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indian reservation system
Congress passes the Indian Appropriations Act, creating the Indian reservation system. Native Americans aren’t allowed to leave their reservations without permission. -
Chiricahua Apache tribe
A group of Apache Native Americans attack and kidnap a white American, resulting in the U.S. military falsely accusing the Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache tribe, Cochise. Cochise and the Apache increase raids on white Americans for a decade afterwards. -
sandy creek massacre
650 Colorado volunteer forces attack Cheyenne and Arapho encampments along Sand Creek, killing and mutilating more than 150 American Indians during what would become known as the Sandy Creek Massacre. -
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse encounters General George Armstrong Custer for the first time. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
In the Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as “Custer’s Last Stand,” Lieutenant Colonel George Custer’s troops fight Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors, led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, along Little Bighorn River. Custer and his troops are defeated and killed, increasing tensions between Native Americans and white Americans. -
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
The first students attend Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, the country’s first off-reservation boarding school. The school, created by Civil War veteran Richard Henry Pratt, is designed to assimilate Native American students. -
President Grover Cleveland
President Grover Cleveland signs the Dawes Act, giving the president the authority to divide up land allotted to Native Americans in reservations to individuals. -
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull is killed during a confrontation with Indian police in Grand River, South Dakota. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
U.S. Armed Forces surround Ghost Dancers led by Chief Big Foot near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, demanding the surrender of their weapons. An estimated 150 Native Americans are killed in the Wounded Knee Massacre, along with 25 men with the U.S. cavalry. -
Charles Curtis
Charles Curtis becomes the first Native American U.S. Senator.
