Indians would have been wise to kill the white man at first glance to preserve their way of life. Instead, they tried to make piece with the newcomers and it incrementally ended in their demise.Perhaps we should keep in mind that everyone who lives in the West is relatively NEW from certain perspectives. I think that I'm the 15th generation to live on this contentment from England (1607 or 414 years; most European settlement came after that). However Spanish settlement was here just over a hundred years prior to my families’ arrival and the Native Americans was perhaps 15,000 years ago. We are all relatively new commers to this land.
Often increased populations are what changes the political course and direction of an area vs just political affiliation. It is inevitable. For example, just look at the Western settlement. Settlers started to displace the First Peoples and the mountain men. Settlers were the greenhorns and were considered problemated citizens. Railroads and the Cattle industry brought more people displaced many of those first settlers, put up fences and displaced the wildlife. Crime increased with the population boom especialliy in the towns and to be honest the lack of female governance in early Western Settler’s lives. If fact, perceived widespread lawlessness in any City in America today would still be characterized as the “Wild West”. Once families were established in the West, new rules were put into place changing how things were done in Western towns. Now Western towns are being repopulated and things are changing again to accommodate the increased number of people.
Multi generational residents of states like Montana, Wyoming and Idaho would be wise to…. Well… never mind.