The Plains Indians lived in the Great Plain, and their culture is well-known for the importance of the buffalo, their religious ceremonies, the use of the tepee, and their war-path customs. The four important tribes of this culture include the Dakota, Cheyenne, Sioux, and Comanche (Krutz, 2019). The Great Plains had harsh conditions due to the land being dry and unproductive, making it difficult to grow crops, and this forced them to survive by hunting the buffalos. They acquired the vast majority of their food and materials from these animals hence following a nomadic lifestyle.
Moreover, the majority of African-Americans and Great Plain Indians lived in poverty. White people displaced most Great Plain Indians at the turn of the century. These people belonging to the said minority ethnic group also experienced racial discrimination (Pauls, 2019). African Americans struggled to get good-paying jobs and still grappled with the negative effects of slavery when it was previously practiced. Most African-Americans and Great Plain Indians were able to significantly benefit from multiple improved economic opportunities available during the Industrial Revolution. The spread of U.S. industrialization to the West affected the Plains Indian culture in many ways, one of which was the extermination of the buffalo (Pauls, 2019). The killing of buffaloes reduced their numbers in the Great Plain.
However, the industrial revolution played a major role in liberating African Americans from the South. The majority of Whites never wanted to treat them as equals. As society progressed, the White-dominated American society introduced institutional racism that systematically neglected African Americans in education, employment, housing, medicine, politics, etc. Thus, the state of African Americans remains pathetic, where the criminal justice system also targets them, and many are thrown into prison, making the African-Americans live in fear (Assari & Lankarani, 2019). Furthermore, the Progressives were successful in making the government responsive and improving the conditions of African-Americans and Great Plain Indians. The Progressives advocated for abolishing racism for the benefit of African-Americans and Great Plain Indians.
References
Krutz.G (2019). U.S. history. OpenStax CNX. Web.
Pauls, E. P. (2019). Plains Indian.Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Assari and Lankarani (2019). African-American Life. Web.