Lifestyle and Customs of Tribal Groups on the Plains

     Indian lives living on the plains revolved around the buffalo. The males would hunt the buffalo for food and then bring it home for the women to use the buffalo's hides for clothing, tipis, and tools. The women also took care of the children, cooked, and brought wood and water to the campsites.

    Before the Spanish brought horses to the Indians they had to heard buffalo of cliffs to hunt them. With the discovery of horses Indian tribes were able to travel faster and further and transport more goods. It also helped with the efficiency of hunting buffalo.

https://art.thewalters.org/detail/16002/hunting-buffalo/

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/knee.htm

https://constitutingamerica.org/december-29-1890-the-wounded-knee-massacre-also-known-as-the-battle-of-wounded-knee-guest-essayist-val-crofts/

Battle at Wounded Knee

         The Lakota tribe was moving to the Pine Ridge Reservation because their former chief Sitting Bull had died. On the way to the reservation they encountered Colonial Forsyth's army and he ordered the tribe to surrender their weapons. The tribe did not want to give up their weapons and engaged the army. 150 Lakota tribe members died that day to the army. 

Sitting Bull

     Sitting Bull was the chief of the Lakota Tribe. To become the chief of the tribe he led an attack on Fort Rice. This gained him respect and showed his skills as a warrior. As chief of the tribe, he pushed for the protection of Native American land from being taken. The Fort Laramie Treaty enforced this. The treaty was later ignored due to the discovery of gold on their land. Sitting Bull was later killed during the refusal of arrest. 

https://www.neh.gov/explore/tatanka-iyotake-reimagining-sitting-bull

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy

The Lifestyle of American Settlers, American Cowboys, and Vaqueros

    A cowboy is a rancher who rides on horseback to herd their cattle to a destination to sell them. Cowboys would work 10 to 14 hours a day on a ranch and 14 or more on the trail. The transportation of cattle lasted about three months and cowboys would have 250-300 head of cattle on the journey. Cowboys were inspired by Spanish ranchers in Mexico, Vaqueros. The way cowboys dressed and talked came from them—the overalls and spurs on the boots.

Problems with the Railroad and Abuses

     Railroads allowed goods to be transported everywhere and the railroad companies took advantage of that. Railroads would fix prices to keep farmers in debt, charge different rates for different customers, charge more money when their line only covered that area, and control the market of crops. The government also sold land grants to the railroads instead of settlers.