The document outlines the stages by which Native American tribes lost their lands to white settlers in the 19th century. It describes how tribes were initially moved west of the Mississippi River to make room for settlers. However, settlers' movement west in search of gold and the transcontinental railroad led to further encroachment on Native lands. A series of broken treaties and massacres weakened tribal resistance, culminating in the defeat of the Plains tribes at the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890, which marked the end of major Native American armed resistance.