How Did Native Americans Affect Western Expansion

Native American land and culture were impacted negatively by the western expansion of the United States due to the fact that many lost their land, were stripped of their rights, and some even died. After learning and analyzing the 1800s, it is clear that Native Americans had to fight for the simply things that most people today take for granted. For instance, during this time period Native Americans were constantly having to battle the United States government for land. The U.S. citizens and government pushed the Native Americans out west onto The Plains. On page 80 in the American History: Reconstruction to the Present textbook, it says, “White settlers believed the Plains region was too dry for farming. But by the 1850s, some settlers …show more content…
because not only were the Indians originally pushed out west but once they got their they lost their land to the white citizens. Now, with no place to live Native Americans were then pressured to live on reservations, land set aside for the tribes to live on. Document 3 shows a map of the amount of land that the Native Americans were given to live on. In 1868, the Laramie Treaty was signed stating that no U.S. settlers were allowed on the Dakota Territories. Although, when the gold rush came many white settlers ignored the treaty, pushing Native Americans off of their own land once again. As shown in the map, overtime their living space got smaller and smaller, causing them to be stranded with no place to live. Both the document and textbook show that as more and more people came out west, Indians were losing their land, which is a negative impact the westward expansion had on Native Americans. Not only did the expansion of the United States out west have a negative impact on Native American land but it also was the cause of many Indian deaths. As it was mentioned before, the U.S. government was pushing Native Americans off of their land. This angered a large group of the Indian population, causing a number of …show more content…
out west. For example, on page 81 in the American History: Reconstruction to the Present textbook, Sitting Bull, a Sioux chief says, “‘We did not give our country to you; you stole it. You come here to tell lies; when you go home, take them with you.’” This powerful quote from the text portrays how Native Americans were stripped of their rights because as Sitting Bull said, the U.S. was taking their country and their land away from them. Similar to losing their rights, a copious amount of Native Americans were being assimilated during this time. Assimilation is the process of blending two cultures together. Sometimes the dominant culture forces the weaker culture to completely change its way of living. Assimilation is portrayed clearly in document 6. The picture on the left in the document shows three Native Americans in their regular attire, feathers, long hair, etc. . It also shows them sitting on the floor and they look to be hunched over. Contrary to this, on the right there is another image of the same three Indians. Although, this time they look to be transformed into a white settler. There hair is not longer long, and they are wearing nice, professional clothes. Additionally, their posture is much better and one even has his legs crossed. This document expresses how Native Americans were forced to change