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Native Americans

Explore centuries of Native American history and heritage. 

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Circa 1975: During a protest gathering, some followers of AIM (American Indian Movement ) raise their fists to swear the Red Power oath.

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American Indian Movement (AIM)

The ‘Termination Policy’ and AIM’s Origins In the first half of the 20th century, the federal government imposed a higher degree of control over Indian lands, with the intention of breaking up tribes and assimilating their members into American cities. “Termination policy” became federal law in 1953, as Congress formally ended its recognition of more than […]

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The Battle of Little Bighorn.

American Indian Wars: Timeline

17th Century  Jamestown Massacre: March 22, 1622 As part of the decades-long Powhatan Wars, Powhatan Chief Opechancanough led an attack that left nearly 350 of some 1,200 colonists dead. The English retaliated, attacking Native American villages, raiding and destroying crops and forcing them from their land. Pequot War: 1636-37 With the British competing to control […]

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Native American History Timeline

Long before Christopher Columbus stepped foot on what would come to be known as the Americas, the expansive territory was inhabited by Native Americans. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, as more explorers sought to colonize their land, Native Americans responded in various stages, from cooperation to indignation to revolt. After siding with the French […]

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Native American Encampment - Lakota Indians UNITED STATES - CIRCA 1890: Bird's-eye view of a Lakota camp (several teepees and wagons in large field)--probably on or near Pine Ridge Reservation. (Photo by Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

Indian Reservations

Treaty of Hopewell In 1785, the Treaty of Hopewell was signed in Georgia—the largest state at the time—placing the native Cherokees under the protection of a young United States and setting boundaries for their land. But it wasn’t long before European settlers intruded on Cherokee land. The Cherokees cried foul and revolted against the white […]

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Detail of illustration depicting Native American Squanto (a.k.a. Tisquantum), of the Patuxet tribe, serving as guide and interpreter for the Pilgrims at the Plymouth Colony, circa 1621.

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Who Was Squanto, and What Was His Role in the First Thanksgiving?

Without Squanto, a.k.a. Tisquantum, to interpret and guide them to food sources, the Plymouth Colony Pilgrims may have never have survived.

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October 1813: Death of Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, at the Battle of Thames in the War of 1812.

Why the War of 1812 Was a Turning Point for Native Americans

The conflict was their last, best chance for outside military help to protect their homelands from westward expansion.

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Four Alaska Territorial Guardsmen being sworn in for an assignment in Barrow, Alaska.

How Native Americans Protected Alaska During WWII

After the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands, Indigenous volunteers helped form the Alaska Territorial Guard.

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Sequoyah, shown here in 1825, developed a Cherokee syllabary in 12 years.

How a Cherokee Leader Ensured His People’s Language Survived

Sequoyah spent 12 years working on a writing system for his nation’s language.

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This Day in History


Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American elected to the U.S. Senate

Native American History
1924

Congress enacts the Indian Citizenship Act

Native American History
1973

AIM occupation of Wounded Knee begins

Native American History
1877

Crazy Horse fights last battle

Native American History
1912

Jim Thorpe begins Olympic triathlon

Sports
1805

Sacagawea gives birth to her first child

Native American History
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