How did Westward Expansion impact the Native Americans?
Before the US bought the land of California, and many other western areas, the natives lived peacefully for the most part with the Mexicans and others who were also living there. But the Americans kept moving west, into Indian territory, which started conflicts among thee two groups. The US government obviously did not like the natives attacking the settlers, so they created what are called reservations. The main reasons they sectioned off these pieces of land for the tribes were, 1) So there would be more available land for western settlers, and 2) so they could try to keep the peace between the natives and Settlers. The settlers agreed to this idea, but the Indians weren't so sure. They had been able to roam freely before, and now they were going to be confined to a certain space, although the reservations were quite large.
In the new reservations, the Indians could not hunt buffalo like they used to, and were instead provided with supplies of beef and such from the government. Many of the famous Indian names we hear became famous during this time period. People like Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph, and battles such as the Battle of Little Bighorn. These people fought for rights over their land when settlers, especially during the Gold Rush, started to invade. Many lives, both Indian and American were lost, but the government still insisted on the reservations.
In the new reservations, the Indians could not hunt buffalo like they used to, and were instead provided with supplies of beef and such from the government. Many of the famous Indian names we hear became famous during this time period. People like Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph, and battles such as the Battle of Little Bighorn. These people fought for rights over their land when settlers, especially during the Gold Rush, started to invade. Many lives, both Indian and American were lost, but the government still insisted on the reservations.
For more information and pictures: http://www.fasttrackteaching.com/burns/Unit_2_Westward/U2_Impact_on_Indians.html