Reservation Era Begins 1850-1878

Overview

Once gold is found on Native lands, removal ideology evolves into forcing tribal nations onto reservations, on undesirable land with restricted freedoms and no rights. They are interned and live under dependency on the U.S. government for basic needs, including food, water, and healthcare. Naturally, Plains tribes resist removal to reservations in what is known as the era of the “Indian Plains Wars.” By the 1880s, all eastern Indian nations have been moved to reservations, where they are systematically excluded from the American economy and political system.