The Black Hawk War in Utah Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Black Hawk War in doh - Essay ExampleLyman states that the relationship between the Indians and the washcloth settlers who were mostly Mormons was quite rough (12). Some of the grey Paiutes even converted to Mormonism. However, the Ute Indians had general hostilities with the Mormons and the settlers. During the Black Hawk War, Navajo Indians increased the hostilities by attacking Dixie ranches. umpteen Mormons and pureness settlers were killed in inhumane manner. The Indians were ruthless in their attacks. Winkler states that most of the white settlers armed themselves against the Indians and carried out revenge attacks without involving the US government. Indian villages were raided and razed down by church militias. The farms belonging to the Ute Indians were razed down lead to many deaths due to famine between 1866 and 1869. Winkler states that on 18 July 1865, Mormon militias killed tens of Native Americans including women and children (13). Furthermore, the Indians tha t were captured during cattle raids were candid to extreme torture methods in narrate to reveal the place where other tribes were hiding. Lyman further states that Indian state of struggleriors captured white traders en route to parts of southern Utah killing them (7). The major causes of the black slant war were pressure on Indian settlement populations, destruction of ecosystem and Indian subsistence leading to starvation. This was due to white resolve expansion and latter day saints in open war with Native Americans. Peterson asserts that the major cause of the war was the pressure on Indian tribes in Utah (14). Since 1837, white settlers had been pushing native Indians from their homeland in the native reserve. South Utah was one of the major areas that were affected. The Ute and Navajo who used to plant corn for food were hugely affected as they lost their land to Mormon ranches. The Ute led by a young caput called black Hawk started to carry out attacks on the Mormon settlements in order to steal cattle for their food. Lyman, on the other hand states that Mormon militia due to suspicion attacked some Indian tribes that were seen to be friendly to the Mormons in central Utah (19). These include the Koosharen who were commonly known as the horseless Ute. During the black hawk war, there was an emergence of what was commonly referred to as the Frontier justice for those who were thought to have committed crimes, witch-hunts. miss of federal soldiers aid to help end the war was due to the inability to specialise between friendly and enemy Indians. Reeve states that the system of justice in Utah was crucial as a cause of war. Reeve states that the whites had formed a militia in order to protect their interests and deal with conduct amongst themselves administered the system. The justice system during the black hawk war led to white settlers to engage in excess in legal constraints. Indian women and children were also killed after being caught as ca ptives. In addition to this, the legal authority was accused of excesses. However, the legal system would let these blatant forms of bump off and human rights abuses unpunished. Winkler states that Indians chiefs had their own system of justice. In the case of Joseph and Robert Perrys murder, Indian chiefs prosecuted the Navajos who had participated in the murder by punishing them (6). However, Winkler states th