When discussing the American West, one cannot carry on a conversation without mentioning the Native Americans. They played many roles throughout American history. In the west they played several. American Indians opened up the west by helping explorers, elevated the horse in their culture to an iconic status, changed the ecological balance in many places throughout the west, proved to the U.S. and Mexico that they were a force to be reckoned with.
First, the Native Americans played an important role in the expansion and exploration of the American West. They played the roles of guide, translator, host, adversary, friend and lover. Wherever white men went, there were Native Americans to interact with. Lewis and Clark’s famous expedition serves …show more content…
Few things affected the plains like the horse. While the horse made life easier for the Indians by increasing their mobility, aiding in hunting, and increased their effectiveness in war, it also played a key role in the eventual destruction of their society. Because the horse became the primary measure of wealth among plains Indians, conflict arose anywhere horses existed. Many Indian raids, both Indian on Indian and Indian on non-Indian, began with the intent to steal horses. Due to the Native American’s lust for personal and tribal glory and retribution, these raids spawned counter raids in a never ending cycle that only grew more violent each time (Hämäläinen). Intertribal warfare caused enough damage to the plains Indians itself but also compounded the problem as it drew the ire of the United States’ and Mexico’s military when their citizens fell victim to these …show more content…
Many factors played a part in their removal and concentration in reservations. Not to lessen the blame on the United States, but one cannot say that the American Plains Indians did not play a part in their eventual fate. Aiding expeditions in exploring and mapping the ever changing western border, upending their society by elevating the horse in their culture, wrecking their food supply by hunting the bison to near extinction for commercial profit, and convincing both Mexico and the United States that they were a problem that needed fixed led to their downfall of their culture and way of life across the
First, the Native Americans played an important role in the expansion and exploration of the American West. They played the roles of guide, translator, host, adversary, friend and lover. Wherever white men went, there were Native Americans to interact with. Lewis and Clark’s famous expedition serves …show more content…
Few things affected the plains like the horse. While the horse made life easier for the Indians by increasing their mobility, aiding in hunting, and increased their effectiveness in war, it also played a key role in the eventual destruction of their society. Because the horse became the primary measure of wealth among plains Indians, conflict arose anywhere horses existed. Many Indian raids, both Indian on Indian and Indian on non-Indian, began with the intent to steal horses. Due to the Native American’s lust for personal and tribal glory and retribution, these raids spawned counter raids in a never ending cycle that only grew more violent each time (Hämäläinen). Intertribal warfare caused enough damage to the plains Indians itself but also compounded the problem as it drew the ire of the United States’ and Mexico’s military when their citizens fell victim to these …show more content…
Many factors played a part in their removal and concentration in reservations. Not to lessen the blame on the United States, but one cannot say that the American Plains Indians did not play a part in their eventual fate. Aiding expeditions in exploring and mapping the ever changing western border, upending their society by elevating the horse in their culture, wrecking their food supply by hunting the bison to near extinction for commercial profit, and convincing both Mexico and the United States that they were a problem that needed fixed led to their downfall of their culture and way of life across the