The Destruction of the Bison Essay example

Native Americans were affected by whites depleting their resources. Americans moving west found killing Buffalo to be a sport in a way. The Buffalo at the time was a viable resource for the Natives. There was a letter to a Professor Baird from William G. Hornaday. Hornaday states, “There are only two buffalo left in that land! Since seeing the buffalo

The millions of American Bison thriving in the Great Plains were exterminated in under two decades. Five main factors contributed to this massive eradication. These factors are: technology, economics, demographics, changing boundaries and the role of government. Each of these led to the slaughter of the bison in the Great Plains and each work together in a very simple order. The most important factor that led to the extermination of the bison on the Great Plains was the role of government. It was the factor that preceded all of the other factors. If the government had not gotten the territory or enforced laws in the land to combat the killing of the bison, there would not have been such a depopulation of the bison. Each of the factors led directly and indirectly to the extermination of the American Bison which all started with the government’s role - both having land for the citizens to settle and kill bison and the government’s indifference to the killing of the

Obtain Food: They grew crops of corn, beans, pumpkins, and squash. The rainfall made the land very potent for growing crops and keeping up with a farm. During the winter they hunted buffalo, although they are mainly agricultural. Animals in the area included Bison, deer, elk, bear, porcupine, antelope, prairie dogs, eagles, and wolves.

In 1883, the last of the bison herds were killed. Black Elk could not understand why the Wasichus would kill animals without using everything it had to offer. That year Black Elk said, "All our people now were settling down in square gray houses, scattered here and there across this hungry land, and around them the Wasichus had drawn a line to keep them in. The nation's hoop was broken, and there was no center any longer for the flowering tree. The people were in despair.” (BES, p. 213-214) In 1886, as part of a show, Black Elk traveled to London to study the Wasichus and their way of life. By studying

The American Bison, more commonly known as the Buffalo is a humpbacked wild ox. Historically, the American bison played an important role in the Great Plains. They graze on native grasses and actually disturb the soil with their hooves which allows plant and animal species to flourish. Prairie dogs prefer areas grazed by bison where the grass is short so they can keep a lookout for hungry predators, and wolves once relied on bison herds as a major food source. Today, wild bison are beginning to return, mainly in national parks but they still need to more room to roam as they are still being hunted outside the park’s safe borders.

One extreme change for the Indians was the arrival of Anglo-Europeans. Native peoples’ lives were changed at the blink of an eye while new ideas, practices and beliefs were shown to them. The arrival of the Europeans changed the way the Indians viewed their world and manipulated their resources. This new change could be viewed as positive as well as negative, for while some tribes entered into trade relations with the Anglos, others were used as slave labor and all were subject to disease brought on by the European newcomers. However, despite all the advantages and disadvantages, no other introduction changed the lives of the Indians more than firearms and horses. West outlines one of the most important evolutions for Native life and how it represented a new way to harness resources and gain power. In just a few chapters, we are able to see the great advancements the Indians made in hunting and trade due to these new technologies and how they allowed the Cheyennes to rise to a new purpose as the Called Out People.

First, I will look at the tribes of the Great Plains. These nomadic tribes survived on hunting, and the great American Buffalo was their main source of food. These massive animals were the main source for many items the Plains tribes made from their flesh, hide and bones, such as foods, cups, decorations, tools, knives, and clothing. The tribes followed the seasonal grazing and migration of buffalo in order to maintain their diet and subsistence throughout the year. The Plains Indians lived in tipis because they were easily disassembled and allowed the nomadic life of following game. When horses from the Spanish were finally obtained, the Plains tribes rapidly joined them into their daily lives. The natives began to acquire these horses in the 17th century by trading or stealing them from the Spanish colonists in, what is now, New Mexico.

The buffalo were evidently everything to the Native Americans, hereby causing the defeat of buffalo to fall hand in hand with theirs. The plains Indians used bison as not only food, but in religious rituals, for clothing, for hunting, for shelter, and more. The buffalo were an integral part of the native’s lives. In the aftermath of the increasing killings of bison, the lives of countless Native Americans were destroyed. The said 30-60 million buffalo which had roamed freely upon the Great

The mustangs run with a spirit that makes them legendary here in the west. On a bitter cold morning, dozens of wild horses descend off the mountains of eastern Oregon, galloping miles across the rangeland. Stallions and mares, guiding their young. It is an incredible sight, but also one that infuriates many hard working Americans. Horse’s hoof prints in cattle grazing lands, drinking the water supply dry. Farmers are losing their grazing rights before their cattle even step foot on the property. There is another animal taking over the land. Wild horses.

Restoration of the Bison is something that has been going on for the past two decades. As a matter of fact, several Native American tribes have come together to form the Inter Tribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC) which has been set out to bring bison back onto the American plains in the midwest. Bison have an intimate relationship in the traditions and rituals of Native Americans. The importance of bison within the culture has made bringing back the bison an important issue in the preservation of wildlife. However, some of the arguments made by the ITBC show that the bison's economic value should be the main factor why they should be brought back. Yet others involved in this cause suggest that buffalo restoration

The Native Americans developed their cultures, communities and way of life around the buffalo. About 24 to 28 Native American tribes had figured out how to use the buffalo in 52 different ways for food, supplies, and war. The hooves, for example, are boiled to use as glue. The humpback is, that part of the buffalo is really kind of sturdy, and so it's used for making shields, the hides for making a teepee.( The buffalo was indeed the most important resource for them. In Document 5 it show how much the Native American relied on the buffalo for for everything for example they used the buffalo’s tongue for hair brushes and their bones, for silverware, dice and brushes. After the Americans killed most of them they had to move to reservations or they wouldn’t be able to survive. In 1870 the American hunters killed at least 100 million buffalo a year. By the 1880s, the buffalo were dying out and most plains peoples were being forced onto reservations. The Native American people were not happy going to reservations but that's the only way they could survive do to their number one food supply dying out. The Natives lost a lot of the land from the

One of the most important traits shared by all Plains tribes was the fact that they all hunted bison or buffalo. This was also the economic basis of their way of life since hunting provided them with food and

Indians did many different things for themselves. Horses greatly increased human movement and activity on the plains, Such as bufflalo, dogs, housing, culture, trade,

The Old World introduced horses, pig, cattle, and sheep, which helped the Europeans while they were settling. Before the arrival of these animals the native people only had turkeys, llamas, alpacas, and dogs. However, years after Columbus’ arrival the cattle and sheep because wild and were everywhere. The Natives were not very pleased with these wild animals, considering that they would destroy food crops. The horse, however, made the lives of the Natives easier by helping them move and kill faster than before. Due to horses, Indians decided to leave farming and become nomadic buffalo hunters which made them a bigger enemy to the settlers. For this reason horses were one of the few things that the native peoples would want from the Europeans.

During the years of 1872 to 1875 about 9 million buffalo were killed during that short period of time. The white settlers would would over kill the buffalo and only take what was needed for profit and leave the rest. The Indians would kill for only the specific amount of buffalo needed and not over kill the buffalo population. A man by the name of Buffalo Bill Cody was responsible for the killing of buffalo and Indians out in the Trans-Mississippi West. (Footnote) The native Americans were always able find where buffalo herds would