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Trail of Tears
As part of Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act (1830), American Indians were forced out of their land and forced to migrate west. On this journey, over 4,000 Cherokee Indians died due to hunger, disease, and exhaustion. The relocation of Cherokee Indians created room for European settlers. -
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Carlisle Indian Industrial School
The Carlisle Indian Industrial School was founded by Richard Henry Pratt in 1879. Carlisle was the first off-reservation boarding school that was funded by the U.S federal government. The boarding school was created as a way to assimilate American Indian children into Western culture. They were stripped of their native clothing, their hair was cut short, and they weren't allowed to practice any of their native traditions. Many children died at the school due to disease, food scarcity, etc. -
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act, also known as the General Allotment Act, was enacted into Congress in 1887. This law allowed the president the ability to break up reservation land that was previously given to Native Americans. The land was split up into smaller units, and was distributed to people within the tribe. The smaller units was a way to encourage American Indians to take up farming, and live in smaller family units which was considered to be more "American." -
Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Massacre occurred in December of 1890 near Wounded Knee creek. U.S troops stormed the land and surrounded a band of Ghost Dancers and demanded that they surrender. A fight broke out, and a shot was fired, which started the fight. Over 200 men, women, and children were killed on this day. It was referenced as a massacre instead of a battle due to the fact that the U.S was heavily armed. -
Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act was put into law by Congress as an effort to decrease federal control over American Indian affairs. It was also put in place as a way to increase American Indian self-determination when it came to government and responsibility. It also stopped the diminishing tribal land base by ending the allotment of tribal land. -
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus and his three ships set off from Spain with the mission of discovering new land. He was successful in finding land, and arrived in San Salvador. His first encounter with the Native American’s was on October 12th, 1492. Many people praise Christopher Columbus for discovering this “new world”, but many don’t recognize that Columbus and his men enslaved Native American’s, forced them to convert to Christianity, and used violence to obtain riches and conquer new land. -
American Indian Movement (AIM)
The American Indian Movement is a Native American civil-rights activist's group that was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was created to help address American Indian sovereignty, encourage self-determination, tackle treaty issues, and help with the preservation of American Indian culture and traditions. The American Indian Movement organization has been involved in many protests revolving around American Indian issues. -
Indian Child Welfare Act
In 1978, Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act as a way to combat the high number of American Indian children being removed from their families. The goal of this act is to preserve Native American culture, traditions, and bonds with their families as a way to promote security and stability. Basically, ICWA says that states don't have any jurisdiction over custody of American Indian children that reside within their own reservation.