The late 1800's were a time of critical change for both white settlers and Native Americans. By the mid 1800's, the United States government was starting to put in place a series of treaties to try and keep the whites and Native Americans in separate territories. These treaties served to ensure the Indians a certain amount of land and therefore putting that land off limits to all settlers. By 1851 many treaties had been accepted and most were violated and eventually ignored. In September of 1851, the United States government enacted the Treaty of 1851 at Fort Laramie. The Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1851 was intended to ease tension between white settlers and Native Americans; however, when the settlers crossed lines guaranteed to the Santee Sioux and the government did not provide goods promised in the treaty, violence soon followed.
             Prior to the Treaty of 1851, the Santee Sioux was a self sufficient tribe. As white settlers started to take up the tribe's land, the Santee began to stray from their typical woodland lifestyle. They began hunting with modern weapons and had many items of European cloth. Due to the rapid growth of the settlers moving into the Santee's, and other Sioux tribe's land, the United States Government sought out a way to please both sides and prevent or limit violence between the two groups. The Treaty of 1851 at Fort Laramie proposed many suggestions which were eventually agreed upon by both sides. The three major provisions of the treaty were an agreement on no violence between the two sides in the future, guaranteed land for each tribe which was not to be settled by the whites, and a government ration of money to each of the tribes for 10 years.
             Both sides signed the treaty in which the first article states that both sides agree to peace for all time to come. Due to the hostility between the sides, the chances of this being successful even for a short time was highly u...