HOME

To effectively colonize the West, railroads were essential for transporting supplies and people. The construction of the trans-continental line began in earnest in 1865 after the Civil War, and the first trans-continental railroad was connected in 1869.
This railroad brought major difficulties to the lives of Indigenous peoples in North America. The buffalo that used to freely roam the prairies of the West were rounded up to prevent interference with train traffic. The vast land and the buffalo wandering it were the foundation of the identity and existence of the Great Plains tribes. As the railroad trespassed on their sacred land and fences were hung where the buffalo had once migrated, they could no longer sustain their former lives.