1. The Horse, Buffalo, and YOU!
Cultures Clashing on Amber Waves of Grain
Chapter 5, Section 1 Notes

2. My How America is Beautiful
(You don’t need to write this slide)
Oh Beautiful, For Spacious Skies,
For Amber Waves of Grain…
For Purple Mountains Majesties
Above the Fruited Plain!
America! America!
God Shed His Grace on Thee
And Crown Thy Good, With Brotherhood
From Sea to Shining SEEEEEAAAAAA!

3. Native American/Settler Conflict
There had been a fundamental problem between settlers and Indians throughout the 1800s (and to some extent, still today)
Native Americans lived a nomadic lifestyle
Settlers believed in Manifest Destiny
There’s a lot of land in America. You would think the two groups could co-exist
You would think…

4. How We Do: Native Style
Horses and Buffaloes are at the forefront of Native American lifestyle and culture
Before horses were introduced to the open land of America, Indian movement was restricted
What does a horse allow an Indian to do?
Answer: Get from place to place faster
What animal was a key element to Native living, both as a food and clothing source?
Answer: The Buffalo
How do the two animals work together for Indians?

5. How We Do: Native Style Family Life
Lived in small extended family groups (brothers, sisters, mom, dad, aunts, uncles, nephews, etc living together)
Men
Be strong! Trained as hunters/warriors
Women
Help as needed! Helped butcher game animals, prepared hides for clothing, sometimes chose their own husbands

6. How We Do: Settler Style
White settlers grew up believing in Manifest Destiny
It was our land “from sea to shining sea…”
Believed that owning land, making a mining claim, or starting a business gave them a stake to the land in the country
Indians forfeited their rights to the land because they hadn’t settled down to “improve” it
Indians life was nomadic—why would they settle? They don’t need this specific piece of land

7. How We Do: Government Style
You think we’re supporting those Indians?
The government knew gold and silver was luring settlers west—and that’s what the government wanted
Their thought: Who doesn’t want to be rich?
Gov’t gave land incentives to move west
Building railroads eased travel

8. How We Do: Government Style
1834: Government said all of the Great Plains was one big reservation, set aside for the Indians
In other words, Settlers, Go West!
1850: Government changed its policy and created treaties defining specific boundaries for each tribe
In other words, Settlers, Keep Going West!
Native Response: None…they keep living as they always had…
Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!

9. Rumbles The Americans and Native Americans rumbled!
Yes I intentionally put Americans…
(…Even though they were mostly white Americans)
(…Even though the Native Americans were also Americans)
(…Even though the U.S. gov’t didn’t treat Native Americans like Americans)
(…Even though the “white man” distrusted and took advantage of the “red man”)
(…Even though “Red Man” was the white man’s description of Native Americans)
(…Even though “Red Man” is an old man’s horrible chewing tobacco…)
(…And my ex-uncle’s chewing tobacco…)
Anyway, the settlers tried to continue to push west, the government tried to break the Indians’ nomadic lifestyle through fighting and the Dawes Act (160 free acres of land to married Indian; 80 acres to unmarried)