Westward Expansion Almanac | Westward Expansion and Indian Culture

• The common culture of trade
• The end of Native American power
• The Iroquois
• The Navajo
• The Plains Indians
• Using the Buffalo
• Conclusion
• For More Information

It has long been argued that the process of western expansion helped form the American character. Such arguments hold that white Americans were hardened and strengthened as they moved westward across the continent, carving communities out of the wilderness. But it must be remembered that westward expansion had equally momentous consequences for the peoples who already occupied the land. These people, known as Indians, Native Americans, or American Indians, experienced the...