The Sacred Buffalo Vision by Robert J. Juneau and Robert C. Juneau pg.43-44

The Christian priests were reluctant to protest too much since the dying Indians could blame Confederate slavers and Texas Cattle Kings for their famine and the rapacity of Indian Agents and Fort Benton contractors for their poverty, all of whom got rich on the buffalo grasses, gold mines and sale of the treaty rations for the starving Indians.  The introduction of liquor by the Fort Benton whiskey traders worked in concert with the starvation:  "It is needless to dilate upon the disastrous and demoralizing effects to the Indian of the whiskey trade, Robes, blankets, horses-everything-is sacrificed to whiskey, and when reduced to utter poverty the Indian steals, and the result is war with the whites." The consequences of the massacre, famine years, whiskey trade and small pox brought by the white man were Blackfoot land cessions to the United States, likely the intent of western Congressmen and Union Army Generals in sending captured ex-Confederate soldiers up the Missouri River to Blackfoot Confederacy lands.
Selling land for a living
The confederate gold miners and confederate Texas Cattle Kings made their fortunes based upon Indian genocide, and economic apartheid causing Indian removals further back into the Rocky Mountains.  Confederate gold miners invaded the Sweet Grass Hills even after being ordered out of
Blackfoot Treaty lands by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.  Miners sent back word they would not leave until forced to do so; Indian Agent has insufficient force to enforce order by Commissioner- last fall they were given 30 days to leave; at end of thirty days they went across Canadian Border for a week-then returned.  The River Press of Fort Benton article in 1885 stated:  SWEET GRASS GOLD-"We have been informed on good authority that no very stringent effort will be made to keep the miners out of the Sweet Grass.  The agent will follow his instructions and notify them to go-and that will probably be the end of it."  J.K. Toole, Montana Territorial Delegate, wrote Montana Governor S.T. Hauser, Helena, Montana, April, 1886, "I have had a great deal of trouble of formulating a bill that would meet the views of the Indian Department and the Indian Committee.  The Ind. Dept. changed its views so often that it seemed impossible to get anything from them that could be relied on.  I finally abandoned the scheme of getting any legislation opening the Black Foot Reservation this time and secured an amendment to the Indian Appropriation Bill in the Senate which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to negotiate with the Indians in northern Montana for a reduction of their reservation or a removal to other reservations.
-The Sacred Buffalo Vision by Robert J. Juneau and Robert C. Juneau    
pg.43-44