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1492
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus thought he had reached India. The European colonists followed Christopher and called the natives “Indians" due to them believing they had reached India. The Europeans believed they were superior to the "Indians" -
Promises
The new U.S. government began a series of promises to Native Americans. These promises guaranteed them safety, sovereignty, resources and their homelands. The government seldom kept the promises. -
"The Trail of Tears"
Thousands of Native Americans were forced from their ancestral lands onto specially designated “reservations” that were often barren wastelands. In 1838, the Cherokee Nation was forcibly relocated from Georgia to Oklahoma. During the journey, 4,000 Cherokees died on what came to be called “The Trail of Tears.” -
Indian Appropriations Act
Congress passes the Indian Appropriations Act, creating the Indian reservation system. Native Americans aren’t allowed to leave their reservations without permission. -
Indian Citizenship Act
The Indian Citizenship Act conferred citizenship to Indians born in the country. The ratification of the 14th amendment, making all those who were born here U.S. citizens, did not clarify citizenship for Indians. Congress enacted the Indian Citizenship Act after 10,000 Native Americans had served in the military during World War I. They were granted citizenship under limited circumstances such as marrying a U.S. citizen, serving in the military, or through treaties. -
1st Native American VP
Charles Curtis serves as the first Native American U.S. Vice President under President Herbert Hoover -
The Voting Rights Act
VRA prohibited discrimination on the basis of race and color, and the extension of the act in 1975 provided additional protection and assistance to language minorities. This legislation was significant because states used literacy tests and poll taxes as barriers to Indian voting despite their eligibility under the Indian Citizenship Act. -
American Indian Movement
AIM is a Native American advocacy group, bringing attention to such issues as treaty rights, living conditions, and racism -
Indian Civil Rights Act
signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, granting Native American tribes many of the benefits included in the Bill of Rights -
Religious Freedom Act
enacted to protect and preserve the traditional religious rights of American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, and Native Hawaiians