Stop Two

Trail stop two along the upper portion of the trail.

NPS / Christian Schroll

Quick Facts

Location:

Washita Battlefield National Historic Site

Take a moment to imagine an event that would force you to change the way you live.

What came to mind? A tornado? A flood? A pandemic?

How about an invasion? A war?

In the years preceding the Civil War, the United States sought to remove Indian tribes from lands the government deemed valuable and confine those tribes on reservations. Some Plains tribes accepted this removal from their traditional homelands. Some, however, continued to live and hunt outside the reservations until it became clear that white emigrant encroachment into traditional hunting grounds was unavoidable. Conflicts became more common in the 1860s as many tribes, including the Arapaho and Cheyenne, chose to defend their freedom and way of life rather than submit to reservation life.

Think again about your life. If forced, how much change could you endure? Losing your home? Eating different food? Being confined or made to feel lesser?

What if you lost everything?

How much would be too much? What would you do?