Chronology of American Indian History

P

“[W]hen she reached the

threshold, it was to hear a

gunshot, to see Alessandro

fall to the ground, to see, in

the same second, a ruffianly

man leap from his horse, and

standing over Alessandro’s

body, fire his pistol again,

once, twice, into the forehead,

cheek.... As he rode away,

he shook his fist at Ramona,

who was kneeling on the

ground, striving to lift Ales-

sandro’s head, and to staunch

the blood flowing from the

ghastly wounds. ‘That’ll teach

you damned Indians to leave

off stealing our horses!’ he

cried, and with another volley

of ter-rible oaths was out of

sight.”

—from Helen Hunt Jackson’s

novel Ramona

The Canadian parliament passes the Indian
Advancement Act.
The Indian Advancement Act sets forth provi-
sions that will make the governments of assimilated
Indian bands function like municipalities. The law
gives band councils greater power to levy taxes,
punish perpetrators of minor crimes, and control
health care. The act also reduces the number of band
councilors to six and calls for annual elections. Its
most controversial provision allows representatives
of the Canadian government to depose any council
members deemed dishonest or immoral and prohibits
bands from immediately reelecting leaders removed
from their posts.

April 19

Canada outlaws the potlatch ceremony.

Under pressure from missionaries, the Canadian

government makes it illegal for Indians living along

the Pacific Coast to hold potlatches. In these tra-

ditional ceremonies, a wealthy family hosts a great

feast and further demonstrates its generosity by

distributing gifts to its guests. The increasingly

elaborate gift giving, which plays a crucial role in

the social and economic structure of these Indians’

villages, is held suspect by missionaries and govern-

ment officials, who feel the tradition is incompatible

with Western concepts of personal property.

September 1

The United States Industrial Training School

opens.

Located in Lawrence, Kansas, the United States

Industrial Training School (renamed the Haskell In-

stitute in 1894) admits its first class of 14 students.

Like other Indian boarding schools operated by the

Bureau of Indian Affairs, the school encourages as-

similation by teaching students to abandon Indian

ways and adopt non-Indian customs and beliefs in

their place (see entry for AUTUMN 1879).

By the late 20th century, Haskell will be-

come one of the largest Indian colleges. Renamed

Haskell Indian Nations University in 1993, the

institution will promote Indian sovereignty and

self-determination among its approximately

100,000 students.

1885

William W. Warren’s History of the Ojibways

is published.

History of the Ojibways, Based upon Traditions and

Oral Statements, by Minnesota state legislator Wil-

liam W. Warren, is published more than 30 years

after his death. The son of a white trader and a

French-Ojibway woman, Warren interviewed Ojib-

way elders to research the one-volume history.