CICD Working Paper 2019-01
The Slaughter of the Bison and Reversal of Fortunes on the Great Plains
Published January 14, 2019
Abstract
In the late 19th century, the North American bison was brought to the brink of extinction
in just over a decade. We show that the bison’s slaughter led to a reversal of fortunes for the
Native Americans who relied on them. Once the tallest people in the world, the generations
of bison-reliant people born after the slaughter were among the shortest. Today, formerly
bison-reliant societies have between 20-40% less income per capita than the average Native
American nation. We argue that federal Indian policy that limited out-migration from
reservations and restricted employment opportunities to crop based agriculture hampered
the ability of bison-reliant societies to adjust in the long-run, generating lasting regional
disparities associated with other indicators of social dislocation, such as suicide and unrest.
Related paper: Online Appendix for The Slaughter of the Bison and Reversal of Fortunes on the Great Plains
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