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Aug 3, 1492
Columbus Lands
Columbus and the natives were civil with one another. Columbus and those with him believed that the natives were remarkable. However, Columbus's landing in the New World marked the beginning of the end for the natives, even if no one knew it then. -
Feb 1, 1519
Hernan Cortes Conquers the Aztecs
Source After the seige of Tenochtitlan, with Hernan Cortes practically ruling, the Aztecs rebelled and Cortes fled. However, he had been there long enough to star a smallpox epidemic amongst the natives. With 3 million Aztecs dead of the disease and many others severly weakened, Cortes reclaimed the civilization. -
Aug 12, 1552
Bartolome de Las Casas Criticizes the Spanish
Source Casas was an strong advocate for Native American rights in the 1500s. He often criticized the way in which Natives were treated by Spain, through the publication of pamphlets and the presentation of petitions. -
Founding of Jamestown
SourceThe natives, upon seeing the Europeans arriving, reacted violently, attacking one of the ships. However, the natives became hospitable and offered food to the settlers. After, a time, the settlers became relient on the natives as a source for food. When the natives realized the settlers were staying and would be of no help to them, the natives again began to attack settlements. However, this solved nothing, because the settlers kept coming. -
Bacon's Rebellion
SourceThis conflict began when farmers wanted a native tribe removed from their treaty land. Due to this a conflict with said tribe begins, and during these skirmishes, the wrong tribe is attacked, causing this second tribe to retaliate agains the Europeans. This rebellion led to the notion that Indians and Europeans could not live together peaceably, which led to the introduction of the Indian Reservation system. -
King Philip's War
SourceThis war was the last great effort on the part of the natives to rid their land of the Europeans. The war ended however when the leader was captured and beheaded. Many of the warrior who surrendered were shipped of as slaves, and the natives who remained were faced with servitude, disease, etc. -
Pontiac's War
SourceAfter the French and Indian War, the natives who had sided with the French felt threatened and angered by the British, who had won the war. Pontiac's war began when a chieftan, called Pontiac, decided to take up arms against the settlers in the Ohio Valley with the help of a few other tribes. Their efforts were allowed them to control 9 out of 12 forts west of the Appalachians. The conflict ended when the King issued the Proclamation of 1763, the gave territory to the indians primarily. -
French and Indian War
SourceThe French and Indian War was a conflict between Great Britain and France lasting 7 years, with the main cause being territory disagreements. Britain and France both had native allies in North America that aided them in the fighting. Great Britain won the war. Those tribes that had shown themselves as allies to France became enemies to the colonists, leaving them in a very poor place. Those who allied with Britain did not fare much better either, as their alliance fell apart from the inside. -
Proclamtion of 1763
SourceThis proclamtion kept colonists from expanding westward and pushing natives to the west coast after the French and Indian war. This proclamation stated that all indians were under the protection of the crown, and that all colonists settled in indian land needed to leave immediately. This allowed the indians to keep their land for many years, even though many of the colonists did not respect the land bounderies set by the proclamation. -
Treaty of Paris
SourceThe Treaty of Paris was the document that ended the Revolutionary War between the Colonies and Great Britain, and established the United States. This treaty created the land borders for the new country, but native americans were basically forgotten entirely, and their own land boundaries were often ignored. This began the westward expansion that would drive the indians farther west. -
Treaty of Greenville
This treaty was a peace agreement between the natives of Ohio and the british settler, though the natives felt that the agreement was forced. The treaty forced the natives to give up the territory that became Ohio, as well as several other areas to build forts. The natives were given a sum of goods and the rights to continue hunting on the land. The natives followed the agreements, but the settlers did not, causing further resistance from the natives. -
Louisiana Purchase
SourceThe Louisiana Purchase was a deal made by Jefferson with the French, that allowed the Louisiana Territory to become the 18th state in the Union. A large part of the population consisted of natives, who were pushed (sometimes with force) further and further west. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
SourceThe Lewis and Clark expedition was the trek to find the most effective path west. The expedition group encountered various native tribes and had diplomatic relations with many of them. The Lewis and Clark expedition marked the beginning of the invasion of native american lands in the west. -
Tecumseh and The Prophet
SourceTecumseh was a Native American chief, and his brother was a famous prophet. Tecumseh used his brother's prophetic visions as a means for advocatinghis people's rights. He attempted to recruit many natives from various tribes. In the end, the movement failed, when the natives were defeated in the Battle of Tippecanoe. The prophet was killed, the villege burned, and food supplies destroyed. -
