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Indian Intercourse Act or Indian Nonintercourse Act
This is when Congress created Indian Territory in the west. The area was set aside for Indians who were removed from their ancestral land. This ancestral land was then settled by individuals who were not Indians. -
Johnson vs. McIntosh Supreme Court Decision
This was a decision that made Indian tribes have no power to grant lands to anyone besides the federal government. The government had control of all tribal lands because of the "doctrine of discovery". This doctrine meant that whoever discovered the lands, got the title of the land. This took aways Indian rights to complete sovereignty. -
Trail of Tears
Almost 16,000 Cherokee Indians were forced to move from their land. They made and 800 mile march to Oklahoma where around 4,000 Cherokee died during this process. -
Homestead Act
In 1862, the Homestead Act was passed. The Homestead Act made western land belonging to Indians become available to individuals that are not Indian Americans. This act marked the start of many people migrating to Indian lands for non-Indian settlement. -
President Johnson's Veto
In 1866, President Johnson gets overrode by Congress about his decision to veto the Civil Rights Bill. This gave equal rights to everyone born in the United States, except for Indians. -
Sioux Sign an Agreement
The Sioux sign an agreement with the U.S. government that breaks up the Sioux Reservation into six different small reservations. Most of their land was then opened to settlers. -
Indian Citizenship Act
The Indian Citizenship Act made sure that all American Indians were citizens and had voting rights. Some Indians did not want to become U.S. citizens and maintained their tribal membership. -
Relocation
Unemployment among American Indians was a prominent problem at this time. In order to try and decrease the number of American Indians who were unemployed, the BIA enacted the Relocation Policy to try and persuade Indians to relocate to urban areas. This was the first attempt to mainstream the Indian population and it ended up failing. -
"The Lakota Times"
On July 9th, 1981, "The Lakota Times" is first published. This was a tiny Native American newspaper that started because an Indian Reservation in South Dakota had no newspaper. It was named "The Lakota Times" because it was for the Lakota people. It ended up becoming the largest weekly newspaper in the state of South Dakota. -
National American Indian Heritage Month
In 1996, President Clinton declared November of each year to be National American Indian Heritage month.