The government took away the power of tribal chiefs and abolished special Indian courts in 1885.
Government agents
Government agents bribed Plains Indians with food or supplies in return for good behaviour. Some Indians joined the Indian Agency Police, where they were looked after reasonably well.
Education
Plains Indian children were sent to military-style schools off the reservation. They were brought up as Christians and encouraged to abandon their Indian way of life.
Living conditions
With the buffalo gone the Plains Indians could no longer support themselves. Most didn’t have the skills to farm and became more dependent on the government. Disease, alcoholism and depression spread through the reservations
