The American West Topic Summaries

Changes in the Plains Indians’ way of life

GCSE > History > AQA > GCSE History: The American West (1835-1895) > Reconstruction era (1865–1877) > Changes in the Plains Indians’ way of life
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Key terms
  • The Pacific Railroad Act encroached on Indian land to construct the railroad, bringing settlers, cattle, and buffalo hunters that decimated the buffalo population.
  • Indians were forced onto reservations as their food supply decreased. Those who refused were treated as ‘hostile.’ When forced to choose between reservations or open conflict and starvation, most Indian Councils chose reservations as the only feasible way to help their tribe survive.
  • The Bureau of Indian Affairs appointed an agent to each reservation; this was often mismanaged, and supplies were stolen. Reservations were reduced in size whenever possible.
  • Gold discovered in Montana in 1862 brought prospectors along the Bozeman Trail through Indian territory. This led to Red Cloud’s War and increased problems on reservations. Miners also introduced alcohol, drugs, and gambling, threatening traditional Indian culture.
  • President Grant’s Peace Policy (1868) tried to reduce conflict through negotiation rather than warfare. This was done under the supervision of religious reformers within settlements, but still tried to assimilate Native Americans into white American culture. Corruption, cultural misunderstanding, and settler pressure ultimately undermined the policy.
  • The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868: the US government agreed to abandon three forts and the Bozeman Trail, reducing military presence in Sioux territory. However, the Sioux were relocated to a larger reservation stretching from the Black Hills to the Missouri River, which limited their traditional nomadic lifestyle.
    • Not all Sioux bands cooperated with the treaty, leading to divisions within the tribe.
    • The existence of separate groups made unified resistance or planning difficult, weakening their ability to respond collectively to further US actions. 
    • The government would later violate this treaty when gold was discovered in the Black Hills

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