Gold prospecting greatly affected the Plains Indians way of life.

The following list describes some of the consequences of gold prospecting for the Plains Indians:

• Gold miners murdered Plains Indians or forced them to leave if they believed their as gold to be found on their land
• New towns that developed due to gold prospecting brought an alien culture to the Plains Indians land, for example, there were churches, schools and shops
• The gold prospectors brought diseases from all around the world with them - this killed many Plains Indian’s, as they were new diseases that they did not have immunity to
• The influx of miners either killed buffalo for meat and sport, or drove them away by taking up lots of space
• It led to direct conflict between Plains Indians and the US government as gold prospectors trespassed Indian land, e.g. Red Cloud’s War (see notes)