Black Bear

Black Bear (died April 8, 1870) was an Arapaho leader into the 1860s when the Northern Arapaho, like other Native American tribes, were prevented from ranging through their traditional hunting grounds due to settlement by European-Americans who came west during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. Conflicts erupted over land and trails used by settlers and miners. A watershed event was the Sand Creek massacre of 1864. This led to the Northern Arapaho joining with other tribes to prevent settlement in their traditional lands. In 1865, Black Bear's village was attacked during the Battle of the Tongue River. People died, lodges were set on fire, and food was ruined, all of which made it difficult for them to survive as a unit. He died during an ambush by white settlers on April 8, 1870, in the Wild Wind Valley of present-day Wyoming. Background In the 19th century, the Arapahoes ranged north of the Arkansas River and east from the Medicine Bow Mountains of the Rocky Mountains and north and east into the plains. In the 1820s or the 1830s, at the beginning of contact with European-Americans, the Arapaho divided into Northern and Southern tribes based upon trading sources. British, French, and American trading posts were established north of the Arkansas River. Below that, Native Americans traded in the southwest with the Spanish (Santa Fe de Nuevo México), where it was easier to trade for horses. There were four bands of Northern Arapaho who ranged separately for food and came together for ceremonies, such as Sun Dance. In 1851, the Fort Laramie Treaty was negotiated between Native Americans of the Western United States and the United States government. Native Americans, including the Arapaho, negotiated to protect their hunting grounds and buffalo herds. The United States government negotiated to protect settlers who moved westward into or through traditional native lands, and along westward trails such as the Oregon Trail. The Arapaho sought to abide by the treaty, but they suffered from starvation due to the sharp reduction of buffalo herds. There was a huge influx of settlers with the Gold Rush into the Rocky Mountains. The United States government's strategy was to put Native Americans on reservations and convert them to agrarian and Christian societies.