2.3 Impacts on the Plains Indians and government policy Flashcards

1
Q

what increased the pressure on Plains Indian’s traditional way of life?

A

expansion of the railroad, the growing cattle industry and gold prospecting

the resources they depended on were shrinking as white America expanded

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2
Q

What was the impact of the railroads on the Plains Indians?

A
  • railroads disrupted the buffalo migrations through settled areas: the noise of trains and fencing of railroad tracks contributed to the extermination of the buffalo and also blocked buffalo movements and disrupted hunts
  • Railroads were funded by land grants that the railroad companies sold to settlers which encouraged settlement of the west. This took away land from tribes and reduced grazing for buffalo
  • the government persuaded tribes to give up lands along railroad routes and move to reservations
  • as part of the Pacific railroad act, the government began to extinguish any Plains Indian rights to land along the route so Indians were moved off the railroad land to reservations
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3
Q

What was the impact of the cattle industry on the plains Indians life?

A
  • cattle and buffalo had the same diet: grass. Consequently, as cattle numbers increased on the plains buffalo numbers decline
  • Cattle trails often crossed Indian lands in Indian Territory
    • tribes allowed this in return for a fee
    • in the south-west, the Comanche did not allow it and attacked cowboys, leading to tensions and US army retaliation attacks
  • As buffalo became hard to find, some plains Indians went to work as cowboys or worked on ranches which was a much more settled way of life and took Plains Indians away from their traditional lifestyles. they worked for money and depended on ranchers for employment
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4
Q

What was the impact of gold prospecting for the Plains Indians?

A
  • In California, gold prospectors had murdered American Indians as well as forcibly remove tribes to get them away from possible claims to gold
  • the influx of men from all over the world brought new diseases that devastated American Indian populations
  • new towns developed, with churches, schools and stores which were all alien to American Indian culture
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