31 votes

North American bison slaughter left lasting impact on Indigenous peoples

5 comments

  1. BeanBurrito
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    It was done to starve out the indigenous nations and tribes already in the U.S. when Europeans arrived. Early Americans also used biological warfare by giving them small pox imbued blankets as...

    It was done to starve out the indigenous nations and tribes already in the U.S. when Europeans arrived.

    Early Americans also used biological warfare by giving them small pox imbued blankets as gifts and infecting them in other ways.

    There were many other things early Americans did that would be considered war crimes.

    Regardless, over 500 tribes and about 10 million indigenous people still live. They should be given the kind of help they are asking for in sovereignty over reservations and given back land that is practical to give to them. Better quality land too, instead of near useless land.

    9 votes
  2. FluffyKittens
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    Pekka Hamalainen's books The Comanche Empire and Lakota go into great detail on this topic - for anyone wanting more substantial coverage and context than this article provides. Though I fully...

    Pekka Hamalainen's books The Comanche Empire and Lakota go into great detail on this topic - for anyone wanting more substantial coverage and context than this article provides. Though I fully recommend them both, Lakota is more of a narrative history that makes for an entertaining read, while The Comanche Empire has a more academic tone, and argues its thesis through a bit more of a zoomed out lens, which (probably) better suits readers with a stronger base knowledge of the North American colonial landscape.

    Tangentially, it's a super-weird crossover, but for anyone who's read and liked Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, The Comanche Empire will totally change your understanding of the narrative, and highlight the work McCarthy put into the historical backdrop. Excellent companion piece.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pekka_H%C3%A4m%C3%A4l%C3%A4inen_(historian)

    5 votes
  3. [2]
    Amun
    Link

    The mass slaughter provided a brief economic boon to some newly arriving settlers, hunters and traders of the Great Plains who sold the hides and bones for industrial uses.

    In contrast, Indigenous peoples whose lives depended on the bison suffered a devastating economic shock — one that still reverberates in these communities today, an economic study finds.

    “Centuries of human capital were built around the use of the bison, and within 10 to 20 years this economic underpinning disappeared,” Jones says. “And many channels of economic adjustment were cut off for Indigenous populations.”

    Indigenous people were forced onto reservations, their movements were restricted and they were not allowed to become citizens of the United States until 1924, the authors note.

    The researchers are now exploring the potential role of psychological trauma on the economic outcomes of bison-reliant nations.

    4 votes
    1. Gawdwin
      Link Parent
      While the Bison were pivotal I feel that this was the true reason for any long term trauma and suffering. Had they been allowed to live life like humans then they would have adapted like humans....

      Indigenous people were forced onto reservations, their movements were restricted and they were not allowed to become citizens of the United States until 1924, the authors note.

      While the Bison were pivotal I feel that this was the true reason for any long term trauma and suffering. Had they been allowed to live life like humans then they would have adapted like humans. Instead they were treated like a nuisance to be disposed of. Truly disgusting.

      1 vote
  4. CrazyProfessor02
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    There is a documentary called Good Meat. It is about how a obese Lakota man had swapped to the traditional Lakota diet, that was planned along side his doctor and a dietitian. To which he lost 60...

    There is a documentary called Good Meat. It is about how a obese Lakota man had swapped to the traditional Lakota diet, that was planned along side his doctor and a dietitian. To which he lost 60 pounds (~ 27 Kg). The problems that the tribes face on the reservations are addressed, such as choosing between SNAP benefits of the surplus food that is given by the U.S. Government. And coupled with the price of a single buffalo is too much for them to afford. Another problem is that the Lakota also lost the taste for buffalo/bison meat, preparing it only for their festivals, and not really eating it, which the other people thought he was weird for eating the meat.

    So, no shit that it left a lasting impact on the Lakota and the other tribes relied on buffalo meat for the base of their traditional diet. To the point that the people are too poor to afford basic foods that are not highly processed. And causing health issues because of their current diet is literally fucking killing them.

    1 vote