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The U.S. creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The U.S. government creates a federal office that is responsible for handling the country's relationship with the 500 Indian tribes in the U.S. The agency, which is part of the War Department, negotiates treaties, sets up Indian schools, and manages trade with the Indians. -
the U.S. and eight Indian nations sign The Fort Laramie Treaty.
The U.S. signs the Fort Laramie Treaty with eight Indian nations in the Northern Plains. The treaty says that Indians will allows settlers safe passage through Indian territory in exchange for money, but the treaty falls apart when gold is discovered and settlers stay in Indian territory. -
General Custer dies in the Battle of Big Horn with the Lakota Sioux.
General George Armstrong Custer and his troops are killed in the Battle of Big Horn with the Lakota Sioux. Custer had been ordered to wait for help, but when he saw Chief Sitting Bull in the area, he decided not to wait. -
The U.S. government cancels the Fort Laramie Treaty.
Wanting to own the land where so much gold has been discovered, the U.S. government cancels the Fort Laramie Treaty. The U.S. takes control of the Black Hills and 40 million acres of Lakota land. -
Over 300 Lakota Sioux die in the Wounded Knee Massacre.
U.S. troops, worried that the Sioux were going to destroy white men, go to Pine Ridge in South Dakota to take their guns. It is not known who fired the first shot, but the result was a massacre of over 300 Indians, mostly women and children. -
The first Indian casino opens in Florida.
The Seminole Indian tribe opens the first Indian gaming facility in North America. It is only a high stakes bingo parlor, but Indian gaming will grow into a major source of income for many of the Indian tribes in America.