How the pursuit of wealth by natives not only helped decimate the bison population but native society as well

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Richard Bushman’s Refinement of America focuses on the societal want for gentility and wealth. As Ian noticed in his post “starting in the early 17th century, American people, specifically in the South, began to covet the ‘high society’ lifestyle and culture that existed with numerous European countries.” After reading Andrew C. Isenberg’s The Destruction of the Bison it became apparent to me that that the want for wealth and status was not a movement restricted solely to Americans. While the major goal of the book was to explore the decimation of the bison populations and examine the major factors for the decimation, a secondary crisis can be observed. This crisis was the destruction of the midwestern native societies. “The trade in bison robes was destructive both to the herds and to the nomadic societies.” (107)

Just like with the lower classes in American society the natives themselves began to strive to rise up and emmulate the wealthy gentility for wealth not only gave the upper class comfort but also afforded them status. The idea of status came to appeal highly to many of the nomadic tribes and thus by the mid 1800’s there emerged a great competition for the limited resource of bison. Origninally, the move to bison hunting was a self contained process and one which was sustainable. However, the beginnings of trade with Euroamericans helped the natives realize the economic value that bison pelts held and this began the movement into an unsustainable competition with each hunter being motivated by the thoughts of elevating his own status as well as some other vices.

With the popularity of bison skins reaching their peak by the end of the nineteenth century nomadic native societies began to unravel mostly due to three reasons. The first was the threat that bison depopulation had on nomadic livelihood. These tribes had given up their agrarian roots in order to wholly embrace the hunt but the immense competition left limited resources that effected the tribes  ecnomically but also physically for food became scarcer.

Second, the limited bison population led to increased warfare between different tribes. No longer was it possible to maintain a large village and so thanks to the bison hunt smaller tribes were formed in order to be more flexible in movement as well as requiring fewer resources to maintain the community. With a multitude of bison available tribes were able to respect each others hunting grounds but with the decimation of the bison warfare grew out of control attracting the attention of US federal authorities. Not only did increased warfare provide an excuse for the US government to intervene but it also fed the stereotypes about natives as savages.

Finally, the growing relationship between native bison hunters and American pelt merchants brought natives into closer confines with Americans for longer periods of time. This was a major reason why disease began to spread effectively throughout the small nomadic communities. Before, there was limited contact between nomads and Americans. Also the small nomadic societies usually remained apart and so disaese was rarely able to be transported to other groups. By the late 1800’s these groups began to report to the same trading hubs in order to trade with the Euroamerican traders. The more frequent interactions with a common group of people with more conditioned immune systems helped disease take on a greater role in native culture and helped break native societies both in physical population but mental strength as well.  While the decimation of the bison was a tragic tale, a parallel path was being taken by native societies in part due to the thirst for status and wealth first showcased by upper class Americans.