2. determine how the railroad helped to destroy the buffalo to near extinction.

3. summarize how the depletion of the buffalo would affect the Plains Indians.

1. Students should review literature about the Plains Indians that identifies their need for buffalo to survive, such as Indians of the Plains, by Sally Sheppard.

2. The teacher should explain to students that the new railroad crossed the buffalo territory. Ask students what might happen if buffalo were on the tracks; discuss how this could affect both the railroad and the Indians.

3. The teacher should describe how railroad companies hired people to shoot buffalo to keep them off the tracks and then to feed workers. Eventually, settlers got in on the act as a sport to take home furs and trophies (heads) for their walls. This kind of reckless killing almost wiped out the buffalo on the Plains.

4. As a culminating activity, students should create comic strips showing the cause/effect relationship between the railroad, buffalo, and Indians. The students should show how the railroads began killing the buffalo, and the Indians had fewer buffalo to hunt, making their lives more difficult. A comic strip directions sheet is included for teacher reference.

Sheppard, Sally. Indians of the Plains. (New York: Franklin Watts, 1976) (ISBN0531008479).

How to Make Comic Strips
1. Cut a piece of 8 1/2" by 11" white paper in half lengthwise
2. Fold each strip in half and then in half again
3. Open the paper into four cells ready for scenes to be created
4. Example of cause/effect comic strip

Building the Railroad

Buffalo on Tracks

Dead buffalo near tracks

Indians looking for buffalo