1. Cultures Clash on the Prairie
Great Plains

3. Native American Life Horse and Gun Warfare
Brought be Spanish in 16th Century (1500s)
Plain Indians became efficient buffalo hunters
Warfare
Tribes fought over hunting grounds
“Counting coup” – touching a live enemy brought prestige and honor
Tribes often called a truce to trade

4. Native American Life Buffalo
Provided many of the Native Americans basic needs
Food – jerky or pemmican (mixed with berries and fat)
Clothing and shoes
Hides used for blankets and teepees.

5. Native American Life Community made up of a “band”
A large, extended family or group of families
Many bands made up similar language speaking tribes
Men – warriors and hunters
Women – butchers, prepared hides
Tribes ruled by counsels, not dominant leaders

6. Manifest Destiny!
"(It is) ..our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty"
Quoted by John O’Sullivan, 1845
John Gast painting, 1872
Long held belief that white Americans had a God-given right to occupy the entire North American continent
Therefore, Native Americans forfeited their land.

7. John Gast 1872

8. White Americans Head West
What lured settlers west?
Manifest Destiny!
Silver and Gold – went to strike it rich
Land - Homestead Act (1862) – 160 acres free
Religions
Criminals
Romantic ideals – Cowboys and Indians, etc