When settlers started the move westward it was very apparent that there was a huge obstacle standing in the way, the Indians and the buffalo. For decades the US government tried to remove Indians out of their lands and into reservations. This process was very difficult because Indians could live off the land. A tribe can move and still be self-sufficient on the abundance of resources that the land provides. One of their biggest resources was the buffalo. Aside from the huge amount of meat a buffalo supplies it also provided resources to build tipis, utensils, blanket, leather, shields, weapons, and parts were used for sewing with the sinew (Jawort, 2011).
Several reasons existed to eradicate the buffalo. One, the buffalo provided so …show more content…
The Indians subsequently moved into the reservation because they could survive without the buffalo. One general believed that buffalo hunters “did more to defeat the Indian nations in a few years than soldiers did in 50 (PBS, 1998).” The natural ecosystem was also affected. Through their unique grazing behavior, bison contribute to changes in plant and animal species composition, alterations of the physical and chemical environment, increased spatial and temporal heterogeneity in vegetation structure, soil resource availability and a variety of ecosystem processes (Knap et. Al. 1999). Many of these lands have become desert land and unable to grow grass prairie lands. Many species of plants and animals have been affected. Bison grazing increases animal diversity on the landscape (Graham, 2013). The animals mostly affected are prairie dogs, foxes, hawk, and eagle (Graham, 2013). The elimination of the buffalo have affected the way these animals migrate and live in lands that were once roamed by the …show more content…
Many will argue that the eradication of the buffalo was necessary in order to populate the territories and bring in cattle, and of course remove the Indians from their lands. Others will say that the Indian and the buffalo were simply collateral damage in the greater good of moving forward. If the Indians and buffalo had not been removed the US would look very different today. The US most likely would not be the grand nation that it is. Killing animals for fun or for no reason at all would be considered immoral and just plain wrong. Many hunters and tourists seemed to do just that, but all these actions were part of the plan to remove the Indians and the buffalo by the US government. Changing an entire ecosystem is also wrong but it could also be argued that this too was collateral damage and it was a necessary evil in order to accomplish a greater
Several reasons existed to eradicate the buffalo. One, the buffalo provided so …show more content…
The Indians subsequently moved into the reservation because they could survive without the buffalo. One general believed that buffalo hunters “did more to defeat the Indian nations in a few years than soldiers did in 50 (PBS, 1998).” The natural ecosystem was also affected. Through their unique grazing behavior, bison contribute to changes in plant and animal species composition, alterations of the physical and chemical environment, increased spatial and temporal heterogeneity in vegetation structure, soil resource availability and a variety of ecosystem processes (Knap et. Al. 1999). Many of these lands have become desert land and unable to grow grass prairie lands. Many species of plants and animals have been affected. Bison grazing increases animal diversity on the landscape (Graham, 2013). The animals mostly affected are prairie dogs, foxes, hawk, and eagle (Graham, 2013). The elimination of the buffalo have affected the way these animals migrate and live in lands that were once roamed by the …show more content…
Many will argue that the eradication of the buffalo was necessary in order to populate the territories and bring in cattle, and of course remove the Indians from their lands. Others will say that the Indian and the buffalo were simply collateral damage in the greater good of moving forward. If the Indians and buffalo had not been removed the US would look very different today. The US most likely would not be the grand nation that it is. Killing animals for fun or for no reason at all would be considered immoral and just plain wrong. Many hunters and tourists seemed to do just that, but all these actions were part of the plan to remove the Indians and the buffalo by the US government. Changing an entire ecosystem is also wrong but it could also be argued that this too was collateral damage and it was a necessary evil in order to accomplish a greater