Westward Expansion impact on Native Americans

Reservation System

Government-designated land areas where Native American nations were forcibly relocated and restricted in order to clear western territory for American settlers.

Transcontinental Railroad's effect on Native Americans

Brought waves of settlers to the West, divided tribal territories, and contributed to the rapid decline of the Great Plains buffalo herds.

Destruction of the Buffalo

The deliberate overhunting and mass killing of bison herds encouraged by the U.S. government, which stripped Plains tribes of their primary source of food, shelter, and tools.

Cultural Assimilation

A federal policy aimed at forcing Native Americans to abandon their traditional cultures, languages, and religions to adopt mainstream white American lifestyle.

Dawes Act (1887)

Federal legislation that divided tribal communal lands into individual family farming plots, resulting in the loss of over 90 million acres of Native territory.

Indian Boarding Schools

Government and church-run institutions, like the Carlisle School, where Native children were taken from families and punished for speaking their languages or practicing their traditions.

Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876)

A major conflict in Montana where Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors defeated Lieutenant Colonel George Custer and the 7th Cavalry.

Chief Joseph

Nez Perce leader who conducted a skilled 1,170-mile fighting retreat toward Canada to avoid relocation, famous for declaring, 'I will fight no more forever.'

Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)

The tragic killing of nearly 300 Lakota men, women, and children by U.S. soldiers in South Dakota, widely considered the end of armed Native resistance on the Plains.