotans believed he did, and he had few options but to take what a few followers remained of his aunt flee for the great plains. Friendly natives and most of the captives remained behind as did a number of those who participated in a war but refused to go into the barren plains. Sibleys forces surrounded these and cabinets. 1862, sibley had 1200 the code is control. Men were disarmed and tried by military commission. Toriors were simply admitted being determined guilty at given the death sentence. 303 dakota men were sentenced to die. Think about it. 303 men were sentenced to die in one execution. Unlike military affairs and other places, lincoln played a more direct role in the event in minnesota. He ordered general john pope to take command in the minnesota war. Pope was willing to prosecute the war with brutal rigor. When he arrived in minnesota, he informed sibley, it is my purpose utterly to exterminate the sue if i have the power to do so, and even if it requires a campaign lasting the whole of next year. They are to be treated as beasts, and by no means as people with whom treaties or compromises can be made. Harsh words, indeed. Sibley, who orders, had been elevated to the rank of righetti or general brigadier general, was successful in bringing the dakota into submission. Later, pope expressed enthusiasm for the mass execution of those 303 sentenced to die. Abraham lincoln thought otherwise. Upon receiving news of the upcoming executions, lincoln requested the transcripts of the trials. He and his lawyers looked through these transcripts and he found that many of these men were sentenced on the flimsiest of evidence. He pardoned or dismissed the executions of all but 39. Still, 39 were slated to die. The execution date was set to december 6. One more was pardoned and 38 were hung, marking the largest mass execution in u. S. History. This marker of course is no longer there in minnesota, to mark this event. You listen to a podcast which, folks at home, you cant see this it says the little war on the prairie. It is the npr American Life podcast actually a broadcast on november 3, 2012. , or thinke tell me about, why did minnesotans forget about this . One of the shocking things for the people involved, they didnt even know this happened. Why . Edwin. It was very controversial at the time. [inaudible] prof. Kelton ok. Anybody else . Logan. [inaudible] ok. Kelton logan makes a very good point. Minnesota is still filling the sellers. Officials want people to come. You dont advertise and indian war to get people to come. Joseph . The recent history of the time would use this as a relatively heroic act, given that they were seen as an enemy. It was a mode to preserve the manifest destiny reasoning at the time period. Prof. Kelton ok. So if it was talked about at all, it was talked about as a justified war. But as time changes and this war doesnt seem it seems to have embracingd people and the complexity or thinking about the complexity, they simply chose to ignore it. Very good. What about lincoln . Lincoln, following the mass execution, was still under great pressure from the minnesota congressional delegation and voters in minnesota theres an election coming up in 1864. He already anchored the minnesotans. The minnesotans wanted all of those 303 men to die and lincoln reduced the number down. Lincoln did capitulate to the minnesotans by forcing, even the friendly dakotas, to be moved into the Western Plains. The dakotas were forced on their own trail of tears following the war out to the west. Not only the dakotas, but a group of people who had nothing to do with the war, the whole ochunks, who had nothing to do with this war. Minnesotans wanted them as well. And as Abraham Lincoln is seeing forward the emancipation proclamation, he also signed the winnebago removal bill, the chunksans called the ho the winnebagos. This past in february 1863 stipulating in june 1863, the hochunks would be removed and indeed they were, in a grueling process where many died on their way or died arriving on their destination. Perhaps they could say that k asoln was to the hochun jackson was to the cherokee. So what little crow . He traveled along the plains, seedling allies that largely fell. At one point, tired and hungry , he does come back into minnesota, and he is picking in a farmers field. The farmers son sees this man, didnt know who he was. Just knew he was a native person, and shot him. He killed him. Later, the farmer and the neighbors realized this was the infamous little crow. His body was mutilated and his remains would be put in the Minnesota Historical society where they would remain until 1971, where they were returned to a descendent. Here is a picture of george catlin. Lincoln is like jackson is to the cherokees, for the hochunk. Another group forcibly removed during lincolns administration where the dine, or navajo. At the outset of the civil war, there are composed of many loosely