Reservations and the Destruction of the Buffalo

The Way of Life Dismantled

When the wars on the Plains ended, the assault on the Native peoples did not stop. It changed form. Their whole way of life was deliberately taken apart, piece by piece. This was more than a defeat in war. The peoples were confined to reservations, the buffalo that their life rested on was destroyed, and their language, religion and customs were attacked. Together these dismantled a culture. ⚠️ This is a grave story. It is held here honestly, with the Plains peoples treated as people whose way of life was taken from them, and without graphic detail.

The old way of life, and the new

Between 1877 and 1900 the life of the Plains peoples was turned into something almost unrecognisable. Hold both.

Order the dismantling of the way of life

Put these into an order that shows how the way of life of the Plains peoples was dismantled after the wars.

• After the wars, the peoples are confined to reservations
• The vast buffalo herds are destroyed, removing the basis of Plains life
• The Dawes Act breaks up reservation land into individual plots
• Children are taken to boarding schools to strip away their culture
• Wounded Knee in 1890 marks the tragic end of the old independent life

Why losing the buffalo was so devastating

Why was the destruction of the buffalo so devastating to the Plains peoples?

• Because the buffalo was the basis of their whole way of life, giving them food, clothing, shelter and tools, so destroying it destroyed the way of life itself
• Because they sold buffalo to foreign countries for money
• Because they only used the buffalo for sport
• It was not devastating; it made little difference

Words for the changes

Five words that let you explain how the way of life was dismantled, rather than just describe the loss.

Spot the means of dismantling

Three of these were used to dismantle the way of life of the Plains peoples. Choose the three.

• Confinement to reservations
• The destruction of the buffalo
• Sending children to boarding schools
• Returning the Plains to the Native peoples
• Protecting the buffalo herds

An assault on a culture, not just a defeat

The sharpest answers show that what happened after the wars was an assault on a whole culture, by economic and cultural means, not simply a military defeat. The economy of the old life was destroyed. Confined to reservations and cut off from the buffalo, the peoples could no longer live as they had, and became dependent on the government that ruled them. The culture itself was attacked. The Dawes Act broke up the shared land, and children were taken to distant schools to lose their language and customs. Seeing the reservation, the buffalo and forced assimilation as one deliberate dismantling, and being ready to compare it with other groups in this period, is the grade 9 move.

Match each change to the Plains way of life to what it was

Find the sentence that sees the assault

A student writes about the Plains peoples after the wars. Select the ONE sentence that shows their way of life was deliberately dismantled by economic and cultural means.

• Confined to reservations, cut off from the buffalo their life depended on, and forced to give up their language and customs, the Plains peoples had their whole way of life deliberately taken apart.
• The Plains peoples freely chose to give up their old way of life.
• Nothing changed for the Plains peoples once the wars were over.
• Only the wars themselves ever affected the Plains peoples.

How a way of life can be ended without a battle

Historians know that a way of life can be destroyed without a single battle being fought. It can be ended by taking away the things it depends on. Remove what a people rely on to feed and clothe themselves, tie them to a place they cannot leave, and cut the young off from the old, and the way of life can collapse even where the fighting has stopped. The quietest changes can be the most complete. Hold that idea. To judge what happened to a people, look not only at the wars but at what was done to the foundations of their daily life.

Complete the account of the changes

The poor land the peoples were confined to was a _____. The animal at the centre of Plains life, deliberately destroyed, was the _____. The 1887 law that broke up shared land was the _____. Forcing Native peoples to give up their culture was _____. Native children were taken away to a _____.

Judge the changes to the way of life

Which is the soundest understanding of the changes to the Plains peoples between 1877 and 1900?

• A deliberate dismantling of a whole way of life, economic and cultural as well as military, through the reservation, the destruction of the buffalo, and forced assimilation
• A free choice by the Plains peoples to modernise
• Nothing more than the result of losing the wars
• A set of minor changes that left the old life intact

The means, and their effect

The strongest answers hold both together: what was done, and what it did to the way of life.

Judge the changes like an examiner

You are marking three claims about the Plains peoples after 1877. For each, choose the soundest judgement.

• An essay says the Plains peoples freely chose to give up their old life. Is that safe?
• An essay says only the wars affected the Plains peoples. Is that safe?
• An essay says the destruction of the buffalo was unimportant. Is that safe?

Write: how the Plains way of life was changed

How was the way of life of the Plains peoples changed between 1877 and 1900? Explain the means, weigh them against their effect on the old way of life, and reach a judgement. This is written in English and is not auto-marked.

• Explain the old way of life and what it depended on
• Explain the reservations and the destruction of the buffalo
• Explain forced assimilation, the Dawes Act and the boarding schools
• Explain why this was an economic and cultural assault, not just a defeat
• Reach a supported judgement on how far the old way of life was destroyed