Native American timeline

1. Christopher Columbus made his discovery of the Americas

Oct 12, 1492

• Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer and navigator, lands in the Americans and mistakenly thought he was in India so he referred to the Indigenous people as "Indians".
• This marked the start of the European colonization of Native tribes.
• Key players: Christopher Columbus, Indigenous Tribes
• Source:Technical Difficulties. ar.usembassy.gov/columbus-day/#:~:text=October%2012%2C%201492%2C%20is%20of,now%20part%20of%20the%20Bahamas.

Indian Appropriations Act

1830

• Congress passes laws declaring Native tribes are no longer sovereign nations.
• Strips Native tribes of political power and legal independence. Key Players: U.S. Congress, various tribal nations Source: Tribes - Native Voices. www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/timeline/317.html#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Congress%20passes%20the,it%20can%20better%20subdue%20them.

Indian Removal Act

May 28, 1830

• U.S laws forced Native Americas tribes east of Mississippi River to relocate west.
• This leads to the "Trail of Tears", causing the death of thousands of Native Americans.
• Key Players: President Andrew Jackson, Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, and other tribes. Source:Research Guides: Indian Removal Act: Primary Documents in American History: Introduction. guides.loc.gov/indian-removal-act#:~:text=The%20Indian%20Removal%20Act%20was,many%20resisted%20the%20relocation%20policy.

Carlisle Indian Industrial School Opens

1879

• First government-run boarding school for Native American children. At least 168 children who attended Carlisle died from tuberculosis, pneumonia, and flu at the school.
• Begins a system of forced assimilation through education, language, and religion. Key Players: Captain Richard Pratt, Native children Source www.nps.gov/articles/the-carlisle-indian-industrial-school-assimilation-with-education-after-the-indian-wars-teaching-with-historic-places.htm.

Dawes Act

Feb 8, 1887

• Law divides tribal land into individual plots to encourage farming and assimilation.
• Reduces tribal land and breaks up communities, weakening tribal identity. Key Players: U.S. Congress, Native families Source: “Dawes Act (1887).” National Archives, 8 Feb. 2022, www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/dawes-act.