Western Questions

As we were talking about the Indians on the Plains and in the west, I began to wonder whether these people heard of the coming of the white man from their neighbors to the east. I wonder if they knew about all the broken treaties and the removal of the Indians in the east. It seems like they would have known when other tribes started to show up, but what about those like the sioux. If I understand correctly, there wasn't alot of removal to their territory. So, how did they learn about what was happening in the east. Did they learn about the wars in the east through trading partners and what was their reaction to the news. What were the plains Indians doing during the Revolutionary War? They seemed to be out of the action, but they had to have heard of what was happening. I also wonder if what they heard about the white man impacted how they would deal with him in the future. Did the plains Indians hold out so long because they heard rumors of broken treaties and poor treatment by the settlers, which caused them to be weary of entering in agreements with them? Did this also cause them to use more violent means of resistance? I'm sure we discussed the answers to many of these questions, but I was ready for the weekend and could have missed them. I think we often overlook these people because we are focused on big happenings like the Revolutionary War, but I am curious what the plains Indians were doing while the eastern part of the U.S. was in conflict.