That is what were going to talk about today. After all, Abraham Lincoln had a lot on his plate. When he was president. The civil war. And that dominated most of his attention. But underneath the surface of the civil war, lay some important events involving American Indians. Events that might make Abraham Lincoln more of a problematic figure than he ordinarily is. So lets consider some u. S. Events in American Indian affairs that happened during his presidency. It was during his presidency that the socalled great sioux uprising or what we might call the dakota war of 1862 occurred. A conflict in which the state of minnesota was drenched in blood, as impoverished and hungry dakota waged war on settlers, then faced the wrath of whites, who hunted down susspected 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 mass execution. It was during the american presidency that the navajo or dineh were made to endure the long walk. A forced journey of hundreds of miles from their homeland to a wretched and barren reservation in eastern new mexico. To commence the navajo on their long walk, american soldiers burned crops, destroyed livestock, and sacked the dinehs homes. In their new reservations the , dineh suffered immensely from lack of food, diseases, and raids by other indians. It was during the lincoln presidency that one of the most atrocious episodes in u. S. Indian affairs occurred. That was the massacre of cheyenne at sand creek in eastern colorado. On november 29, 1864, colorado volunteers burst upon a cheyenne village, killing 270 natives, two thirds of them women and children. Some terrible events indeed. Should we today adhere to a buck stops here interpretation about lincoln that he has responsibility for this, for these terrible events in American Indian history . Or should perhaps we give him a pass. After all, lincoln had a lot on his plate. He was fighting the civil war, had the task of defeating the confederacy. Perhaps some of these events out west were out of his control . How can these events, then, reflect inevitably upon his stature. Lets wrestle with some of these questions in this class today. Growing up in the early 19th century, Abraham Lincoln must have formed impressions of American Indians. He lived in indiana and illinois, shortly after tecumsehs defeat. And during a time when numerous were facingeoples increased pressure to give up their lands and move west. This happened during lincolns transformative years. Lincoln could not have been egner and of these troubles. Erectedwhen troubles with the sack and fox led by blackhawk, lincoln volunteered for military service, was 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, it gave me or pleasure than i had ever had since. But i had a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes, but did not see a live fighting indian. This was unlike his grandfather and namesake who suffered death from indian attack, after moving from virginia to kentucky in the early 1780s. Lincoln only mentioned this Family History in passing. It does not appear that his willingness to engage in combat with the sack and fox occurred due to a desire for revenge. Have beenems to driven by something more useful to him. A desire for prestige. Indeed, after the black hawk war, he would use his prestige in the military to run for elected office for the state legislature in illinois. He lost. But of course he would be involved in many other elections. Some he won and some he lost. The ultimate, he won the presidency. He was a whig. 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 was a criticism of the democrats, for being inefficient or spending too much money on removals of groups like the cherokee, and wars against the seminoles. He praised Winfield Scott, the military commander who oversaw cherokee removal, that we have learned about already. He said of Winfield Scott, and coming to Winfield Scotts defense. Winfield scott was actually a whig. But he was ordered to oversee cherokee removal. By president van buren, democrat. And he came under scrutiny for his operations for being too lenient about the cherokee, as i mentioned. He got criticized by the democrats. Countered. Gs lincoln said of Winfield Scott that he was as noble hearted man and christian gentleman who did basically a good job and was no fool. There is very little in the documentary record to believe that Abraham Lincoln deviated much from widespread assumptions about American Indians and u. S. Indian removal policies. Policies of concentrating them on reservations, and insisting on their cultural transformation. Jumping ahead, when he is president , for example, he once told a visiting delegation of plains indians. This delegation that visited in march of 1863, Pay Attention to that date, march of 1863. He said to these native visitors, the paleface 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 difference. But theres another. Although we are now engaged in a great war between one another. We are not as a race so much disposed to fight and kill one another as our red brother. I can only say that i can see no way in which your race is to become numerous and prosperous as the white race except living as they do by the cultivation of the earth. Of course this is in march of 1863. What is very ironic about the way he characterizes Indigenous Peoples . We were right on the cusp of the civil war and the expansion of slavery had numerous violent out bursts. Among white men. Right. Kelton tens of thousands of americans are dying in these horrendous battles and he is saying that indians are inherently warlike. So, left unsaid in abraham , lincolns words, is this idea that westward 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 markets, including the gold and silver of western minds that led to things like the genocide of california indians. And 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 in that degree he agreed with southerners that western devout and should that western development should continue. 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 being able to make a living on the western land. For southerners as weve talked about before, 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 lane should become available, Indigenous People should be eliminated and the land should be developed by whites in the case of northerners with free labor. Or 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 . Slave owners or humble white folks. Indeed, much of the events that were going to talk about here, are very much part of the civil war. If the civil war was about furthering the expansion of slavery, or stopping the expansion of slavery. Onto whose peoples these events are very the civil war was about furthering the expansion of slavery, or stopping the expansion of slavery. Onto whose land . Indigenous peoples these events are very much part of this larger story of the american 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 indians the sioux, but they they called themselves dakota, lakota or others depending on the dialect, which means the people. Many of the others moved on to the western plans planes to become fulltime buffalo hunters living in teepees and hunting buffalo in the west but a group remained in minnesota. They called themselves the dakota and 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. So the dakota believed they had kinship relations with these newcomers. But by 1840s these relations begin to break down. By the 1840s the dakotas are lacking in wild game to trade with traders. They are falling into debt. This is all to the joy of us policymakers because its part of us policy which weve talked about, to purposely force