American Indians and Pioneers

The Walker War

REVIEW

• Why did President Buchanan send troops to Utah?

• How did the Mormons react to news of the approaching army?

• What happened at the Mountain Meadows Massacre?

• How did the war end?

• Every state in the U.S. had to deal with Indians who were living there

• Some dealt with the issue by kicking all the Indians out of the land

• Some dealt with the issue by kicking them out of some of the land but leaving them other lands (reservations)

• Other tried to simply kill the Indians out right

• The common attitude in the United States was “the only good Indian is a dead Indian”

• To the Mormons, though, the Indians were thought of very differently

• They were thought of as part of the Lost Tribes of Israel and as people to convert

• As such, Utah’s Mormons and the Indians got along better than most states in the U.S.

Unintended Consequences

• In Utah most Indians and settlers lived peacefully for many years.• Problems began when Mormons started settling Utah Valley,

where many Utes lived.• Some Utes stole some cattle, probably because wild animals were

not as abundant as before.

Clash of Culture• People of different

cultures often find themselves misunderstanding each other.

• The Ute's had a difficult time understanding why the new settlers had so many rules and discipline.

• The Mormons also had a hard time understanding why the Indians did some of the things they did.

Conflict Among Tribes

• Mormons began to soon realize that the different tribes did not really get along.

• Causes of conflict varied from group to group but usually involved territorial rights and retaliation for aggressive acts.

• Some tribes, like the Utes, welcomed pioneers as a possible ally in hopes of gaining power over the Paiutes.

The Walker War 1853-54

• Sporadic conflicts continued, usually as a result of cattle raids by Indians looking for food.

• Finally, a large number of Western Utes tried to drive the Mormons from their settlements in what is now known as the Walker War.

• Events exploded near Springville, when an Indian was killed in a trade dispute

• The Utes responded by killing a militiaman at Fort Payson.

• A wave of violence soon turned the whole region into a battleground.

Turn to page 128 in your books to see the map on the Indian-White conflicts in Utah.

• During the next ten months, under directions from Brigham Young, settlers started building forts just in case they needed to move into them for protection.

The War Ends• The different Indian

tribes were not united because several groups and their leaders chose to respond to the situation differently.

• Some Ute leaders wanted to negotiate peace and Brigham Young agreed to meet with Walkara in order to end the conflict.

• Fewer than 20 settlers were killed, we are unsure as to the number of Indians

Why the Pioneers Won

• Disease• Technology• Greater resources• Greater political unity

American Indians and Pioneers (cont)

Blackhawk War

Bear River Massacre

250 Shoshone men, women, and children were killed by soldiers in Cache Valley.

The Black Hawk War 1865-68• Longest and most destructive

conflict in Utah.• Government agents wanted the

Indian men to sign a treaty, giving up their tribal lands and agreeing to move their people to the Uintah Reservation.

• The government would then pay the people thousands of dollars every year, in addition to animals, shelter, clothing, food, and training in agriculture.

• The treaty was signed and sent to Washington where it was ignored and eventually rejected.

• In the meantime, the Indian agent began forcing Utes to walk to the Uintah Basin during winter.

• They suffered terrible hardships and many deaths from starvation and cold.

• A leader named Black Hawk, realized that settlers were taking over their hunting grounds, and that his people were not getting the money and food promised.

• They began to raid Mormon settlements for horses and cattle.

• Many Utes, Paiutes, and Navajos united and attacked several settlements.

• The war was marked by brutality on both sides.

• The largest massacre was at Circleville when at least sixteen unarmed Paiute Indians, including women and children, were killed—most had their throats slit.

• About seventy settlers and an unknown number of Indians were killed.

• Eventually Black Hawk signed a peace treaty.• He began to tour Utah settlements and spoke

to the Mormons in church meetings, asking for their forgiveness while emphasizing the terrible conditions for his starving people.

Indian Farms and Reservations• In 1861 President Lincoln established the Uintah Valley

Reservation for the Ute people of Utah Territory.• The Navajo Indian Reservation was created as an addition to

the vast Navajo reservation lands in Arizona and New Mexico.

• Later on, six small reservations were established in Utah.