Journal Entry on Sitting Bull

Garrett Barrilleaux

     Back around 1875 the Sioux Indians were in heavy conflict with US authorities after the discovery of gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Because of this, the Sioux left their reservations and bands of warriors gathered in Montana and united under 2 great leaders, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. One year later in 1876, one of the most famous conflicts between Indians and whites occurred. The Battle of the Little Bighorn. In this battle the Seventh Cavalry, led by George A. Custer, of 246 men were caught off guard and surrounded by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse's tribe of 2,500 men, and were massacred. After this event the Indians were not politically organized or properly supplied enough to continue together and they slowly separated overtime.

     After years of being chased by US authorities, Sitting Bull and his tribe were caught in Canada. His tribe was nearly starved to death and Sitting Bull accepted defeat and agreed to go back to reservations. But he was shot and killed by US and Indian agents while being arrested because they feared he would later lead another resistance of Indians.

Online History Textbook
http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/sitting-bull

http://www.biography.com/people/sitting-bull-9485326

History Classwork

Garrett Barrilleaux

In class we are reading pages in a history textbook and responding to the question of how reading it would shape my knowledge and views of Native Americans if I were an American student reading this as homework. We also found the definitions of savage and savagery; savage - fierce, ferocious, or cruel; uncivilized, barbarous; savagery - an uncivilized or barbaric state or condition.

If I were an American student reading this textbook for homework I would see Native Americans as uncivilized people living off of bare necessities and the land, and don't have any form of technology compared to Americans. I would believe they are uneducated savages who have no mercy for other people and who only care about survival at any cost.

Letter Response

Garrett Barrilleaux
11/1/2016

1. The letter is about a husband writing to his wife and child about moving to the West. He explains how he's going to buy a new house and more land for them. He describes the house and the improvement of the land from what they have.

2. The fact that the value of money has changed so much since the time these letters were written stood out to me. In the letter he says 160 acres would cost only around $600 whereas now it would cost thousands.

3. Letters were important during this time period because it gave travelers a sense of what they were going to experience in the West. People were able to write friends or relatives that are in or have been to the West in order to find out what life will be like and what to expect when they move.