9781422285978

Native Americans on the Great Plains depended on the bison, or American buffalo, for many everyday necessities. No part of the slaughtered animal was wasted; the Indians ate the meat, used the bones to make tools and weapons, and used the hides to make clothing and shelter. Recognizing this, some white men started killing the animals as a strategy to weaken the Native American tribes and force them onto reservations. derstood or considered wild savages. As the United States grew and expanded westward, Americans would often clash with the Native Americans they encoun- tered. This was especially true during the decades between 1860 and 1890, when a series of wars between Native American tribes and the U.S. military were fought to determine control of the American West. Chapter 1 The Causes of Wars on the Frontier T hroughout the 19th century, people of European descent held varied views of the indigenous peoples of North America. From early times, these Native Americans, sometimes referred to as Indians, were misun-