The Impact Of Westward Expansion On Native Americans

In the mid-late 1800’s, Native americans flourished, but as white settlers began to move west, Native Americans were dismissed and neglected. Their land was continually claimed by the US, and the buffalo, their main resource, were hunted in massive amounts. As you can see, westward expansion greatly impacted Native American land and culture by terminating buffalo to extinction in the great plains, forcing the Native Americans to follow white practices, and breaking treaties by upholding massive amounts of American Indian land.
Firstly, westward expansion of the US impacted the Native Americans because it killed off their main resource. In the Great Plains, buffalo are the most abundant animal and food source. As the US built railroads out west, it cut off the herds and decreased the buffalo population. The buffalo were sacred animals to the Native Americans, and were never wasted. When killed, a buffalo’s skull, horns, bones, hide, beard, hair, sinew, hooves, tail, and manure had a use for the Natives. As the buffalo vanished, the Indians had to cross boundaries to hunt and survive, which caused conflict with Europeans. The loss of the buffalo impacted the Natives overall

Their spirituality and territory were forever changed. Westward expansion discontinued the prosperity of the Native Americans. The railroad terminated the buffalo population, the Natives main resource. The US also forced Native Americans to follow white practices. Europeans settlers did not agree with the Natives way of life. Resulting, the white settlers forced the Indians to rid their culture. Finally, The US took a countess amount of land from the Native Americans, leaving them without the resources they need to survive and celebrate their culture. From this Evidence, it shows that the Native American land and culture were greatly impacted by westward expansion in the mid-late