In the 1800s, the U.S. military implemented a calculated strategy to systematically destroy the buffalo population, a crucial resource for Native American tribes. With orders to kill as many buffalo as possible, troops decimated herds to deprive indigenous communities of their primary food, clothing, and shelter source. This brutal tactic was part of a broader effort to force Native Americans onto reservations by breaking their connection to the land and its resources. The mass slaughter of buffalo, which once numbered in the millions, contributed to their near extinction and left Native American communities struggling to survive. This dark chapter in American history highlights the extent to which the government would go to suppress indigenous cultures and enforce their displacement.