How Native Americans Were Forced to Reservations

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When people began migrating from Europe to America many things began to change. There were people who already inhabited this land, but the “new” settlers only saw it as theirs and no one else’s. As the nation grew larger and larger the Natives were pushed further and further west. The Plains Indians were a large group that saw each and every step of this process. They were successful and self sufficient, then they endured the Trail of Tears, and finally they had to depend on the U.S. government for everything. Did these people deserve this? No, they deserved the same treatment everyone else got, but because they were different they were not seen that way.
The Plains Indians were the tribes of Native Americans who lived on the Great Plains of America. They knew how to keep their tribes alive and working to their full potential. There were many different tribes that made up the Plains Indians. Some hunted buffalo to feed their families and were nomadic. This was one of the largest and most common animals in the Great Plains this made them easier to hunt then most and made food for a large group of people. Some knew how to grow crops to feed their families so they were sedentary and did not have to keep moving to live. (“Native Americans and the West”) They had their own organized religion and the key to this religion was to worship the Great Spirit. Along with religion, to keep this tribe going everyone had a job to fulfill. The men traveled in groups to kill as many buffalo as possible and, the women stayed home to watch the kids and make sure things were provided for such as clothes, blankets, food, and medicine. They had everything they needed and were perfectly happy with their lives. (“Plains Indians”)
The Nativ...

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...sufficient until the new settlers came in; they had life figured out, then they had to go through the trail of tears and hardship of being forced to reservations, and finally they ended up having to depend on the U.S.Government for anything and everything they needed. It was not fair to take all of the independence away from these people, but back then no one cared about others, only themselves.

Works Cited

“Plains Indians.” Indians.org. 15 Feb 2014. http://www.indians.org/articles/plains-indians.html.
“Native Americans and the West.” UnitedStatesHistory.org. 15 Feb 2014. http://tdl.org/txlor-dspace/bitstream/handle/2249.3/232/07_ntve_am_wst.htm
Gilion-Whitaker, Dina. “Facts about Indian Reservations.” About.com Native American History. 15Feb 2014. http://nativeamericanhistory.about.com/od/reservationlife/a/Facts-About-Indian-Reservations.htm.

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