Creek War
SourceThe Creek war was a series of attacks made by the Indian Nation called the Red Sticks, in response to the increase of settlements near their land. The Creeks killed nearly 250 settlers, however the U.S. government retaliated with 2500 man forces. The Red Sticks were essentially crushed, and forced to give up nearly 3/5 of their land. -
Indian Removal Act
Source The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson. This act granted unsettled land further west in exchange for native land in already settled states. Many natives went peacefully, but many had to be forcibly moved west, including 4000 Cherokees on the Trail Of Tears. -
Worcester v. Georgia
SourceThis case invloved a man and his family (Worcester) when the state of Georgia attempted to remove them from Indian Territory. Worcester claimed that the state of Georgia violated his constitutional rights. The Supreme Court agreed, and ruled that Georgia could not enforce their own laws in a land that was considered seperate. This case also ruled that all land agreements with the natives had to be approached as international talks. -
Trail Of Tears
SourceThe Trail of Tears was the trek many Native Americans were forced to take in order to move to "indian territory" after the Indian Removal Act forced them to move across the Mississippi river. This trek killed of large portions of the Native American population. The Trail of Tears was travelled mainly by the Cherokee who refused to leave their land but were forced by about 7000 American soldiers. -
Oregon Trail
SourceThe Oregon Trail was the famous trek settlers followed out west, into new American territory. Most of the natives who lived along this famous trail were very tolerant of the wagons, and even traded with the pioneers. However there were skirmishes that resulted in deaths on both sides. This trail marked the end of territory that belonged primarily to natives. Land given to the natives kept shrinking. -
Gold Discovered in California
SourceWhen gold was discovered in California a flood of settlers looking for wealth came to the west coast. During the rush there was a shortage of labor, which led to using natives in what was practically a form of slavery. The gold rush cost the natives nearly everything they had left; all of their resources, their freedom, and even the lives of many were lost. The last of the native land had finally been settled, and by the year 1900, less than 16000 natives remained. -
Pasage of the Homestead Act
SourceThe Homestead Act was a bill that allowed settlers to purchase and eventually own land in the western part of the United States.The Homestead Act stripped the natives of what was left of their Western land, and allowed settlers to make claims wherever they pleased. -
Sand Creek Massacre
SourceSand Creek was a village that was populated by about 800 Cheyenne indians. The indians believed they would not be disturbed because the land was promised to them through a treaty. However, on Nov. 29, 1864, the villege was surrounded by a group called the Colorado Volunteers, who were ordered to kill and scslp all the natives in the villege. Other nations retalied with force against the settlers, and the hostility was only abated by a treaty that gave land back to certain indian nations. -
Treaty of Ft. Laramie
SourceThis treaty allowed the Black Hills of Dakota, which were sacred to the Sioux tribe, to be part of the Sioux reservation, and be held solely by the natives. This treaty, however, was completely disregarded during the Black Hills Gold Rush in 1874, causing the Sioux to lose the sacred land. -
Diminished Buffalo Herds
SourceThe indians in the west, especially those living on the Great Plains relied on the buffalo for nearly every aspect of their lives. The Europeans took to buffalo hunting, but it was done too much at a time, and the herd that one covered the entire plains area could not keep up. The buffalo population dropped drastically, therefore causing further annihilation of the Native American tribes. -
Gold in the Black Hills
SourceIn the land that was promised to the Sioux tribe of natives, there were rumors of gold, causing a flock of settlers to trample on the treaty that granted the land to the tribe. This caused the tribe to lose their land and relocate, after having fought to keep their land. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
SourceBefore the battle, many tribes missed the deadline for the time they were supposed to move to indian reservations. The U.S. Army then took matters to a more hostile livel sending in troops to forcibly move the natives. The troops however, were met with a large fighting force of natives, led by a native called Sitting Bull. The natives overwhelmed and destroyed the troops, winning their most decisive battle. Americans were outraged, and the government worked to confine all the natives. -
Nez Perce War
SourceThis conflict began when a group of "non-treaty" Nez Perce indians refused to leave their land. They began attacking settlements and groups of soldiers while constantly on the move in search of a safe place for their families. The Nez Perce had nearly escaped to Canada when the U.S. troops caught up to them. After a 5 day battle, the majority of the natives relented, and were later sent to reservations. Only a small number of natives actually made it to safety,
