Option P3: Key topic 3: Later developments in the West, c1876–c1895 - 3 Indigenous peoples of the Plains: the destruction of their ways of life — Edexcel GCSE History
Test yourself on Option P3: Key topic 3: Later developments in the West, c1876–c1895 - 3 Indigenous peoples of the Plains: the destruction of their ways of life with PEARSON EDEXCEL GCSE practice questions.
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Option P3: Key topic 3: Later developments in the West, c1876–c1895 - 3 Indigenous peoples of the Plains: the destruction of their ways of life explained
The extermination of the buffalo was a deliberate and devastating blow to the Plains Indians' way of life.
Read the full explanation
While Indigenous peoples hunted buffalo sustainably for survival, the 1870s saw a surge in white commercial hunting. This was driven by a new tanning process in 1871 that made buffalo hides valuable for industrial leather, alongside the expansion of the railroads which brought hunters directly to the herds. The US government actively encouraged this mass slaughter to force Indigenous peoples onto reservations by destroying their primary source of food, clothing, and shelter. Consequently, the buffalo population plummeted from millions to just a few hundred by the mid-1880s, effectively ending the nomadic independence of the Plains tribes.
Indigenous people's lives on the reservations.
Life on the reservations was characterised by poverty, disease, and a deliberate assault on Indigenous culture. The US government intended reservations to assimilate Plains Indians into white American society by forcing them to become farmers. However, the allocated land was often barren and unsuitable for agriculture, leading to total dependence on government rations. These rations were frequently inadequate due to corrupt Indian Agents. Culturally, the reservation system sought to destroy tribal identity: traditional practices like the Sun Dance were banned, tribal chiefs lost their authority to reservation courts, and children were sent to off-reservation boarding schools to eradicate their language and heritage.
The significance of changing government attitudes to Indigenous peoples, including the Dawes Act (1887).
By the late 19th century, US government attitudes shifted from treating Indigenous tribes as separate nations to forcing their assimilation as individual American citizens. This change culminated in the Dawes Act of 1887, which aimed to break the tribal bond by abolishing communal land ownership. The Act divided reservations into individual allotments, typically granting 160 acres to a family head to encourage independent farming. Crucially, any 'surplus' land left over after allotment was sold to white settlers, resulting in a massive loss of Indigenous territory. The Dawes Act was highly significant as it legally dismantled the tribal structure and plunged many Indigenous families into deeper poverty.
Your focus
- Describe the methods and motives behind the commercial hunting of the buffalo.
- Explain the role of the US government and railroads in the extermination of the buffalo.
- Assess the impact of the buffalo's destruction on the Plains Indians' way of life.
Show all 9 objectives
- Describe the physical and economic conditions of life on the reservations.
- Explain the methods used by the US government to assimilate Indigenous peoples and destroy their culture.
- Evaluate the impact of the reservation system on tribal authority and traditional ways of life.
- Identify the key changes in US government attitudes towards Indigenous peoples in the late 19th century.
- Explain the terms and immediate consequences of the Dawes Act of 1887.
- Assess the significance of the Dawes Act in dismantling tribal structures and reducing Indigenous landholdings.
Option P3: Key topic 3: Later developments in the West, c1876–c1895 - 3 Indigenous peoples of the Plains: the destruction of their ways of life exam tips
Marking Points
- Identify the economic drivers of the buffalo hunt, such as the 1871 tanning process and the demand for leather belts in eastern factories.
- Explain the role of the railroads in facilitating the mass slaughter by transporting hunters to the Plains and hides to the East.
- Analyse the US government's tacit and active support for extermination as a military strategy to subjugate the Plains Indians.
- Evaluate the devastating impact of the buffalo's near-extinction on Indigenous nomadic lifestyles, forcing reliance on government reservation rations.
- Describe the poor agricultural quality of reservation land, which made self-sufficiency nearly impossible for Indigenous peoples.
- Explain the role of corrupt Indian Agents and the frequent failure of the US government to provide adequate food rations and medical supplies.
- Analyse the deliberate destruction of tribal authority, noting the replacement of chiefs' power with government-appointed reservation courts.
- Evaluate the cultural assimilation policies, including the banning of traditional ceremonies and the forced removal of children to boarding schools.
- Identify the shift in government policy from negotiating treaties with sovereign tribes to enforcing individual assimilation.
- Explain the mechanics of the Dawes Act (1887), specifically the division of communal reservation land into 160-acre individual family allotments.
- Analyse the impact of the Dawes Act on Indigenous landholdings, noting that millions of acres of 'surplus' land were sold to white settlers.
- Evaluate the cultural significance of the Dawes Act in destroying the traditional tribal structure and communal way of life.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Link the extermination of the buffalo directly to the loss of Indigenous independence and the forced move to reservations.
- 💡Use specific dates, such as the 1871 discovery of a new tanning method, to explain the sudden acceleration in hunting.
- 💡When discussing consequences, mention the psychological and cultural devastation alongside the loss of food and shelter.
- 💡Use the term 'assimilation' to describe the government's overarching goal for reservation life.
- 💡Provide specific examples of cultural destruction, such as the banning of the Sun Dance or the establishment of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.
- 💡Connect the failure of reservation farming to the consequent reliance on government rations, highlighting the vulnerability of the Plains Indians.
- 💡Always link the Dawes Act to the broader government goal of 'assimilation' and the destruction of tribal identity.
- 💡Highlight the economic failure of the Dawes Act by noting that many Indigenous people, lacking farming equipment and facing poor soil, were forced to sell their allotments.
- 💡Use the phrase 'allotment system' when describing how the Dawes Act functioned in practice.
Common Mistakes
- Claiming the US army directly shot most of the buffalo; correction: while the army encouraged it, professional white hunters seeking profit killed the vast majority.
- Stating that Indigenous peoples hunted the buffalo to extinction; correction: Indigenous hunting was sustainable, whereas white commercial hunting caused the extermination.
- Ignoring the economic motives; correction: always include the demand for buffalo hides in eastern industries as a primary catalyst for the slaughter.
- Assuming reservations were large, fertile areas given as compensation; correction: reservations were often on poor, unwanted land designed to force assimilation, not provide compensation.
- Stating that Indigenous peoples willingly adapted to farming; correction: farming was forced upon them and often failed due to lack of training, poor soil, and drought.
- Overlooking the cultural impact; correction: ensure you discuss the banning of religion and the use of boarding schools, not just the physical hardships.
- Confusing the Dawes Act with the Homestead Act; correction: the Homestead Act (1862) gave land to settlers, whereas the Dawes Act (1887) broke up Indigenous reservations into individual allotments.
- Stating the Dawes Act was designed to help Indigenous peoples keep their land; correction: while framed as a civilising measure, its primary effect was to free up surplus reservation land for white settlement.
- Ignoring the concept of communal ownership; correction: explicitly contrast the traditional Indigenous belief in communal land with the government's imposition of private property.