They have always tried to eliminate us!, beginning with Columbus. We were 'savages', some even thought we were the 'devils children'! A popular saying of the day, "kill the Indian, save the man"....but it really only translated to "kill the Indian".
It was the 'Indian problem', what to do with the Indian situation.
Reservations, boarding schools, relocation, urbanization, assimilation....all was thrust upon native peoples and when this didn't work they started sterilization and genocide of the people.
This is the sad truth, the government doesn't want the citizens to know. We as Indian peoples, are the only race that have to prove our 'Indianess' by a blood quantum, must have a 'Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood', ID card! This is like what is done with pure bred dogs, cats, and other animals. We weren't even considered 'citizens' until the mid 1900's.
They, 'the government', have tried everything to eliminate us as a people, our culture, our languages, our religious ceremonies but we are still here!!! They can not break our spirit, they have never understood this concept.
This happened to every single tribe in the U.S.
Here's a small video of what the Cheyenne Nation endured but alot of other tribes suffered the same or worse treatment from the government and from citizens as well.