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Why did the U.S. government create reservations for Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains?
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Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains
Dancers at the Totah Festival Powwow performing the Northern Tradition dance, a dance inspired by Plains traditions, on September 1, 2007, in Farmington, New Mexico.
The U.S. government created reservations for Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains primarily to facilitate westward expansion and secure land for white settlers, miners, and commercial interests. This policy was driven by a desire to clear territory for development, including the construction of roads and railroads, and to resolve conflicts arising from the influx of pioneers into Indigenous lands.123
The establishment of reservations served several strategic and political purposes for the federal government:
- Pacification and Control: Reservations were used to isolate Indigenous nations, ending their nomadic lifestyles and restricting their movement to specific, government-designated areas. This was intended to stop raids and conflicts between Indigenous groups and settlers.4123
- Military Coercion: The U.S. military played a central role in forcing tribes onto reservations through campaigns that destroyed villages, livestock, and food sources, effectively shattering Indigenous economies and resistance.13
- Assimilation: Government policy was overtly designed to assimilate Indigenous peoples into Euro-American society by suppressing traditional cultures and religions, and by promoting the privatization of land through allotment.45
Ultimately, these actions were part of a broader effort to establish complete U.S. hegemony over the region.2