Final answer:
Governor Stevens signed treaties under which tribal leaders were pressured by the U.S. government in order to move Indigenous peoples to reservations, facing intimidation and a lack of viable alternatives. These actions resulted in increasing dependency on the government and the erosion of traditional native lifestyles and sovereignty.
Step-by-step explanation:
To get Indigenous peoples to move to reservations, Governor Stevens signed a series of treaties with tribal leaders who were intimidated and pressured by the U.S. government. This strategy was part of a broader federal policy aimed at the eventual assimilation of Native Americans. The indicated pressure came from the threat of military force or the risk of losing potential resources and lands for their future generations, if the tribes chose not to sign the treaties. Once these treaties were in place, many natives were often left with no choice but to accept the modest provisions offered by the government, as promises of cash payments were not fulfilled. The tribes then found themselves increasingly dependent on these federal stipends, thus complicating their efforts to maintain their traditional lifestyles and sovereignty.
The situation was dire, as alternatives presented by figures such as James Doolittle implied that without reservation confinement, the only other option would be the extermination of the Native American population, a sentiment that was alarmingly supported in some public forums. As the United States expanded and its population grew, lands that were once set aside for reservations became targets for white settlement, and even those promises were broken, leading to further removal and marginalization of Indigenous peoples.
Tribal resistance took varied forms, from ignoring imposed allotment boundaries to the formation of tribal confederations. However, the federal government consistently undermined these efforts, contributing to the loss of tribal governance and lands. The history of these treaties and the treatment of Native Americans by the U.S. government illustrates broken promises and the challenges that Indigenous people faced in preserving their cultures, lands, and ways of life.