The Reservation System

What is a reservation?

A reservation is a fenced off area of land on which the Native Americans were forced to live in order to make way for westward expansion.

What was life like on the reservations?

Life on the majority of reservations was hard, and the Native Americans were often neglected by those who were supposed to care for them. Native Americans were expected to live life as white Americans did, ignoring their own culture and heritage. If they refused, rations were stopped.

Why did Native Americans move to the reservations?

There were several reasons why the Native Americans agreed to move onto reservations.

• ❖ The US government made it sound as if the move was to protect them, and that they would be looked after.
• ❖ Many tribes were struggling to survive as a result of having less land, less food, and more disease.
• ❖ They thought that moving to the reservations would mean that they could continue their way of life and customs in peace.

What happened if Native Americans did not want to move onto reservations?

If the Native Americans tribes refused to move to the reservations, they were forced by the US Army.

Why did the US government want reservations?

The US government wanted to try and separate the Native Americans and white Americans. They hoped this would reduce the tensions between them. They also wanted to try and 'Americanise' the Native Americans, converting them to Christianity and teaching them to become farmers.

What problems did Native Americans face on the reservations?

The reservations caused many problems for the Native Americans.

• ❖ Chiefs often agreed to treaties which they could not enforce on their tribes as they did not have the authority to do so.
• ❖ Some reservations were situated far from sacred places that the Native Americans wanted to visit.
• ❖ Some rival tribes were placed together on the same reservations, which caused its own issues. For example, the Apache and the Navajo were placed together.
• ❖ The land in the reservations was often poor quality, even for those who did attempt to farm. This meant that the Native Americans were even more dependent on the government for supplies.
• ❖ The Bureau of Indian Affairs managed the reservations, but their officials were often corrupt.
• ❖ The government often reduced the size of the reservations after pressure from white Americans, who said that it was unfair that the Native Americans had so much land.