Why did a war begin on the Plains between the Natives and the Whites?
One long term cause was the land problem; when the land was split the Natives could not go onto the traditional lands, e.g., the following of the Buffalos and sacred worshipping areas. It started confusion, because the Natives never thought that land could be owned. Soon there was to be a hate against the whites. A railway split the land; nobody could pass over the tracks from each side.
Another example of a long term cause was the railways and wagons trails. When th train was built, dividing the land, the Natives had to change certain traditions. They could not follow Buffalo, and to move onto land which previously used to be home or sacred. The Whites would shoot the Buffalo, only because they could, and thus weakening their “abilities” to survive without them. After the Whites had reduced the Buffalo population from several hundred thousands to only 200, the Native Americans could no longer survive to their fittest and had to surrender.