Chronology of American Indian History

1847

A statue of the Mohegan leader Uncas is
dedicated.
In Norwich, Connecticut, a statue of Mohegan
chief Uncas (see entry for 1643) is erected. It is the
first monument dedicated to an Indian by whites.
Uncas supported the colonists during the Pequot
War (see entry for MAY 25, 1637) and King Phil-
ip’s War (see entry for LATE JUNE 1675) during the
17th century. Although celebrated in James Feni-
more Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans (see entry
for 1826), Uncas was condemned among his own
people for selfishness and dishonesty.

November 29

The Cayuse attack the Whitman mission.
For more than 10 years, the Cayuse of Oregon
Territory have abided the presence of Presbyterian
missionaries in the village of Waiilatpu. The mis-
sion there was founded by Marcus Whitman (see
entry for 1836), whose fanatical efforts to convert
the Cayuse earns the Indians’ disdain.
When several children attending the mission
school contract measles, starting an epidemic within
the tribe, the Cayuse blame Whitman. Warriors at-
tack the mission, killing Whitman, his wife Narcissa,
and 10 others. A volunteer militia sent to punish the
killers stages attacks on Cayuse who had nothing to
do with the mission murders. As a result, the Cay-
use wage their own campaign against the whites and
attempt, largely unsuccessfully, to bring other tribes
into the fray. Skirmishes between the Cayuse forces
and the militia will continue throughout the next
two years. (See also entry for JUNE 8, 1850.)

1848

Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley
is published.
The newly founded Smithsonian Institution pub-
lishes Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, by
Ephraim G. Squier and Edwin H. Davis. The first

major work on the archaeology of North America,

the monograph provides an account of Squier and

Davis’s study of burial mounds made by ancient

Indians in Ohio (see entries for CA. 1000 B.C. TO

A.D. 200; CA. 200 B.C. TO A.D. 400; and CA. 700

TO 1550). Some of the mounds they discuss will

later be destroyed by looters, thereby making the

writers’ description the only surviving record of the

mounds’ existence.

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs

proposes Indian “colonies.”

In his annual report to the president, Commissioner

of Indian Affairs William Merrill proposes the cre-

ation of “colonies”—lands with specific borders in

which Indians could be contained. Merrill’s concept

is an early articulation of the Reservation policy that

will dominate U.S. Indian affairs by 1860. The policy

will seek to move Indians to well-defined reservations,

where they can be compelled to give up Indian ways

and be trained to live as settled, Christian farmers.

The Allegany and Cattaraugus Seneca adopt

a written constitution.

Since several hereditary chiefs sold Seneca land

against the wishes of the tribe (see entry for 1838),

the Seneca’s confidence in their traditional form of

government has been shaken. To ensure their chiefs

will not make any more unauthorized land sales,

the Seneca on the Allegany and Cattaraugus Res-

ervations draft a written constitution that allows

them to elect their leaders.

The Qualla Cherokee receive a settlement

from the U.S. government.

The state of North Carolina petitions the federal

government for monies owed to the Qualla Chero-

kee. These Cherokee, who live near Quallatown,

North Carolina, avoided traveling west on the Trail

of Tears (see entries for MAY 1838 and for MARCH

1839) because they owned their own land outside

of tribal territory. Due to the persistence of Wil-

liam H. Thomas, a white man who was adopted by

a Qualla chief as a boy, North Carolina convinces

the United States to give every Qualla the $53.33