What was a significant consequence of the Indian Wars in terms of Native American status in the U.S.?

The consequence of the Indian Wars that is most significant in terms of the status of Native Americans in the U.S. is that they remained second-class citizens for several decades. Following the Indian Wars, the U.S. government implemented policies that aimed to assimilate Native Americans into European-American society, but these policies did not confer equal rights or status.

Rather, Native Americans were often denied basic civil rights and faced systemic discrimination. Through military conflicts and subsequent treaties, Native tribes lost vast amounts of their ancestral lands, which further marginalized their communities. Even though some Native Americans were granted U.S. citizenship by the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, many states found ways to keep them from voting or exercising other civil liberties, perpetuating their status as second-class citizens. This long-term disenfranchisement highlights the struggles Native Americans faced in seeking equality and recognition within the broader American society following the conflicts of the Indian Wars.