How Did Technology Affect The Plains Indians

In the second half of the nineteenth century, technology played a significant role in the lives of the Great Plains Indians. During this time, the US government was trying to assimilate the native americans into or nation. We took away any items that they had and tried to get them to forget their culture. Technology helped the Native Americans in some ways, but it was mainly an issue for them. At this time the Plains Indians were being put into indian schools and were being mistreated. Technology and our US government led to the downfall of the Native Americans in the plains region.
The railroad was one of the biggest technological achievements of this era that affected the Plains Indians. The railroad was completed in 1869 and helped trade and communication become easier from the east to the west. This was not good for the Native Americans. The railroad took parts of the native americans land to build and the workers usually lest the area in destruction. During this process the workers would shoot and kill hundreds of buffalo at a time for no reason. This really affected the nomadic indians who followed the bison as one of their only food sources. They also used bison to make weapons, clothes and, other things that they used in their everyday lives. …show more content…
Sometimes the actions were subtle, sometimes blatant. The Homestead Act was helpful to white settlers. It stated that a citizen could claim a 160 acre plot of land for FREE, so long as they live there for five years and set up some amenities. It seemed great; free land, right? Nope. That land came from someone, and that someone was the Native American population. Thousands of acres of land that rightfully belonged to the Native Americans were given to people who had loved there for only five years! It might even be considered positive that the Homestead Act didn’t work out the way it should have, and many people never received free