the Indian wars
- Sand creek Massacre (1864): Bands of Indians attacked stagecoach lines and settlements in an effort to regain territory they had lost. In response to these incidents, whites called up a large territorial militia and the army issued dire threats of retribution. The governor urged all friendly Indians to congregate at army posts for protection began its campaign. One Arapaho and Cheyenne band camped near Fort Lyon in response to the invitation. Colonel J. M. Chivington encouraged his militia to fight and 133 people were killed.
- Little Bighorn (1876): Three army columns set out to round Crazy Horse and sitting Buss and force them back onto the reservation. George A. Custer was the colonel who led the battle. At the battle, the tribal warriors surrounded them and killed every man. The chiefs had gathered 2,500 warriors, one of the largest Indian armies ever assembled a t one time in the United States. The warriors drifted off in bands to elude pursuit or search for food and the power of the army soon diminished.
- Chief Joseph: leader of the Nez Perce tribe who moved with 200 men and 350 women after several young Indians had killed four white settlers. Joseph wanted to reach Canada and take refuge with the Sioux there. some escaped and slipped across the border but Joseph and most of followers gave up. The Nez Perce were shipped form one place to another for several years.
- Ghost Dance: Wovoka, a Piute prophet who inspired an ecstatic spiritual awakening that began in Nevada and spread quickly to the plains. The new revival emphasize the coming of a messiah but also a mass 'Ghost Dance' which visions of a retreat of white people form the plains and a restoration of the great buffalo herds.