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Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is responible for the managment and administration of many thousands of acres of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States. -
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was passed by Congress on May 28, 1830 during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. The law itself authorized the president to negotiate with Indian tribes in Southern United States for their removal which consisted of leaving their homelands for federeal territorial West. -
Cattle Drives
Cattle drives were a major economic activity in the American West. 20 million cattle were herded from Texas to Kansas from shipments to stockyards in Chicago and further east. The development of "cow towns" were created fomm this long journey. -
Indian Appropriations Act
The Indian Appropriations Act is the name of the several acts passed by the United States Congress. This act allocated funds to move western tribes onto reservations. Reservations were protected and enclosed by the U.S. government. -
Little Crow's War
Little Crow's War, also known as the Dakota War, began in 1862 when the agreement between the Dakota and the government became something that was a complete lie. The government promised the Dakota people food and annuities if they were to move off of their reservation onto new land. The government broke their promise. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act was signed into law by President Lincoln. This act stated that anyone who had never taken up arms against the U.S. government (including freed slaves and women), was 21 years or older, or the head of a family, could file an application to claim federal grant land. -
Battle of Apache Pass
This battle was fought at Apache Pass, Arizona between Apache warriors and Union volunteers of the Califfornia Column. -
Cheyenne Uprising
The Cheyenne had agreed by the terms of the Fort Wise Treaty to move onto the Sand Creek Reservation. But, the land was very poor and survival for the Indians was nearly impossible. Eventually the Indians faced starvation, so they began to attack wagon trains and steal food. -
Bear River Massacre
The Bear River Massacre, taking place on January 29th, 1863 took place in present-day Idaho. The United States Army attacked the Shoshone gathered at the Bear River. The location was ideal for hunting and eventually for trading so the settlers insisted on moving the Indian tribes out of that area which led to another battle with the Natives and with the settlers. -
Sand Creek Massacre
The Sand Creek Massacre that took place on November 29, 1864 was a tragic atrocity in the American Indian Wars where a 700-man force of Colorado territory militia attacked and destroyed a peaceful, innocent village. This village was inhabited by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians. -
Fetterman Massacre
Eighty men rode out of Fort Phil Kearny to support a wood-cutting expedition that had come under attack. The attacks against the wood-gatherers were common. The battle occurred on the BozemanTrail where a large force of Indians were waiting to attack and defeat the attack force led by Captains Fetterman and Brown. -
Red Cloud's War
The Sioux chief, Red Cloud, was very upset when settlers began using the Bozeman Trail (which passed through the Sioux hunting grounds) and eventually, they began attacking the settlers. Red Cloud was even more angry when forts were contructed to protect the settlers. -
Fort Laramie Treaty
Also called the Sioux Treaty of 1868, the Fort Laramie Treaty was an agreement between the United States and multiple Indian nations/tribes. It guarenteed the Lakota ownership of the Black Hills inlcuding further land and certain hunting rights. -
Completion of Trans-Cont R.R.
A ceremonial golden spike was placed at Promontory, Utah, California declaring the completion of the nation's first transcontinental railway. This would be considered a new form of technology for many years to come. -
End of Buffalo population
Many new white settlers killed buffalo when arriving on the new land mainly for money from their hides, which made many Indians very upset because they only killed bufffalo for what they needed such as food, clothes, shelter, etc. -
Camp Grant, AZ Apache massacre
The Camp Grant massacre was an attack on Pinal and Aravaipa Apaches who surrendered to the U.S. Army at Camp Grant, Arizona along the San Pedro River. The massacre led to a series of battles and campaigns fought between the Americans, the Apache, and their Yavapai allies. -
The Lakota War
Also known as the Great Sioux War of 1876, the Lakota War was a series of battles an negotiatiations involving the Lakota Sioux and the Northern Cheyenne. -
Great Sioux War
This battle was a series of negotiations between the Sioux Indians and the United States. When gold was discovered in the land, settlers began to move on Native American lands. High amounts of pressure were laid upon the federal government. There were also many fatalities and disrespect to the Native American culture. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
The Battle of Little Bighorn took place on the Little Bighorn Battlefield at Little Bighorn River, Montana. Lietuenant Colonel Custer and his U.S. Army were defeated in battle with Native American Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. -
Desert Land Act
The Desert Land Act was passed by Congress on March 3, 1877 to help promote and encourage economic development of the arid and semiarid public lands of the Western states. Through this act, individuals were also capable of applying for a desert-land entry to reclaim, irrigate, and cultivate, -
Capture of Nez Perce
Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce were involved in the last great war between the U.S. government and an Indian nation. This event occurred in the Bear Paw mountains of Montana. Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce nation surrendered maultiple people to the U.S. cavalry. For 31 years, Chief Joseph fought for his people's return to their homelands. -
Pratt Boarding School
The Pratt Boarding School, also known as the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania was an Indian boarding school in the United States from 1879 through 1918. It was founded in 1879 by Richard Henry Pratt who was part of the US federal government. It was founded on the principle that Indians were equal to European-Americans. -
A Century of Dishonor by Helen Hunt Jackson
Helen Hunt Jackson first published the non-fiction book A Century of Dishonor in 1881 that chronicled the exeriences of the Native Americans in the United States, focusing on injustices. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act was a federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur. It was one of the most significant restrictions on free immigration in US history, prohibiting all immigation of Chinese laborers. -
Bill Cody's "Wild West Show"
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Bill Cody's "Wild West Show"
The "Wild West Shows" were traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe. The first and prototypical show was Buffalo Bill's. The shows introduced many western performers and personalities. -
Capture of Geronimo
Geronimo was a prominent leader of the Apache who fought against Mexico and Texas for their expansion into Apache tribal lands. After a Mexican attack on his tribe, where soldiers killed his mother, wife, and children, Geronimo joined a number of revenge attacks against the Mexicans. Geromimo eventually surrendured as a prisoner of war. -
Dawes Act
Also known as the General Allotment Act, the Dawes Act was adopted by Congress in 1877 where the President of the United States was authorized to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians. It was eventually amended in 1891. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Masscre occurred on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the present-day state South Dakota. On the mornuing of December 29th, troops led by Colonel James W. Forsyth, went into the camp to disarm the Lakota. U.S. cavalrymen killed many Lakota people including men, women, and children. The U.S. government continued to sieze the Lakota's land. -
Forest Reserve Act
The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 was the law that allowed the President of the United States to set aside forest reserves from the land in the public domain. This act was passed under the United States Congress under Roosevelt's administration. -
Turner Thesis
The Turner Thesis, also known as the Frontier Thesis, is the argument proposed by historian Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893 that stated American democracy was formed by the American frontier. He stressed that the process of moving the frontier line had a large impact on the pioneers.
