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The Destruction of the Bison by Andrew Isenberg offered an in depth explanation of the near extermination of the bison in America, and in turn depicted the decline of American Indian societies in the Midwest region of the United States. While Isenberg placed most of the impetus of change on the westward expansion of Euroamerican economy, he also analyzed many other factors such as environment, disease, and weather. The result, in my opinion, was a very convincing argument. One aspect of the book that I really enjoyed was Isenberg’s explanation of why the United States allowed the destruction of the bison even though they realized the bison population was not an “inexhaustible supply” (p. 162). According to Isenberg, Americans viewed the depletion of the bison as “a triumph of civilization over savagery,” (p. 162) which cleared the Midwest for Euroamerican societies. The federal government did not have to encourage bison hunting, but rather chose not to prevent its existence. Economic opportunities led many Americans to move west and try their luck in bison hunting and the robe trade. The U.S. Army and government knowingly allowed this to happen because it was an effective Indian eradication program. The government effectively used the destruction of the bison to help further its goal of segregating Indians. For most Americans, Indians were only approved of when they lived on reservations.
Isenberg also brought to light just how determined the United States was to expunge Indian rituals. On reservations in the late nineteenth century, the Indians were often provided with government beef. When the cattle were delivered, the Indians attempted to replicate the communal bison hunts that had until recently been a staple of Indian life during the summer months. At first the government allowed this practice to proceed, but early in the twentieth century the reservations received butchered meat in place of live cattle. I found it interesting that even though many Indians had been effectively contained on reservations, the government still felt there was work to be done. If the Indians were to eventually be assimilated into American culture, it was necessary to first eliminate the aspects that made their culture unique. The complete elimination of the festivities associated with the bison hunt was a step in the right direction, at least as the U.S. government viewed the situation.
As Manish noted, I too was interested in the effects of the bison trade on Indian societies. The opportunity for economic prosperity caused many nomadic societies to alter their traditional hunting patterns. While Isenberg recognized that most Indian tribes participated in communal hunts and large feasts during the summer months when the bison gathered in large herds, the Indians were not wasteful on a regular basis. The summer hunts served as community building. With the rise of the bison trade, however, some nomadic societies began killing more bison than necessary in the winter months since that was the time of year when their furs were the thickest and most desirable. Such changes only quickened the decline of the bison population. This shows that even Indians, usually renowned for their particularly economic and practical use of the entire bison, fell victim to desires for economic gain.