Original sentence: By 1880 the buffalo herds, a foundation for the hunting economy, had disappeared.Indians had the choice of living on reservations, but some tribes refused to live there.Reformers wanted to give as many Indians as possible the opportunity to own and operate their own farms and ranches, and the issue was how to give individual Indians land owned by the tribe.The Dawes Act was an effort to integrate Indians into the mainstream; the majority accepted integration and were absorbed into American society, leaving a trace of Indian ancestry in millions of American families.The government insisted the Indians remain on assigned reservations, and used force to keep them there.Those who refused to assimilate remained in poverty on the reservations, supported by Federal food, medicine and schooling
Edited sentence: By 1880 the buffalo herds, a foundation for the hunting economy, had been forced into extinction by settlers and the American government, who openly encouraged elimination of the Plains Indians' primary food source, the bison.In either situation, food sources were either scarce or non-existent.In so doing, the Indians would be forced into relatively small areas, or north into Canada.In the end the west was open to European settlement and the start of the western beef industry.Indians were forced into reservations, but some tribes refused to live there.Reformers wanted to give as many Indians the opportunity to own and operate their own farms and ranches, and the issue was how to give individual Indians land owned by the tribe.The Dawes Act was an effort to further eliminate Indian culture.The government forced the Indians to remain on assigned reservations, and used violence to keep them there.The results were starvation, and high infant mortality amongst the Indian populations.Those who refused to assimilate remained in poverty on the reservations