P
Mormon missionaries arrive among the
Catawba.
Soon after their arrival on the Catawba’s South
Carolina reservation, representatives of the Mor-
mon church find a large number of willing
converts. The Catawba are attracted to Mormon-
ism in part because, like themselves, the Mormons
are discriminated against by their white neighbors.
The missionaries also help establish schools for
the Indians, who are barred from attending either
white or black institutions in the area. Over the
following decades, Mormonism will prove such a
compelling force that it will help unify and revital-
ize the tribe.
Sarah Winnemucca’s Life among the Piutes
is published.
The first book published in English by an Ameri-
can Indian woman, Life among the Piutes combines
a tribal history of the Northern Paiute with the
autobiography of its author, Sarah Winnemucca.
Winnemucca publishes the book to raise funds for
an eastern lecture tour. Winnemucca tells her audi-
ences, primarily wealthy whites, of the plight of her
people, who were forced to leave their homeland
following the Bannock War (see entry for MAY TO
SEPTEMBER 1878). During the war, Winnemucca
served as an interpreter for General Oliver O.
Howard, who led U.S. troops against Bannock and
Northern Paiute (Numu) rebels.
April 10
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) creates
Courts of Indian Offenses.
Intended to punish Indians who violate a ban on
holding traditional religious ceremonies such as
the Sun Dance, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
establishes Courts of Indian Offenses on reserva-
tions. In the past, most reservation disputes were
informally settled by non-Indian agents. The new
courts allow the three highest-ranking members of
a reservation’s police force (see entry for 1878) to
try residents for minor offenses. Recognizing the
inherent conflict in policemen serving as judges,
Congress will soon provide funds for hiring three
Indian judges for each tribal court.
Among the offenses the Indian courts are
charged to try is the performance of what Secre-
tary of the Interior H. M. Teller refers to as “old
heathenish dances.” Teller holds that in addition to
being un-Christian, traditional ceremonies “stimu-
late the warlike passions” and are therefore a threat
to the peace.May 17“Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” premieres.
Masterminded by William “Buffalo Bill” Cody
(see entry for JULY 17, 1876), “Buffalo Bill’s Wild
West and Congress of the Rough Riders” opens in
Omaha, Nebraska. The show is one of about 50
traveling productions featuring sharpshooting, trick
riding, and dramatic recreations of events in Ameri-
can history, particularly famous battles between the
U.S. Army and Plains Indians.“A Host of Western Celebri-
ties; A Camp of Cheyenne,
Arapahoe, Sioux and Pawnee
Indians; A Group of Mexican
Vaqueros; Round-up of West-
ern Cow-Boys; Company of
Prairie Scouts; A Herd of Wild
Buffalos; A Corral of Indian
Ponies; A Band of Mountain
Elk; A Drove of Texas Steers;
Pack-Train of Mexican Bur-
ros; Mountain Lions, Coyottes,
Deer, Antelope, Mountain
Sheep, etc.”
—attractions on an
1886 program for
“Buffalo Bill’s Wild West”