Indigenous Peoples into that so they would have nothing left to sell but, everyone can see this, land. So the dakota signed a few treaties including one 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 treaties, as many of the treaties were, rife with problems. The dakota would be paid in annuities, yearly payments, but these annuities often would never reach the dakotas. They would go straight into the pockets of traders who claimed the dakota owed them for past debts. One episcopal bishop that became aware of these problems and this fraud going on declared that a nation that selling robbery would reap a harvest of blood. And of course he cannot be any more correct. Tensions got very intense in the summer of 1862. The dakotas who had adapted to euroamerican ways, some including going to church or becoming farmers, more full time farmers instead of hunting gathering and farming, wearing euroamerican clothing, and learning to speak english. But others had not of course. As i mentioned, the summer of 1862, the circumstances had grown very tense. They had grown tense because many dakotas were very hungry. Cops had not been been as had not abundant as they had. Theyve lost access to traditional resources and they depended on those annuities. They depended on these annuities to buy food. The federal government had not sent money to minnesota to pay the dakotas, money they could have used to buy food. There was plenty of food and it was stored in a warehouse near the agency. When the dakotas approached the agent and asked for food, they were denied. One declared to the dakotas who didnt have money to pay for the food, declared to them, let them eat grass. Well, many dakotas had had enough. One of those individuals was the leader, little crow. He had accommodated euro american and us civilization policy to a degree. He believed that the dakotas must change in order to survive on their land in minnesota, on their 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 was approached by Young Warriors who had had enough and 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 they attacked minnesota settlers. Killed hundreds. Captured many others, and put minnesota citizens in a state of panic. Minnesota militia came in and counterattacked. The minnesota militia led by col. Henry sibley reached the dakota reservation and undertook the pursuit of little crow. The the dakotaed northward. But the dakota could not mount much of a counterattack. So it was mostly warriors who waged the war. The majority of the dakota did not want anything to do and tried to remain peaceful even surrendering to sibleys forces. In the end little crow never had minnesotansthat believed he did. And he had few options, but to take the followers that remained and flee to the great plains. Friends and captives remain behind as did a number of those , who participated in the war but refused to go on to the parent planes. Sibleys forces surrounded the encampments. By october 3, sibley had 1200 dakotas under his control. Men were disarmed and tried by military commission. Warriors who simply admitted to being at one of the battles were determined guilty and even the death sentence. By november 4, 303 dakota men were sentenced to die. Think about it. 303 men were sentenced to die in one execution. Unlike military affairs in other places, lincoln played a more direct role in events from minnesota. He ordered general john pope to take command in the minnesota war and he indeed was willing to prosecute with brutal rigor. When he arrived in minnesota he informed sibley, it is my to exterminate the sioux 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 maniacs or wild beast and by no means are people with whom treaties or compromises can be made. Pope proved quite successful at bringing the dakota into submission. He expressed enthusiasm for the mass execution of those 303 men sentenced to die. Upon receiving news of the upcoming execution lincoln requested the transcript 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. And he pardoned or dismissed the executions of all but 39. But still, 39 were slated to die. The execution date was set for one more was pardoned and 38 december 6. Were hung, marking the largest mass execution in us history. Now this marker is no longer there in minnesota to mark this event. You listen to a podcast you folks at home cannot see this but it says the little war on the prairie. Its the American Life podcast. It was a broadcast in november of 2012. Can someone tell me, or think about, why did minnesota citizens forget about this . One of the shocking things for the people involved, they didnt even know this happened. Why . Opted out of history. Prof. Kelton prof. Kelton annabelles enemy else . Tothey kind of tried [indiscernible] ok. F. Kelton logan makes a good point. , officials want people to come. You do not advertise and indian war to get able to come into his territory right . The recent history at the time would view 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. It was talked about it all, it was talked about as a justified war. It seems uncomplicated people embracing the complexity and thinking about the complexity they simply chose to ignore. Very good. What about lincoln . Lincoln following the mass execution was still under great pressure from the minnesota congressional delegation and voters in minnesota. And theres an election coming up in 1864. Lincoln reduced the he already angered he already angered the minnesotans. The minnesotans wanted three or three men to die and lincoln had reduced the number. Lincoln did capitulate to the minnesotans by forcing even the from the dakotas to be moved into the western plains. The dakotas were forced into the west. Not only the dakotas but also a group of people that had nothing to do with the war. Minnesotans wanted them gone as well. Lincoln has seen for the emancipation proclamation, he also signed the winnebago removal bill, the americans thed the hochunks winnebago. This passed in february 1863 stipulating in june 1863, the whole chunks would be removed would be removed and , indeed they were in a grueling process where many died on their way or died arriving on their their definite desolation. He was as jackson was to the cherokees. So what little crow . He traveled seeking well allies that likely fell. At one point, tired and hungry he does come back into minnesota and hes picking berries 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. 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 were would remain until 1971 until returned to a descendent. Hores a painting of the for them, lincoln is like jackson is to the cherokee. Another group forcibly removed during lincolns administration were the dineh, the navajo. At the outset of the civil war, there are composed of many loosely allied bands and some are quite wealthy in terms of livestock. They raised sheep, they farmed, they grew corn and other did a considerable amount of raiding. Raiding had been a considerable part of their economy. They raided mexicans, livestock, for food, and rated into mexico as well. When the United States conquered and took half of mexico, now the United States inherits and step up 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. Particularly as gold was sent to the east to fund the civil war effort. Indian raids was the last thing the union army wanted so they sent in american soldiers to stop these raids. Here 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 and what he did was order that the navajo must go to eastern new mexico to a place called Bosque Redondo hundreds of miles away. If they did not go they would be forced to go.