HOMELAND - The Reservation: The Early Years

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			The Early Years Indian Wars Postwar Years 20th century

Pine Ridge Reservation: The Early Years
With the conclusion of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the homeland of the Lakota people came within reach of the growing United States. Initially claimed by the French, the large territory west of the Mississippi River was transferred first to the Spanish and then secretly back to the French. In the early 19th century, the French were at war with Great Britain and recognized that they didn't have the military strength to protect lands so far from European soil. Napoleon sold the territory to U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, who saw his nation double in size with the purchase of two million square miles. Jefferson sent an expedition, headed by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to explore the territory as far west as the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, Lewis and Clark met many Native people in what were mostly friendly encounters.

Frame dwelling built in 1879 for Chief Red Cloud near the Pine Ridge Agency (Denver Public Library, Western History Collection)

Officers of the U.S. 7th Calvary, at Pine Ridge, 1891 (John C. H. Grabill, Denver Public Library, Western History Collection)

Lakota Family

Jerome Crow Dog and family, 1891 (John C. H. Grabill, Denver Public Library, Western History Collection)

The White Invasion
The United States eventually realized that it needed to establish diplomatic relations with the people who lived on the land they now claimed for their own. With the 1825 Treaty, the Sioux signed an agreement that they lived within the boundaries of the United States, and that the U.S. reserved the right to regulate trade and relations with these Native peoples. The Sioux could not have known then how many rights they were giving up to the encroaching white settlers.

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced Native tribes living in the east to move west of the Mississippi River, in what was called Indian Territory. This created even more competition between the Lakota and other tribes over their limited lands and dwindling resources. The buffalo herds grew smaller as their grazing land became developed or cut off by roads and railroads. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 led greater numbers of settlers westward across Indian lands. Thousands of Native people died from diseases brought by the wagon trains, and violent encounters between Indians and settlers became more common.

A Peace Treaty
The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 attempted to establish peaceful relations with the Native tribes, as well as giving the U.S. rights to build roads and establish military posts in the Indian Territory. The Indian nations were to be paid an annual sum for allowing U.S. interests on their land.

Just over a decade later, the 1862 Homestead Act prompted more and more Americans to head west, across Indian land, to settle lots of 160 acres that would become theirs after five years of living on or farming the land. The resulting Sioux Uprising sent greater numbers of Native people from the woods of Minnesota into Indian Territory to seek safety among their relatives. For further information, see the Timeline.