The Great Plains Destruction

It was 1851. A council met at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, with members of the United States Government and the Plains Indians. The Government wanted to build roads to allow white settlers to travel to the West. They wanted the Indians to live within certain boundaries, and give the remaining land to settlers. They offered money and goods. They did not understand that the Indians did not believe land could be owned. Shortly afterwards this treaty was broken.

The scene was set for war. It was a war the Indians could not win. No matter how many US soldiers they fought and killed, more kept arriving. Charts show the growing USA population of Whites (50 million people in 1880). Compare this with the 5000 Cheyenne and 20,000 Sioux. The Indians were finally beaten and the buffalo almost wiped out.

The Indians were forced to live on reservations and take up farming. The US government provided them with food rations. The Plains Indians looked in desperation for help.

James Green: Native peoples of the Americas, Oxford University Press, 1993, page 59