"During the eighteen hundreds, the federal government forced native American Indians to live in special areas. These were called reservations. The Indians no longer could move freely over the Great Plains to hunt buffalo. White men were settling there. The situation resulted in violence.

The government sent soldiers to force the Indians to move to reservations. But the soldiers could not keep them there. Groups of Indians would leave the reservations in the spring. They followed the buffalo across the plains.

Some raided the homes of White settlers. They stole horses and cattle. At the end of the summer, the Indians would return to the reservations. And the government would give them food for the winter.

As years passed, fewer Indians left the reservations to live the old life on the plains. It became difficult to find buffalo. The plains were becoming empty."

Get the Story:
Native Americans Fight Two Wars Over Land Rights (Voice of America 9/14)

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