Indholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2025 i Cobblestone American History and Current Events for Kids and Children

The Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868 confirmed that the Black Hills and a huge swath of land west of the Missouri River would always belong to the Lakotas as part of the Great Sioux Reservation. Of particular importance in the official agreement between the United States and the Lakotas was the inclusion of the Black Hills. The treaty stated that “no persons except those designated herein . . . shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in the territory described in this article.” In other words, no one was allowed access to the hills without Lakota authorization. But although some Lakota bands resigned themselves to life on the reservation near their sacred homeland, other bands remained defiant. They refused to become dependent on the U.S. government.…

Today, the home of the Oglala Lakota Nation at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation extends over nearly 3,500 square miles of southwestern South Dakota and a sliver of northern Nebraska. It’s the fourth-largest Indigenous reservation by land area and the second-largest Indigenous reservation by population (about 20,000 residents) in the United States. It’s also a place where people still suffer from the U.S. government’s broken promises. The Lakota people’s greatest needs are housing, jobs, and education. More than 50 percent of the people live in poverty, including a majority of children. Jobs are scarce. Unemployment hovers around 80 percent. And living off the land is harder than it was 150 years ago. The United States made treaties with the Lakotas when they moved to the reservation. But the treaties were…

Along with the tragedy at Wounded Knee, 1890 became a year in which events around the world marked beginnings and endings. Speeding Down the Slopes Did you know that the sport of bobsledding, in which teams of riders travel down an icy path at high speed, got its start in 1890? A group of wealthy but bored tourists in Switzerland assembled some crude sleds. The sleds were little more than planks fastened together, but they were big enough for several people to ride on. The tourists took them out onto the ski slopes for some excitement and adventure, and the sport of bobsledding was born. The first official competition took place in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in 1898. And it hasn’t slowed down since! A COPYCAT TOWER It’s difficult today to…

T he Wounded Knee Massacre took less than a day. Yet the lead-up to that tragedy took a full century, and its wounds haunt the United States today. Following the Revolutionary War (1775–1783), Americans looked to their future growth. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established a process for how territories could become states. It called for the United States to practice “utmost good faith . . . towards the Indians” who already resided in those areas. But far too often, the U.S. government broke promises and violated treaties in pursuit of its manifest destiny. As settlers pushed westward across the Appalachian Mountains, some Indigenous groups tried to resist them. Shawnee leader Tecumseh led an Indigenous confederation to fight against the settlement of Americans in the Midwest from 1809 to 1813.…

Many Indigenous Americans felt helpless as they watched their way of life disappear in the late 1800s. Their survival depended on promises made in treaties, but the U.S. government failed to honor those promises. For the Lakotas, 1889 was a particularly bad year. The U.S. government had been trying to get the Lakotas to agree to the breakup of the Great Sioux Reservation. In 1889, the government’s use of threats and pressure succeeded—the large reservation was broken into much smaller parcels. The surplus land that resulted was made available for nonnative settlement. Then, an influenza epidemic swept through the Great Plains that winter and decimated Indigenous communities. Around this time, a Paiute man named Wovoka shared his visions of the Ghost Dance. Wovoka described seeing his ancestors coming across the…

When word of the events at Wounded Knee reached top U.S. military and government leaders, they publicly congratulated the soldiers for “their splendid conduct.” Fighting Indigenous peoples in the West was generally popular in the 1800s. While the Wounded Knee Massacre is viewed as an isolated tragic event today, people in 1890 thought it was the beginning of a war. In fact, when Major General Nelson A. Miles arrived on December 31 to take command of the situation, he ordered soldiers to fortify the buildings at the Pine Ridge agency to prepare for an attack. But Miles also sent letters, gifts, and negotiators to the frightened Lakotas. He assured them that he wanted to make peace. He promised to arrange for them to go to Washington to explain their problems…

Can you solve this puzzle about Wounded Knee? All the answers can be found in this issue. ACROSS 1. The Lakotas considered this site in South Dakota to be sacred. 3. The Northern Cheyennes introduced their Lakota allies to ____, which made hunting and moving around in the Great Plains easier. 8. Lieutenant Colonel George A. ____’s 1874 expedition into the Black Hills discovered gold. 10. The U.S. government stopped negotiating ____ with Indigenous groups in 1871. 11. The Battle of the Little ____ was a stunning victory for the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho bands. 12. After determined Lakota attacks, the U.S. Army abandoned its forts along the ____ Trail. DOWN 2. The Treaty of Fort ____ in 1868 guaranteed that the Lakota people would always control the Black…

1816-1851 U.S. government forces more than 100,000 Indigenous Americans to move from their homelands in the Southeast to an area west of the Mississippi River. 1830 Indian Removal Act becomes law. It gives President Andrew Jackson the power to negotiate with native groups in the South to acquire their lands and to move them to territory west of the Mississippi River. 1838-1839 U.S. government forces the Cherokee people to travel 1,000 miles to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in what becomes known as the Trail of Tears. 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie with Lakotas, Northern Cheyennes, Arapahos, and other nations promises that settlers will stay out of much of the Great Plains. 1861 Treaty of Fort Wise promises sufficient food if Northern Cheyennes and Arapahos will move to Colorado reservation. 1862…

The U.S. government crafted more than 400 treaties and agreements with Indigenous groups between 1778 and 1871. By the time Congress ended its efforts to develop an “Indian” policy in 1871, most Indigenous groups had been restricted to life on reservations. Their days of moving freely over the land were over. In 1887, Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts made a proposal. He suggested breaking up the large reservation lands into many smaller sections. The U.S. government would give 160 acres of farmland or 320 acres of grazing land to each Indigenous family. This effort would cut Indigenous ties to large groups and encourage Indigenous people to live more like “traditional” American families. The act further proposed that Indigenous children attend government-funded boarding schools. The schools would teach the children…

The tragedy at Wounded Knee ended 1890 on a sorrowful note. But the year included notable moments in other facets of U.S. history. A Public Park In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln declared California’s Yosemite Valley to be a federally protected land grant. It was the first time that the U.S. government identified a specific section of land as something worthy of being preserved and protected. Initially, the state of California was responsible for taking care of the land grant. Yosemite’s beautiful valley, majestic waterfalls, and distinct rocks cliffs quickly drew lots of visitors and conservationists. In 1890, both Yosemite and Sequoia were named as national parks. Only Yellowstone predates them as the first national park protected by the federal government and set aside for the enjoyment of the public. Number…