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Discrimination against Native Americans was even more widespread than it was against African Americans. When the 14th Amendment was passed, African Americans were declared citizens, but Native Americans were not.
Because they wanted free land for their cattle to feed, settlers took over more and more of the grazing lands for bison (known as American buffalo). Natives had long relied on bison for food, clothing, and tools. An estimated 30 to 60 million bison once roamed the prairies. Around 1830, settlers and businesspeople started killing huge numbers of them. By 1884, fewer than 1,000 bison were left in the U.S.
Native Americans’ land and food were disappearing. They were eventually forced to sign treaties with the United States. These treaties forced them to move to reservations, or areas the government set aside for them. When gold was discovered in the Black Hills in the 1870s, soldiers forced the Sioux Nation members who lived there to move to reservations.
