Native Americans & European Settlement

The Konza Indians

• Like other eastern plains Indians, the Konza were reliant on the buffalo for many of their needs.

Before the Wasetu

• Before North America was settled by European immigrants, it is believed that up to 60 million buffalo roamed and billions of prairie dogs burrowed in the prairie

• These grazers were Keystone Species that 1) altered the prairie and 2) provided habitat for auxiliary species

The Arrival of the Horse

• Even though horses are believed to have evolved in North America, they had been extinct on the continent until the Spanish invaded from the southwest

French Trappers

• The explorers from the east were French trappers, who lived with the Indians and learned to use the many native resources

Early American Exploration

• In 1803, Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for $15,000,000

• Later that year, Jefferson dispatched Lewis & Clark to explore the western people and resources as they searched for a water course to the western ocean

Inviting Expansion:The Wasichu

• In the years following the expedition, Easterners were lured west. Trails like the Oregon & Sante Fe developed.

At War with the Buffalo

• During the late 1800’s westward expansion, the plains population of buffalos were killed for their 1) tongues, 2) hides, and 3) bones

• The building of the Railroads and increase in Cattle were critical in their demise

At War with the Indian

• As westward expansion took place, the endemic native americans were repeatedly displaced.

• Most moved uneventfully but the northern Sioux (those responsible for Custer’s Last Stand at the Battle of Little Big Horn

Commemorating Victory

• 1913 to 1938

At War with Grass

• Abraham Lincoln signed the Homesead Act into law in 1862.

• This law promoted the occupation of the plains, giving head-of-household 160 acres to cultivate for $18

In Need of Water

• While drilling for energy resources, the continents largest aquifer, the Ogallala aquifer, was discovered

• This water is ancestral runoff from the Rocky Mountains

Center Pivot Irrigation