a single leader to guide them in their dealings with
whites. Although still a young man, Sitting Bull im-
presses the Lakota elders with his success in battle,
his courage, and his generosity to people in need.
Philip M. Sheridan praises “dead Indians.”
When introduced to a Comanche chief in Indian
Territory, veteran Indian fighter General Philip M.
Sheridan is told the man is a “good Indian.” Sheri-
dan replies, “The only good Indians I ever saw were
dead.” Although Sheridan will later deny ever mak-
ing the statement, his words will become famous
and be frequently quoted as evidence of the U.S.
Army’s vicious attitude toward all Indians.
United States v. Lucero dissolves Pueblo
land title.
According to the terms of the Treaty of Guadelupe
Hidalgo (see entry for FEBRUARY 2, 1848), the
Pueblo, as Indians, received legal title to their lands
in New Mexico Territory. With whites clamoring
for access to these rich landholdings, the Pueblo’s
claims are challenged before the New Mexico Su-
preme Court in United States v. Lucero. The judge
finds that the Pueblo are in fact not Indians at all
but Mexicans and therefore do not hold title to the
lands they occupy according to the previous treaty.
The legality of the decision will be questioned more
than 40 years later in United States v. Sandoval (see
entry for 1913).
January 25
Quakers meet with Ulysses S. Grant to
discuss an Indian “Peace Policy.”
Following a convention of Quakers, a delegation
travels to Washington, D.C., for an audience with
the President-elect Ulysses S. Grant. The group
asks Grant to attempt a peaceful resolution to In-
dian-white conflicts and recommends that military
personnel be replaced by people of strong Christian
convictions as the government’s liaisons with Indian
groups.
In the months following the meeting, Grant
puts into motion a “Peace Policy” much like that
suggested by the Quakers. For the president, the
primary goal of the policy is to reduce hostilities be-
tween Indians and whites in the West as quickly and
inexpensively as possible. The policy’s major tool is
Assimilation. It aims to place Indians on reserva-
tions, where they can be watched and controlled;
to replace Indian traditions with Christian values;
and to force Indians to give up their traditional
livelihoods and take up the lives of settled farmers.
Toward these ends, Protestant clergy and lay people
active in Protestant churches are hired as Indian
agents and reservation schoolteachers.
Ironically, the so-called Peace Policy will usher
in an era of increased Indian-white warfare in the
West. By moving Indians off their traditional lands
to reservations with inadequate rations and few
means of making a living, the policy will often force
Indians, in order to survive, to defy the government
and return to their native lands—a violation of the
government’s Assimilation campaign that will usu-
ally elicit swift and brutal military responses.MarchCheyenne Indians surrender to U.S. forces at
Sweetwater Creek.
Searching for renegade Cheyenne, forces led by
Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer
discover two Indian villages along the Sweetwater
Creek on the Texas Panhandle. Instead of attack-
ing the Cheyenne, Custer asks to negotiate with
their leaders for the release of two white women
whom the Indians are holding as captives. The
colonel then takes four of the leaders hostage and
threatens to hang them if the women are not re-
leased. Exhausted and war-weary, the Cheyenne
meet his demands, and most agree to return to
their reservation.April 10Congress creates the Board of Indian
Commissioners.
As part of President Grant’s Peace Policy (see
entry for JANUARY 25, 1869), Congress passes the