U.S. Indian Policy

1794 - 1971

Anthony Wayne, Battle of Fallen Timbers and Treaty of Greenville

Indians cede much of southern Ohio and Indiana to the U.S. Government

Tippecanoe, W.H. Harrison and Tecumseh

Indian resistance in the Ohio Valley ends with the defeat of Tecumseh’sConfederation during the War of 1812.

Black Hawk Wars 1832

•Sauk and Fox Indians were removed from Illinois and Wisconsin.•Capt. Abraham Lincoln served in the Illinois militia. This was his only war experience before leading the country during the Civil War.

Worcester v. Georgia and the Trail of Tears

Reservation Policy and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)

Plains Indian Wars

• On November 29, 1864, soldiers from the US military attacked a peaceful encampment of Cheyenne and Arapaho along Sand Creek. Over 150 Indians were killed in the attack, most of whom were women, children, or elderly. The Sand Creek Massacre profoundly influenced US-Indian relations and the structure of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes

Treaty of Fort Laramie

•1868 Treaty Land – orange•1876 after Black Hills were taken from the Sioux – red•current Sioux reservation -

brown

Battle of Little Bighorn

George A Custer

Sitting Bull

Nez Perce and Chief Joseph

“I will fight No More, Forever”

Wounded Knee (1890) - Last major conflict of the Indian Wars

Artist Frederick Remington recreatedthe opening moments of the massacrebased on soldiers' recollections

A Century of Dishonor, Helen Hunt Jackson

1830-1885Writer, activist for Native Americans

As expressed in her devastating criticisms of federal Indian policyand white-Indian relations in A Century of Dishonor and the novel Ramona, Helen Hunt Jackson was one of the most influential defenders of Native American rights in late 19th-century America. Her activism helped to lead the way for passage of the Dawes Act in 1887.

Dawes Act (Indian Reform)

• Attempt to assimilate natives into white society• Divided reservation lands into 160 acre plots of farm or grazing land• Much of land ended up in whites hands• Indians lacked the tools and knowledge to farm• Much of land was not suitable for farming• Land ownership was foreign to Indian concept of communal land

and resource use• Tribal councils were replaced by American citizenship and voting

rights• By 1970, Indians are poorest, least educated, shortest lifespan,

highest infant mortality rates of any minority in America

Indian Reorganization Act 1934(Indian New Deal)

• Legislation passed in 1934 in an attempt to secure new rights for Native Americans on reservations. Its main provisions were to restore to Native Americans management of their assets (mostly land); to prevent further depletion of reservation resources; to build a sound economic foundation for the people of the reservations; and to return to the Native Americans local self-government on a tribal basis.

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA)

• 12 Regional Native Corporations (CIRI)• 200 Village Corporations• One time $1 billion payout • 40 million acres given to native corporations

including land and mineral resources• All natives given stock in both regional and

village corporations• No stock sales until 1971• Brazil and Australia implemented similar laws to

deal with their indigenous peoples

North America