Chronology of American Indian History

Black Hills An area of forested mountains in southwestern South Dakota

and northeastern Wyoming that is sacred to several Plains Indian tribes, in-

cluding the Lakota Sioux, who consider it their people’s birthplace. In the

1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, the United States recognized the Black Hills as

Lakota territory but moved to take control over the area when gold was discov-

ered there six years later. The Lakota have continued to battle in the courts for

the return of the Black Hills.

Bureau of American Ethnology An organization established by the U.S.

government in 1879 to gather information about American Indian peoples

and cultures. The bureau’s annual reports exerted an enormous influence over

the study of Indian history and anthropology.

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) The federal agency charged with oversee-

ing the U.S. government’s dealings with Indian groups. Established in 1824

under the War Department, the BIA was transferred to the Department of the

Interior in 1849.

Code Talkers Indian soldiers in the U.S. military who used codes based on

their native languages to transmit sensitive messages. The most distinguished

Code Talkers were Choctaw troops serving in World War I and Navajo (Dineh)

soldiers serving in World War II.

commissioner of Indian affairs The head administrator of the Bureau of

Indian Affairs, the agency responsible for handling all of the United States’s

dealings with Indians. In 1977, the position was renamed assistant secretary

of Indian affairs.

encomienda A land grant in North America given to a Spanish colonist by

the Spanish Crown. Encomienda owners routinely enslaved the natives on their

lands and forced them to perform hard labor, often working them to death.

Instituted in 1512, the encomienda system stayed in effect for more than 200

years.

federal recognition Formal acknowledgment from the U.S. government

that a group is an Indian tribe, thus entitled to the services and benefits re-

served for that group. For instance, membership in a federally recognized tribe

may entitle a person to special health or education benefits, the right to hunt

or fish in a specific area, or a portion of land claim awards or other tribal

income.

Five Civilized Tribes The Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, Choctaw, and Chick-

saw tribes. These Indian groups, whose original homelands were located in the

Southeast, were considered by whites to be more “civilized” than other Indians

because of their early adoption of certain non-Indian customs.

Chronology of American Indian History