Civil War & Reconstruction Treaties
Who was the Muscogee (Creek) leader who led Union-loyal refugees on the Trail of Blood on Ice?
Opothleyahola
Who were the Freedmen?
Formerly enslaved people whom the treaties required tribes to free and enroll as citizens.
Why did the federal government create reservations in the 1860s and 1870s?
To move tribes away from expanding settlement and railroads and open land to settlers.
What 1862 law offered qualifying settlers 160 acres of land?
The Homestead Act.
What did the Homestead Act encourage many settlers to do?
Move west to claim and farm land.
What did the Trail of Blood on Ice demonstrate about tribal nations during the Civil War?
Tribal nations were divided over support for the Union or Confederacy.
What is allotment?
Dividing tribally held land into individual plots
What military post was established in 1869 and helped enforce federal Indian policy?
Fort Sill.
Who were the Boomers?
Settlers who wanted the Unassigned Lands opened to settlement.
How did the Boomer Movement increase tension with tribal nations?
Boomers pressured the government to open lands that threatened tribal control and sovereignty.
What were the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866?
Agreements requiring tribes allied with the Confederacy to cede land, end slavery, and enroll Freedmen.
Who were the Buffalo Soldiers?
Black military regiments that served at posts such as Fort Sill.
What was the purpose of the Medicine Lodge council in 1867?
To negotiate agreements that placed Southern Plains tribes on reservations in western Indian Territory.
What was one strategy David Payne's Boomers used to open the Unassigned Lands?
Forming unauthorized colonies, petitioning, publicizing their cause, or repeatedly re-entering after arrests.
What was one way tribal nations responded to increased migration into Indian Territory?
They formed intertribal councils, lobbied Congress, sent delegations to Washington, or pursued court challenges.
Name two conditions of the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866.
Land cessions, abolition of slavery, Freedmen enrollment, or railroad rights-of-way.
What is an intertribal council?
A gathering of leaders from different tribes to unite against threats to land and sovereignty.
How did allotment affect tribally held land?
It divided communal land into individual plots and weakened tribal landholding.
Why did all-Black towns such as Boley and Langston appeal to African American settlers?
They offered land ownership, self-government, and relief from discrimination.
How did the reservation system and military posts work together?
Reservations confined tribes to designated areas, while military forces helped enforce federal policy and protect settlers.
How did the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866 affect tribal sovereignty?
They reduced tribal control over land and required changes to tribal citizenship and governance.
Who criticized the Dawes Act for breaking up commonly held Cherokee land and weakening community?
Wilma Mankiller.
Why do historians describe the Washita attack as a massacre rather than simply accepting Custer's description of a victory?
The attack surprised a village that included women and children, and Black Kettle had sought peace. Custer's report reflected his own point of view.
Name one challenge faced by residents of Oklahoma's all-Black towns.
Economic hardship, low cotton prices, or Jim Crow laws after statehood.
What does the contrast between the Medicine Lodge council of 1867 and the Washita attack of 1868 reveal about federal policy?
Peace agreements did not prevent the government from using military force to confine tribes to reservations amid conflict over settlement and land.