Native Americans and the American Bison
Storyboard Text
- Bison one roamed from the Eastern seaboard to Oregon and California, from the Great Slave Lake in Northern Alberta down into Northern Mexico ranging in numbers from 20 to 40 million.
- The American bison was the Native Americans ultimate companion; providing food, clothing, shelter and nearly every other material needed. Native Americans were careful not to overhunt.
- The Transcontinental Railroad change the shape of the American West. The railroad began advertising excursion for "hunting by rail." Massive hunting parties began to arrive in the west by train with .50 caliber rifles leaving a trail of bison carnage.
- Now that you have learn a little history about the relationship between the American bison and the Native Americans answer the question below. You may research the internet to find the answer and be ready to share your thoughts.
- Countless Native American lives were destroyed and tens of millions of bison were driven to the brink of extinction in a massive slaughter made possible by the railroad. The devastation of the bison population signaled the end of the Indian Wars and the Native Americans lost their main source of survival and was pushed onto reservations.
- After the "Great Slaughter" the bison population was reduced to 300 by the end of the 19th century. Congress took action outlawing any killing of birds and animals in Yellowstone National Park, where the only surviving bison herd could be protected.
- Why did people want to push the American bison to extinction?
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