The Indians have always had to struggle through life. It could be said that this is still true today. The colonists always claimed to work problems out with the Indians, through Treaties or something of this sort. Unfortunately, the Indians were always lied to. Promises were never kept. Yet they were the first people to cultivate and make this land their home. The Fort Laramie Treaty was just another hoax to the Indians.
There were numerous pitfalls that came about during the treaty-making process of the Fort Laramie Treaty. The biggest problem of all was of course all of the lies and backstabbing that occurred toward the Indians. This can be seen on page 301 when General Sanborn states, "We speak the truth." The government simply told the Indians what they wanted to hear so that they could get the Indians under their control.
Some Indian groups fell for this, most others did not.
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United StatesMost times, such refusals led to war or attacks between the two groups. "Red Dog, a Sioux chief who had visited Washington, told U.S. commissioners that when he was there he did not pull a twig from a tree or disturb anything, but Americans entering Indian land did not treat it with the same respect. "This is our country," he said, "and when white men come into it, it makes our hearts beat fast."" (Calloway, 272)
Consequently, after a vast amount of blood shed among the Indians and the Americans, the Fort Laramie Treaty was established. Both sides had agreed to things stated in it, or at least for the time being. It remained in effect until the Indians developed or discovered things that were of some interest to the Americans. The backstabbing and lying began again. One example is the gold that was found...