allied bands. Some are quite wealthy in terms of livestock. They raised sheep, they farmed, corn, and other bands did a considerable amount of raiding. That was part of their economy for generations. Raided pueblos, the mexicans, for livestock and for food and into mexico as well. When the United States conquered and took half of mexico, now the United States inherits what they raifding. Roblem, they step of their actions to police Indigenous People during the civil war, particularly as the union depended on communication with california, a northern state. A union state. And particularly as gold was sent from california to the east to fund the civil war effort. Indian raids is the last thing the union army wanted. They sent an american soldiers in to stop these raids. This is the Navajo Nations homeland in the four Corners Region of southwestern United States. Kit carson was sent in to do something about the navajo raid s. And what he did was he ordered that the navajo must go to eastern new mexico, to a place bosque redondo, hundreds of miles away. If they did not go, they would be forced to go. Many navajo did not want to go. And 1864, sent in troops to round up the navajo. He pursued scorchedearth tactics, destroying what could the dineed, so that would be starved into submission, something of course he says very clearly in his own words. Indeed, dine surrendered. Nearly 8000. 8000. St we can tell, 8000 were forced to march from their homeland in an event they called the long walk. Course,he long walk, of navajo died from exposure, diseases, and other things. You were to have read this letter, and im sure youve already it, as i was told earlier, you guys in school didnt even learn cursive writing. So thats unfortunate for us that once you guys become history majors and do Historical Research, because part of Historical Research of course is looking at like i tell my kids old stuff. I like looking at old stuff. I like reading it. Once you get the hang of it, once you understand someones writing, you can understand it. I actually think this is pretty clear compared to some of the other stuff i read. To read this and give me your general impression of the attitude of george pettis, a military officer who oversaw a contingent of dine on the long walk. How would you characterize his attitude . Edwin . [inaudible] they were making them go to a land they knew they had no shot of surviving in. Prof. Kelton some of these things can be read differently. Anybody else . Franklin. Wait for the microphone. Now is your time to be a star. Arrives withs those navajo at fort sumter, or bosque redondo, he began to have sympathy because he was writing to his wife, this is a algae,e place, there is the water is unsanitary. Once he saw Indigenous Peoples beginning to become ill, i think display some remorse. Prof. Kelton it could be. It would not be uncommon that officers have to do this duty. They dont particularly like to and maybe dying at the time in gettysburg or something. I dont know. I picked up something different. Then anyone pick up more of a joy, here in the back . Raise your hand. There you go. I got more of a vibe of indifference, that he was more complaining about the journey than anything else. When hes walking its such a , long walk, he didnt seem to care about the people he was leading, more so whining about the journey. Prof. Kelton ok. Yes. He does give us evidence that his journey was a hardship, there was a lack of food, people suffered, but hes also complaining that he himself suffered as well, so that indifference comes out as well. What jumps out to me is this quote here. In this, of course, he uses the pejorative term. I will project up here. Some more indians died and were buried on the road, so i got here with redskins. They causing me little trouble. Is me, i have to feed them. You would have to read this in context of other letters to get his attitude and others that do exist. To me, this and cap relates encapsulates at best and indifference, but also a disdain for people he was with. He was seeing these people and using the pejorative term here, which use you an indication of why that is a pejorative term for many Indigenous Peoples. It dehumanizes human beings. So you see it in these letters as groups like the dine, being forced onto barren reservations. They are forced into bosque redondo. Of acome under the control military man. He is a firm believer, carlton is his name, who believes that in the civilization program, who believes that Indigenous People should become euroamerican, he takes it as his task that he will transform the navajos into this process prosperous, indians of newlo mexico. Of course, he could not be any more wrong. Anybody been in eastern new mexico . No one . If you drive through, there is not a lot there. If anyone from new mexico watches this on tv, i love new mexico, by the way. [laughter] i got pulled over there once. It is beautiful country, but