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WorksheetsAmerican Indians on a Closing Frontier
Total questions: 16
Worksheet time: 32mins
In the 1870s, the US government took a new approach to American Indians by
providing allotments of land.
encouraging assimilation.
confining tribes on reservations.
forcing tribes to relocate west.
In the late 1800s, the purpose of the reservation system was to
relocate American Indians and to provide land for white settlers.
give American Indians more freedom to move from place to place.
create a housing system to help American Indians assimilate.
offer American Indians good farmland in exchange for relocation.
One major problem with the reservation system was that US government agents
took land from settlers to give to American Indians.
dealt directly with American Indian families.
did not understand American Indian culture.
gave land to settlers who battled American Indians.
Supporters of the Dawes Act of 1887 said the law would
help American Indians become landowners and farmers.
help American Indians by freeing them from reservations.
harm American Indians by offering them unproductive land.
harm American Indians by giving their land to homesteaders.
Many Plains Indians who were forced onto reservations had trouble adapting because they were
not used to living within borders.
used to hunting for their food.
not used to living in communities.
used to working in factories.
In the late 1800s, many more settlers moved to the West after the completion of
the transcontinental railroad.
the Indian Appropriation Act.
the battle at Wounded Knee.
the reservation system.
What was one of the aims of the Dawes Act of 1887?
to stop American Indians from buying land
to stop American Indians from assimilating
to divide and distribute land to American Indians
to divide and distribute land to white settlers
What was the main goal of the Dawes Act?
to strongly encourage American Indians to sell their land
to strongly encourage American Indians to speak English
to strongly encourage American Indians to change religions
to strongly encourage American Indians to become farmers
What was the government’s overall goal in passing the Indian Appropriations Acts?
to open land for white settlers
to open land for American Indians
to confine white settlers to certain areas
to give American Indians freedom to settle
The Indian Appropriations Act of 1871 changed how the US government treated American Indians. Under this policy,
American Indians were treated as part of a tribe.
American Indians were treated as individuals.
American Indian groups became separate nations.
American Indians became independent of the US.
Why did the Dakota Sioux start an uprising in 1862?
The government had not followed through with promises of help.
The government had given help to an enemy American Indian group.
The Sioux were not allowed to sell hunted animals to the US government.
The Sioux had made an agreement with neighboring tribes to attack.
How did the discovery of gold impact American Indian territory in the 1870s?
War broke out among American Indian groups when warring chiefs signed new treaties with the government.
War broke out when white settlers pressured the government to take the land from American Indians.
War broke out when white settlers pressured the government to let American Indians keep their land.
War broke out when white settlers tried to buy land from warring American Indian groups.
The Plains Indians embraced the Ghost Dance movement as a reaction to
battling other tribes.
living on reservations.
gaining new lands.
celebrating a harvest.
Why is the Battle of Little Bighorn often referred to as “Custer’s Last Stand”?
The Battle of Little Bighorn resulted in the death of General Custer and all two hundred of his troops.
The Battle of Little Bighorn was General Custer’s last battle before he retired from the military.
The Battle of Little Bighorn was the last conflict the US military engaged in with the Plains Indians.
The Battle of Little Bighorn was the final conflict in the American Indian Wars of the late 1800s.
Read the quotation from Mrs. Z. A. Parker below.
[T]hey raised their eyes to heaven, their hands clasped high above their heads, and stood straight and perfectly still, invoking the power of the Great Spirit to allow them to see and talk with their people who had died.
What does Parker describe in this quotation?
the movements of Sioux Indians during a Ghost Dance ceremony
the response of Cheyenne Indians after the battle at Wounded Knee
the reaction to the signing of the Treaty of Fort Laramie
the fear of white settlers following the Battle of Little Bighorn
Read the quotation.
I will fight no more forever.
Who uttered this quotation when the Nez Perce surrendered in 1877?
Chief Joseph
Geronimo
General Custer
Sitting Bull
