Native American culture in the western United States suffered greatly during the mid-1800's. Intrusions by white settlers believing in Manifest Destiny, or the obvious belief that Americans were meant to expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific, caused the Natives to be driven from their homelands. Their culture was continually broken apart by relocations and severed treaties. Many tribes refused the forced relocations to reservations. Thousands of Natives were killed during the following confrontations. Manifest Destiny played a key role in the demise of Native American culture during the 1800's.
             The Native Americans living in the western region of the United States had very well-developed cultures. The nearly 150,000 Native Americans living in the west were divided amongst many different nations. Most Indians followed large herds of buffalo that roamed about the plains. Indians lived in tipis, which can be compared to modern day tents. They carried these "tents" around with them on travois' and hunted Buffalo. The buffalo was extremely important to the Indians. It could be made into food, leather and clothing. The bones were used to make tools and the sinews to make thread. Nothing was wasted in Native American living. The Native Americans were at peace with nature and they shared the land that they lived on. Their unique culture was doomed when settlers began eyeing the vast western regions. They saw the lands as a big empty space to start over on. This region was not empty; however, people had been living there for hundreds of years.
             Conflicts quickly arose between the settlers and the Native Americans living on the western lands. Most settlers believed in Manifest Destiny and thought little of the Indians. They believed that they were superior to the Indians and that they needed to be brought into white men's civilization. As expansion drew westward more and more Native Americans were forced...