it is not good farmland. Not good farmland. Bosque redondo was a barren, desolate place. When the dine reached the location they suffered from lack of food, diseases, exposure, raids by groups like comanches s, and many more died. It was a horrible experience. It was so horrible that the United States government actually admitted that it was a theyke, and in 1868, negotiated another treaty in with the navajo, to where they were able to go back to their homelands where their reservation is today the four , Corners Region. I had you guys listen to a brief npr newscast on the opening of, of bosque redondo, i forget what its called kind of an Interpretive Center to memorialize those who suffered on the long walk. Walk, of course, becomes very prominent in navajo oral history, something that unites them. , but one inemory which they see themselves as all one people that have to join together to survive. They have commemorated this through the years including carrying rocks from their reservation to bosque redondo, and of course, opening this new center. The npr newscast, the navajos in thatl of tears, newscast, you heard the voices of the dine and their views of what their history was. What were some of the takeaways that you had from that newscast . Anyone want to volunteer an answer . Franklin . The modern day navajos, in the podcast, what they really were emphasizing is they want the memorial to serve as a way that their ancestors and stories can always be remembered by future generations. I think that was their most important view. Prof. Kelton ok, good. Its a way to bring stories from oral history to the public to be remembered and not forgotten. I have one more. Joseph. I also found that many of the contemporary Indigenous People were looking for acknowledgment from those not part of the community, and that such a thing did take place. Prof. Kelton that is true. Part of that is not just telling stories to each other, but to the larger world so we dont forget this, so that we know this history as well. With the dine woman her prayer tond her ancestors, her songs, but also that its about triumph as well for people overcoming these horrible ordeals and being here today, being survivors and telling the story of survival when many places such as where we live today, long island, where most people dont know the indigenous history of the island. It is important that we know that history, not only that we know that history, but we know that Indigenous People still are here today. Of course, does anyone recall themany people belong to Navajo Nation today . Give me a ballpark figure. It is on the podcast. 300,000. Prof. Kelton prof. Kelton yes, over 300,000. A large nation of people that are still here today that have gone through this horrible ordeal, as did the mescalero apache. Some of them were removed with kit carsons raids. The last episode here that i will talk about is one that is perhaps leaving the worst taste in someones mouth about u. S. Indian policy. Thats the sand creek massacre in colorado in 1864. This massacre involves the colorado militia. Arapahos. Nes and hunted a flow in bands ranging from the Northern Rockies down to colorado on the front range of the rockies. They often hunted together and lived together. The cheyenne and arapahoe. We often talk about them in the same group, even though they are distinctive peoples. With the mining strikes in the colorado mountains, the Rocky Mountains in the 1850s, there was great pressure on the western Indian Tribes to live on smaller reservations in which they would be confined there, do not interfere with overland travel. The cheyenne and arapahoe supposedly agreed to a reservation under the fort wise treaty of 1861, a treaty that reduced cheyenne and arapahoe land to a small chunk of land in eastern colorado. But this treaty was problematic, as most treaties are, that not all cheyenne and arapahoe bands signed the treaty and acknowledged it as valid. And those that did sign it, did they actually know what it meant . These treaties are all problematic. Many cheyenne and arapahoe did not agree to live on the reservation. Of course, this angered coloradans who want the cheyenne and arapahoe confined. Coloradans, by 1864, had grown very fearful of Indigenous Peoples, because of news reports from minnesota and reports circulating that the western Indian Tribes were planning what they said was an uprising. One of those who paid attention these rumors was the military commander of colorados volunteer forces, the former methodist minister, colonel john chivington. He is also known as the fighting parsons because he had been a methodist minister and the word parsons of course for methodist minister. In spring 1864 when the grass started sprouting, various bands of cheyenne and arapahoe began to break up winter encampments to spread out and go hunt thing. Hunting. This, of course, put fear into whites who believed this uprising was going to