US History Westward Expansion Practice Exam

Buffalo provided the lifeblood of plains cultures, shaping travel, shelter, clothing, and daily survival. Tribes living on the northern and central Great Plains—regions that sit near the Rocky Mountain front—centered their economies on following buffalo herds across seasonal ranges. The Sioux occupied a broad swath of this western plains area, including lands along the Missouri River and into parts of present-day Montana and Wyoming, where buffalo herds moved and roamed. Their nomadic lifestyle, riding and hunting to harvest buffalo, made the plains-adjacent region the heart of their economy. In short, the combination of living on plains near the Rockies and depending on buffalo as the primary resource points to the Sioux.