Chronology of American Indian History

P

Unity: Journalists of Color, a national organization
of minority journalists, hesitated to hold its 2008
convention in the city because of the ban.

“[T]here [will] be a Guard ap-

pointed at the end of the said

Town [Boston] towards Rox-

bury, to hinder the coming in

of any Indian, until Application

be first made to the Gover-

nor, or Council if fitting, and

to be... remanded back with

the same Guard, not to be suf-

fered to lodge in Town, unless

in Prison.”

—From a 1675 law prohibiting

Indians from entering Boston

June 4

The Bosque Redondo Memorial is dedicated.
At Bosque Redondo, where the Navajo (Dineh) and
Mescalero Apache were imprisoned from 1863 to
1868 (see entries for FEBRUARY TO MARCH 1864
and for JUNE 1868), New Mexico opens a new me-
morial to commemorate this tragic episode. The
opening is attended by hundreds, including Na-
vajo and Mescalero Apache leaders. Designed by a
Navajo architect, the memorial features a visitor’s
center with an elevated entrance that faces the rising
sun. Inside is an exhibition space for photographs
and artifacts from the Bosque Redondo period.

June 28

Circuit Court rules against Cayuga land
claims.
By a two-to-one ruling, the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court
of Appeals dismisses the land claims suit of the Ca-
yuga Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga

Tribe of Oklahoma. For 25 years, the Cayuga have

fought in court for land illegally taken from them

by the state of New York in the late 18th and early

19th centuries. The Circuit Court bases its ruling on

the recent Supreme Court finding in City of Sherrill

v. Oneida Indian Nation (see entry for MARCH 29,

2005) and holds that too much time has passed for

the Cayuga to sue the state for damages. New York

governor George Pataki, who had been negotiating

a settlement with the Cayuga, declares the decision

“a tremendous victory for the property owners and

taxpayers in central New York.”

In September 2005, the Cayuga’s request for a

full panel of the 2nd Circuit Court to reconsider

the ruling will be denied. The rejection will open

the way for the Cayuga to appeal the court’s deci-

sion to the Supreme Court.

August

The National Collegiate Athletic Association

bans postseason Indian mascots.

The executive committee of the National Collegiate

Athletic Association (NCAA) announces a ban on

the use of “hostile or abusive” Indian mascots and

nicknames during postseason championship tour-

naments. The NCAA also prohibits these images on

the uniforms of any teams participating. The ruling

will affect at least 18 schools, which will be granted

the opportunity to appeal the decision. Some teams

with Indian nicknames will not be subject to the

rule. For instances, schools that use the name

“Warrior” and employ Indian symbols will not be

affected. (See also entry for AUGUST 23, 2005.)

August 10

Pueblo tribe members protest

Albuquerque’s Tricentennial.

At the New Mexico capitol, tribe members from

Taos, San Ildenfonso, and Santa Ana Pueblo gather

to protest Albuquerque’s celebration of its tricen-

tennial. They are also critical of a plan to erect in

El Paso, Texas, a four-story statue of Don Juan de

Oñate, the Spanish conquistador who subdued