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Mr H · Site Admin Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 459

Study Sources E, F and G and then answer question 6.

Source E: A nineteenth century painting by George Catlin depicting a buffalo hunt:

Source F: A nineteenth-century description of the way of life of the Plains Indians:
‘The lodges are taken down in a few minutes by the squaws and easily transported to any part of the country where they wish to camp. They generally move six to eight times in the summer, following the large herds of buffalo. I saw a Sioux encampment of six hundred lodges taken down and all things packed an on the move in a very few minutes. The chief sends his runners through the encampment a few hours before they are to start. At the time announced, the lodge of the chief is seen flapping in the wind. This was the signal, and in one minute six hundred lodges were flat upon the ground.

Source G: A painting from the 1880’s by a Kiowa Indian: Wohaw. It is called ‘The Red Man’s Dilemma’*. It shows the Indian looking away from the buffalo and towards the cow and the farm.

* Dilemma = difficult choice

6. ‘By stripping many Indians of their available resources, the slaughter of the buffalo severely reduced the Indians' capacity to continue an armed struggle against the United States.’

Use sources E, F, G and your own knowledge to explain whether you agree with this view. (12)

Mr H · Site Admin Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 459

Oliver

I do agree with this quote because if the indians had no buffalo they lost everything food, clothes, Weapons because they were all made from objects from the buffalo. In source g it shows how the buffalo is being killed off and replaced with the cow and farms this severley effects the indians because it means there land is bieng taken away from them for cows and they have no buffalo to follow now. they were very organised and moved with the buffalo to escape the winter and this will mean the camp wont move. The americans set up settlements for them but they used to get attacked and the women raped. In the painting of the buffalo hunt it shows how free indians used to be they cannot be like this after the buffalo's were killed as the buffalo is how they lived. In the settlements most of the people there were killed by american attackers. This brought the population of the indians right down. Very few indians survive nowadays all living in caravans and getting involved in crime if they were just left alone and the buffalo was'nt killed then they would probably still be carrying on their traditions today and living in teepee's.

Mr H · Site Admin Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 459

Joey

I agree with the statement because first of all the sioux lived off of bufalo, there life revolved around the Buffalo, for example, thier food, leather, tipis were made out of Buffalo skin and thier cloths aswel. As the United States (unites) and indians were at war with each other, they were consistantly fighting. The whites would use there guns and kill the plains indians when the indians took an act of bravery more important than war itself, the Indians did not try to kill their enemy's, however they would humiliate them by tapping them on the back of the head witha 'cioux stick' this was called 'counting cue'. The Indians also had a big disadvantage, they were using bows and arrows and spears, they had to keep within a closer distance when the whites didn't, they could be further away, shoot and kill them with one shot, when it often took 3 arrows to kill the whites.
The Plains Indians followed the buffalo's, for this they had to be able to move camp quickley, so they built tipis, these were quick and easy to erect as well as to take down, just to follow the Buffalo. The Sioux naiem always pitched up their tents in circles because they believed everything was a cycle for example; 1st childhood, man, old age, 2nd childhood. before going on a hunt for the buffalo they would do a natural calling for their great spirit 'wankan tanka' to protect them. the dance was called the buffalo dance. What they also done was they used buffalo skin and fur to disguise themselves so they could keep up on the bufallo without the buffalo smelling them, or seeing them.

The Plains Indian revold there whole life around Buffallo and killing them off would have been the ideal way to Reduce the indians capacity.