take place. Soldiers were given orders to Burn Villages and kill cheyenne whenever and wherever found. One band led by a proamerican chief where the first to encounter colorado volunteers and what was a prelude to the massacre. Two cheyennes road up to chivingtons troops with papers bearing the mark of abraham of blacktelling kettle, the friendly leader. The two men were shot dead. In cold blood. Shipping tends shipping shivingtons forces then opened fire on the rest of the cheyenne. The indians returned fire but quit after black kettle told him to stop. The soldiers were retreated , leaving 28 dead. Lee in, battling with virginia and the coming election paid no attention to affairs on the great plains and left it up to Samuel Curtis to communicate with the governor of colorado and volunteers about how to handle the situation. On september 28, 1864, curtis informed colonel chivington, i want no peace until the indians suffer more. Nevertheless, black kettle wanted peace, and in november, he and some of his leading men wrote into fort lyon. Road into fort lyon. Fort wise was renamed during the war to fort lyon. Fort wise was renamed during the i believe after the Virginia Governor in colorado being a prounion state, renamed it fort lyon. So black kettle went into fort lyon asking for peace but the commanders told him they did not have the authority to accept his surrender, nor could they give the cheyennes food. Meanwhile, the colorado papers were calling for extermination shivington as a coward. He had an opportunity and did not take it so he deployed 700 colorado volunteers to attack the cheyenne. After seeing the approaching army, black cattle hoisted an American Flag and sent a message. A white antelope to greet the army. The white antelope was shot dead and soldiers launched into the village. The cavalry continued their charge into the village and for several hours, butchered men, women, and children. Cheyenne bodies were mutilated and even infants were stabbed by coloradans. Immediately after the massacre, the Colorado Press celebrated. Colorado soldiers have again covered themselves with glory. Some of the scalps were taken back to denver and paraded in a theater and the patrons seeing these scalps stood and applauded. Lincoln unfortunately remains mute on the same creek massacre. Sand creek massacre. Exterminationfor emanating from colorado trouble him . Commissionerif his of indian echoed his views. After the successful Reelection Campaign of 1864, the commissioner wrote his annual report and praised the energetic action of governor evans. Once the true reality of sand creek came to light, however, members of lincolns party publicly condemned the atrocious event and called for reform of indian policy. A Congressional Committee was authorized to investigate and affair and ultimately concluded after lincolns death that the cheyenne were mutilated in the most horrible manner. Had lincoln lived, perhaps he would have been among those in which sand creek massacre had left a bad taste in their mouth, and a more humane policy might have happened instead of militaristic campaigns for extermination. Of course, we will never know. His presidency gives us little clues what he would have actually done. By any objective measure, was an unprovoked murder of cheyenne and arapaho. For many years, colorado celebrated this as a battle, a battle of the civil war. More recently, more recently, and thanks to the hard work and effort of descendents, survivors of the cheyenne and arapahoe, now we know this and should know this as a massacre site. It has become a National Historical site in eastern colorado. So what about lincoln . What are we to make of him . He has left posterity with a troubling legacy. I will admit, historians often get asked, who was the best president . I perhaps would say Abraham Lincoln because his determination to preserve the union and that he oversaw the end of slavery. But, when we look through the lens of indigenous history, lincoln is perhaps no different from any other president in the 19th century. Someone who was in favor of westward expansion, and believed in manifest destiny. Hard to say the buck should stop with him. He was very busy fighting the civil war, there was a lot going on. But i suppose to those thousands of dakotas forced from their homeland along with the din hok , the buck should stop with him. I suppose for those thousands of dine who had to endure that long walk to bosque redondo, the buck should stop with him. I suppose for those hundreds of cheyenne and arapahoe who were s forces,y chivington lincoln should come under more scrutiny. Thank you very much and we will see you. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] announcer we continue our look at rapid city with a visit to bear butte, a place considered sacred by numerous native americans in the region. [flute music] i am donovan sprague. From the name comes crazy horse family of the