Chronology of American Indian History

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Following Ziolkowski’s death in 1982, his
widow and children will take over the project,
which is projected to continue well into the 21st
century. The work is funded largely by admission
fees paid by the thousands of tourists who visit the
site every year.

“The purpose of Crazy Horse

is noble. There are many peo-

ple who do not see its nobility

at present, and even in your

time—and maybe in your chil-

dren’s time—the vision of Crazy

Horse might be clouded to

some people; but if you wish to

dedicate your life as to carry out

my dreams... they will then also

be your dreams some day.”

—Crazy Horse memorial sculptor

Korczak Ziolkowski in a 1952

letter to his children

August

The Oahe Dam floods two Lakota Sioux
reservations.
As part of the federal government’s damming of the
Missouri River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
builds the Oahe Dam near Pierre, South Dakota. The
project floods more than 160,000 acres on the Lakota
Sioux’s Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Reserva-
tions. The flooded area includes the Lakota’s best
rangeland and farms and most of their timberlands.

1949

The Gilcrease Museum opens.
Owner of the Gilcrease Oil Company, Creek busi-
nessman Thomas Gilcrease establishes the Gilcrease

Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to its

corporate charter, the museum is “devoted to the

preservation for public use and enjoyment the artis-

tic, cultural, and historical records of the American

Indian.” The institution will eventually house one

of the largest collections of Native American art and

artifacts in the world.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs creates 11

area offices.

To streamline its organization, the Bureau of In-

dian Affairs establishes 11 area offices throughout

the country. Each area office is given responsibil-

ity for operating programs and performing routine

administrative tasks, freeing the central office in

Washington, D.C., to focus on larger policy issues.

The Hoover Commission advocates

Termination and Relocation.

Charged with improving efficiency in the U.S. gov-

ernment, the Hoover Commission, headed by former

president Herbert Hoover, recommends the “dis-

continuance of all specialized Indian activity on the

part of the federal government.” As a necessary step

toward fully assimilating Indians, the commission

suggests that programs administered by the Bureau

of Indian Affairs be transferred to other federal agen-

cies or made the responsibility of state governments.

It also promotes the Termination of tribal status and

Relocation of reservation Indians to urban areas—the

two goals that, to the detriment of Indian people, will

come to dominate federal Indian policy in the 1950s

(see entries for 1952 and for AUGUST 1, 1953).

1950

Jim Thorpe is named the greatest athlete of

the half-century.

In an Associated Press poll, 381 sportwriters and

sportscasters are asked to name the best all-around

athlete of the past 50 years. Olympic champion (see

entry for SUMMER 1912), football phenomenon,

and member of the Sac and Fox tribe Jim Thorpe

is far and away the winner. He is the first choice of

252 respondents, while baseball great Babe Ruth,