Conflict on the Plains 1874

At one time, the free-roaming buffalo population within the US was estimated at sixty million animals. By the end of the nineteenth century, that number had been reduced to less than one thousand. The author reviews the cause and effect of this demise, starting with the life and times of US Congressman Greenbury L. Fort. Fort's quest to establish legislative action to prevent the useless slaughter of buffaloes within the Territories of the United States was met with mixed emotions. The story focuses on the congressional debates of the 1870's relative to the buffalo's existence. It explores the indigenous people's reliance upon the bison, both in their quest of human survival and spiritual uplifting. The author looks into the resulting interruptions caused by the Western invasion of European-American migration into the native populations homelands. Conflicting views arose in Congress and among tribal communities in seeking to establish a peaceful coexistence; however, uncontrollable factors gave way to unsustainable treaties, resulting in military interventions and wars. Native Americans suffered in the face of defending their country from both US civilian and military forces. Defeated, they faced the agony of suppression, forced marches, reservation confinement, harsh treatment, and starvation. Despite all this, both the Indian and the buffalo were not silenced.