Chronology of American Indian History

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1817

The “Old Settler” Cherokee begin relocating
to the West.
Frustrated by the harassment of white settlers,
thousands of Cherokee cede lands in Georgia in
exchange for lands west of the Mississippi River.
These Cherokee, later known as the Old Settlers,
are the first to leave their homeland. Unlike the
Cherokee, who will be forcibly removed to Indian
Territory (now Oklahoma) on the Trail of Tears (see
entry for MAY 1838), the Old Settlers are allowed
to take their possessions with them. Many conflicts
will later arise out of tension between the relatively
prosperous Old Settlers and the ill and impoverished
Cherokee who arrive in the West decades later.

1818

March

Creek leader Josiah Francis is executed.
A military leader during the Creek War (see entry
for JULY 17, 1813), Josiah Francis is lured onto a
ship flying a British flag docked near the post at St.
Mark’s, in present-day northern Florida. It is, in
fact, an American gunboat under General Andrew
Jackson. He orders Francis’s execution in retalia-
tion for his warriors’ attacks against soldiers under
Jackson during the war (see entry for MARCH 17,
1814).

1819

Two Kickapoo bands resist removal.
The treaties of Edwardsville and Fort Harrison call
for the relocation of the Kickapoo from their Il-
linois homeland to lands in the West. Two bands,
one led by Chief Mecina and another headed by
Kennekuk, refuse to obey the treaty terms. Some of
Mecina’s people will join Black Hawk’s rebel troops
(see entry for APRIL TO AUGUST 1832), while the
rest, after years of looting white settlements, will

finally be convinced to leave by military threats and

diplomatic persuasion. By trying to maintain peace-

ful relations with whites, Kennekuk’s band will be

able to resist removal for four more years (see entry

for 1833).

Spain cedes Florida to the United States.

Fearing that Spanish Florida (what is now Florida

and portions of Alabama and Georgia) will suffer

increased attacks by U.S. forces (see entry for SUM-

MER 1816), Spain reluctantly agrees to sell it to

the United States. The cession threatens Indians in

Florida, whom the U.S. government wants to move

to lands in the West.

March 3

Congress establishes the “civilization fund.”

Congress passes a law allocating $10,000 to em-

ploy whites to teach Indian adults to farm using

non-Indian methods and to establish schools to in-

struct Indian children to read and write in English.

“[F]or the purpose of provid-

ing against the further decline

and final extinction of the In-

dian tribes... the President

of the United States shall be

[authorized]... to employ ca-

pable persons of good moral

character, to instruct them in

the mode of agriculture suited

to their situation; and for teach-

ing their children in reading,

writing, and arithmetic.”

—from the Civilization Fund Act

Known as the “civilization fund,” the money is primar-

ily used to finance schools overseen by missionaries

already working to convert Indian groups. Initially,