Native American History IDs

Keetowah society

(1858) Cherokee organization established to preserve traditional Cherokee beliefs and culture which were being erased by the government in their attempts of forced assimilation,

Dakota War

(1862) U.S. claimed the Dakota owed money and urged them to sign a treaty in exchange for land; the Dakota earned less money than agreed due to mistranslation during the signing, in which fur traders received more money. The Dakota uprise and attack whites, as they are unable to survive drought and lack of financial support from U.S.. Abe Lincoln pardons a majority of the Dakota from execution, but many are publicly executed for their killings.

Buffalo Bird Woman

Elderly woman who is a primary source of information regarding Native (Mandan) life before European arrival. She described their farming practices of storing corn underground, which was eaten by rats that arrived off ships of English settlers.

Sand Creek Massacre

(1864) After being promised safety near Fort Lyon, Apache and Cheyanne Natives advance, but are attacked by U.S. militia for being near U.S. forts. Despite their surrender and showing peaceful intentions, the Native’s village, which consisted mostly of women and children, was attacked by U.S. soldiers. Hundreds were killed and mutilated.

Peace Policy

(1869) President Ulysses S. Grant introduces the Native American Peace Policy to reduce conflicts between white settlers/U.S. military and Natives. It aimed to assimilate Natives by moving them onto reservations and adopting Christianity by replacing government officials with religious officials to oversee Native agencies. It sought to end treaty relations.

Quannah Parker

(1874) Comanche leader who helped his people adapt to life on reservations. He led an attack in white bison hunters in the Battle of Adobe Walls, who were purposely depleting the bison population to push Natives onto reservations.

Greasy Grass

(1876) AKA Battle of Little Big Horn Tensions between the Lakota and U.S. grew as white settlers followed Colonel Custer into Lakota territory for gold. Lakota refrained from killing trespassers, but developed a large hunt for bison, despite being banned, which angered the U.S. Custer led the army to attack Lakota, resulting in him and hundreds of his men being killed.

Long Walk

(1863) Conflict arose between the Navajo and the U.S. after the U.S. inherited land from the Spanish, where the Navajo resided. The army forced the Navajo to leave due to resource competition. The Navajo faced a long journey to a reservation where conditions of farming and life were horrid.

Camp Grant Massacre

(1871) The U.S. commander of Camp Grant initiated a peace policy with Apache groups, in which hundreds of Apache surrendered weapons and settled near the camp. Raids continued to occur throughout the region, which made white settlers grow hostile. A group of Mexican and Anglo Americans launched a surprise attack on the Apache camp in their sleep, consisting mostly of women and children. Hundreds were killed or captured and sold into slavery.

Geronimo

An Apache warrior whose family was killed by Mexican soldiers, which fueled him to seek revenge. After an incident where the U.S. Army killed Apache men, the Apache turned to Geronimo to fight back. After numerous attacks, Geronimo flees, successfully leading his people into hiding, away from capture, evading large-scale U.S. Army searches. Geronimo is eventually purposely captured after being promised the Apache would be set free in return; Geronimo is kept in U.S. custody for the rest of his life, but becomes an entertainment icon due to his notoriety.

Chief Joseph

(1877) A leader of the Nez Perce tribe who refused to sign a treaty that would shrink the Nez Perce’s land due to the discovery of gold. Joseph leads his people for thousands of miles to seek asylum alongside Sitting Bull. After several successful battles against the U.S., Joseph and the Nez Perce were eventually cornered and forced to retreat.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West

After Geronimo’s surrender, Native Americans became less feared and seen as a threat, so they became entertainment in the development of Wild West shows, which featured Native actors who “battled” the white actors. They would ride on horses and display fake fights, which the white actors attained victory of.

General Allotment Act

(1877) AKA the Dawes Act sought to weaken tribal structures and assimilate Native Americans into European lifestyles. Land was allotted to Native individuals for farming, and the surplus land was sold to white settlers. The act failed because Natives were unfamiliar with such farming practices, and it ended in white settlers receiving all land and leaving the Natives in an even worse position than before.

Carlsile

(1879) A boarding school for Native American children that operated for 40+ years. Parents were pressured to send their children where they faced forced assimilation. Certain lifestyle changes, such as diets and erasure of Native culture contributed to the death or sickness of many children.

