Chronology of American Indian History

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1913

Jesse Cornplanter illustrates The Code of
Handsome Lake.
A Seneca artist known for his drawings of Iroquois
history and mythology, Jesse Cornplanter creates a
series of illustrations for The Code of Handsome Lake,
A Seneca Prophet. Compiled by Cornplanter’s father
and the ethnologist Alfred C. Parker, the book is
a treatise about the code of conduct espoused by
Handsome Lake, who founded the Longhouse Reli-
gion in the early 19th century (see entry for 1799).
Cornplanter began his artistic career at age nine,
when he was commissioned by New York State to
draw sketches of traditional Iroquois life. Other ex-
amples of his work were published in Iroquois Games
and Dances (1913) and Iroquois Uses of Maize and
Other Food Plants (1910). (See also entry for APRIL
TO OCTOBER 1939.)

United States v. Sandoval affirms federal
supervision of Indian tribes.
In United States v. Sandoval, a white man named
Sandoval is accused of selling alcohol to Pueblo In-
dians in New Mexico in violation of a federal law
forbidding liquor sales in “Indian country” (see entry
for JULY 23, 1892). Sandoval argues the Pueblo are
too assimilated to be considered residents of a “de-
pendent Indian community” and that therefore this
law cannot be applied to their lands. The Supreme
Court disagrees and finds that, as “a simple, unin-
formed and inferior people,” the Pueblo still require
the protection of the federal government. Notwith-
standing its condescending language, the decision
is a victory for Indians in that it confirms that their
lands are subject only to federal law and are not
under state jurisdiction.

The U.S. Mint issues the Indian-head nickel.
Issued supposedly to honor Indians, the Indian-head
nickel features the head of a Plains Indian man in
profile on one side and a buffalo on the reverse—with
the clear implication that Indians, like buffalo, are a
dying breed. The Indian profile, designed by famed
sculptor James Earle Fraser (see entry for 1915), is a
composite of the features of 13 Indian leaders.

The Chiricahua Apache return to the

Southwest.

After the surrender of Geronimo’s Chiricahua

Apache followers (see entry for MARCH TO SEPTEM-

BER 1886), the U.S. Army treated them as prisoners

of war. They were sent to live first at Fort Marion

in Florida, then at the Mount Vernon Barracks in

Alabama, and finally at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.

After being imprisoned for 17 years, they are

at last given the chance to return to the Southwest

by the U.S. government. While one-third opt to re-

main at Fort Sill, the majority of the prisoners agree

to move to the Mescalero Apache’s reservation in

south-central New Mexico. Although initially the

Chiricahua settle in their own area, over time they

will become a powerful force in reservation politics.

January

Jim Thorpe is stripped of his Olympic medals.

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) decides that

Jim Thorpe, a Sac and Fox Indian, was a professional

athlete when he participated in the 1912 Olym-

pics (see entry for SUMMER 1912). As a result, he

is asked to return the gold medals he won after his

“I did not play for the mon-

ey... but because I liked to play

ball. I was not wise in the ways

of the world and did not realize

this was wrong, and that it would

make me a professional in track

sports.... I have always liked

sports and only played or run

races for the fun of the things

and never to earn money.”

—Jim Thorpe in a letter to the

Amateur Athletic Union, asking

the organization not to revoke

his amateur status