Conversations Ongoing: Before the Storm

It is well documented, and has been recklessly portrayed, that Americans clashed with violent Native Americans and triumphed. Though recent scholarship has painted the American- Indian encounters more truthfully (i.e. Indian slaughter, misleading peace accords, etc) they still fail to point out the events that led to such encounters. The initial story, however mundane, is one of a failing culture, unable to adapt to quickly changing conditions, losing a way of life that served them well for many centuries. With no good options to resort to Native Americans, whether violent or passive in later years, met the same end eventually.

Native Americans adopted the use of horses when they were first introduced to them by Europeans. Immediately seeing the potential of the animals, the power they possessed and could access, Native Americans used their power to conquer the plains. Using horses allowed Indians to cover greater distances, see approaching enemies and game in the tall plains grasses, use the grass itself for the first time as a source of food for the horses, and have an advantage against grounded enemies. Though utilized long before Americans came looking for pasture or gold, Native Americans were bound to these animals for better or for worse, eventually the latter becoming evident.

Though there are many specific encounters and events that led up to the violence and eventual conquering of the Native American culture, two main trends undid their nomadic culture before it all came to a head.

One of the major effects of the nomadic lifestyle was the ability to roam across great distances. For many reasons, some listed above, Native Americans used horses to hunt and utilize their environment during winter and summer months. It is obvious that an encroaching American public would infringe upon this lifestyle. As their land got smaller and smaller, and their prime locations were given to pioneering cultures nomadic indians very culture was being threatened. Their inability to access vital resources including buffalo, water, and wild edibles for their horses slowly tied the noose around their necks.

The other effect of an encroaching public was the need for shelter. The plains have a nasty history of being very unforgiving to its inhabitants. The Native Americans had adapted successfully to the seasons and storms that pervaded in the area. When settlers posted up against the mountains to the west and valley through the plains the Native Americans saw their prime wintering grounds swallowed up. Initially they would set out in the summer months to the east to hunt and trade with neighboring tribes, in the winter they would return to the mountains and nestle against them during the cold where it was warmer. This cycle was broken however when they returned to find whites setting up cities in those essential areas.

These two trends are the main reasons for the more spectacular events that would later be embedded in our view of the Wild West. Long before Indians were taking up arms against the whites they were simply trying to survive a tough situation brought on by societal and environmental conditions. Assimilation would mean a loss of culture and a way of life that served them well for centuries; resistance would mean a slow death in a land with limited resources. Both of these options were not appealing at all and eventually both led to the same end.