Wovoka

A Native apocalyptic preacher who claimed he had visions of Jesus saying the Natives must purify themselves of their nightmare (bad living conditions) by performing a dancing ritual called ghost dances. The dances spread across reservations, scaring whites, which provoked U.S. intervention.

Wounded Knee Massacre

(1890) Ghost dancer Big Foot fled his reservation, followed by other Natives, who were chased by the U.S. army and forced to surrender after becoming surrounded. The Natives were forced to give up their guns, but as a soldier struggled to collect a gun from an older man, the gun went off, provoking an uproar. Numerous soldiers and Natives die.

Indian Reorganization Act

(1934) Ended Native assimilation (Allotment Act), including boarding schools, and provided land, money, funding for bilingual schools, and the development of health clinics within reservations. Many tribes accepted the IRA, but some rejected it as they were distrustful of the government or didn’t benefit from the act’s provisions.

Livestock adjustment

(1930’s) The Navajo tribe was forced to reduce their livestock population, specifically sheep, as they were believed to be contributing to drought from overgrazing. This heavily affected the Navajo who were sheep herders and relied on them for many resources.

Ira Hayes

(1942) A Pima Native American who was a U.S. Marine and was among the men who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima in WW2. He faced racism and unequal treatment post-war, despite his contributions, and became depressed.

Codetalkers

(1940’s) Native Americans who used their Native languages to send tactical messages over radio during WW2. The Navajo code was the most influential, as it was complex and not well-known.

Termination

(1940-60) U.S. policy which ended the legal status of Native Americans and their relationship with the federal government. Federal funding, services, and agreements would be cut off, giving Native’s “freedom” and reliance on their government. 100+ tribes were terminated and relocated to urban areas in hopes of assimilation, destroying the Native economy and way of life.

Public Law 280

(1953) Gave specific states the authority to enforce state and criminal laws on Native reservations, which were originally under federal or tribal jurisdiction. It aimed to assimilate Natives into the legal system; tribes lost control of legal systems and inconsistent law enforcement occurred on reservations, causing problems.

Billy Frank

(1960-70) A Native American man who fought for Native fishing rights and the preservation of salmon habitats. Fish-ins were acts of civil disobedience, in which Frank and other activists exercised their rights, which were protected under the Treaty of Medicine Creek. His activism led to the U.S. v. Washington case, which reaffirmed the treaty rights.

Alcatraz

(1969) An island in San Francisco which Natives had used to collect resources from. A military base was built on the island, then transformed into a prison which was eventually shut down due to expenses and difficulties running it. Activists then fought to restore Native ownership of the island, claiming that under an 1868 treaty, Natives would attain ownership of unused Federal land. Activists occupied the island, but were eventually removed.

AIM

(1968) The American Indian Movement is an activist organization founded due to problems faced by Native Americans in urban areas, such as racism, police harassment, and poverty. It aimed to protect treaty rights and restore tribal sovereignty.

Trail of Broken Treaties

(1972) A protest organized by Native activists aimed to present demands to the federal government due to Native injustices. Activists from around the country met in Washington, D.C., and occupied the building of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Their demands were not met, but brought about National attention, which increased the Red Power movement.

Siege at Wounded Knee

(1973) A 71-day armed standoff between AIM members and U.S. feds, taking place at the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre. They protested the corruption of their tribal chairman and broken treaties. Two Native activists were killed, and many others faced arrests.

Indian Gaming Regulatory Act

(1981) Was passed after bingo halls and other gaming operations were developed on reservations to generate revenue. State governments challenged this, disputing the right to regulate the games on tribal lands. The Supreme Court ruled that the states couldn’t regulate gaming, but clear rules would be passed for how the gaming would be conducted to protect tribes from corruption and unfair practices.

Recognition

(1978) Process where Native tribes or nations are officially acknowledged as sovereign nations by the U.S. federal and state governments. This grants tribes certain legal rights and benefits.

NAGPRA

(1990) The Native American Graves Protection and Reporation Act is a federal law that provides a process for museums and federal agencies to return Native American remains and sacred, cultural objects to their lineal descendants or corresponding tribes. Native communities pushed for this, as Native graves had been looted and items or remains were collected without tribal consent.