32 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN April/May 2025 Map of Nebraska Territory, circa 1858, showing the location of the Indian reserves according to the treaties as of 1854. Credit U.S. National Archives. (cropped) From R.L. Hough Collection. Map of Nebraska showing the Union Pacific Railroad’s highly exaggerated land grant (1880). By H.R. Page, Union Pacific Railroad Co. Credit Library of Congress Geography and Maps Division. From R.L. Hough Collection. MANIFEST DESTINY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30 CONTINUED ON PAGE 34 However, these lands were already populated by the Native Americans. There were also approximately 30 million bison (buffalo) grazing these vast grasslands. The Indians of the Great Plains were mostly hunter/ gatherers whose primary subsistence came from the buffalo, although there were some agrarian tribes. For the Plains Indians, the introduction of the horse would radically change their way of life. The Apache Nation was thought to be the first to employ horses around 1670, and over the next 60 years, the use of horses spread throughout the various tribes. This made hunting buffalo more efficient and less dangerous. It also allowed the Native Americans to become more mobile, which resulted in increased conflicts between tribes. In the 1830s, led by the seventh U.S. President Andrew Jackson (1829-1837), the number of Native Americans on the Plains further swelled when the five “civilized” tribes of the Southeast were forcibly moved to the area that would become Oklahoma. The most infamous illustration of this policy was the removal of the Cherokee Nation when almost one-third of the tribe perished enroute to the West in what became known as the “Trail of Tears.” There was also considerable encroachment by white settlers onto land designated as Indian reservations. The accompanying map of Nebraska shows the location of lands that were designated as Indian reserves according to treaties with the Indian Nations as of 1854. It was presented to the 35th Congress, circa 1858, as part of President James Buchananʼs (1857-1861) message to the senate regarding treaties and Indian relations. Buchananʼs representation has most of Nebraska designated as Indian Reserves or hunting grounds. However, other maps from that era have the eastern part of the territory mostly populated by white settlers with a number of towns and counties established, and the reservations smaller than represented by Buchanan. Implementing a Plan With all the land acquired prior to the Civil War to stretch the country from coast to coast, the next task from the U.S. Lt. Col. George A. Custer’s 1874 Black Hills expedition to access presence of gold. Column of cavalry, artillery, and wagons. By W. H. Illingworth. Credit U.S. National Archives. From R.L. Hough Collection.
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