Today in History ARCHIVES
Understanding the Present by Honoring our Past began November 1, 2002

History Archives 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

JANUARY / FEBRUARY / MARCH / APRIL / MAY / JUNE / JULY / AUGUST / SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER

Thursday, December 28, 2006

On this day in 1835, the Second Seminole War began. Seminole leader Osceola led his forces in the battle of Withlacoochee in Florida.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

During this week in 1985, Congress passed the Quarter Blood Amendment Act. Students have to be a quarter or more from any federally recognized tribe to attend a Bureau of Indian Affairs school.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

On this day in 1854, tribal leaders signed the Treaty of Medicine Creek with the U.S. government. The treaty granted the territory of Washington more than 2-million acres of tribal land. It set up reservations for many tribes in the area. Fishing rights were also secured for nearly 10 Puget Sound tribes.

Monday, December 25, 2006

During this week in 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men where hanged in Minnesota. They were accused of stealing eggs from white settlers to feed their starving families.

Friday, December 22, 2006

On this day in 1973, The Menominee Restoration Act was signed into law. The Wisconsin tribe’s recognition was terminated nearly 20 years earlier by the federal government.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

On this day in 1980, Chaco Culture National Historic Park was designated. It’s located just outside the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. The canyon contains many ancient ruins.

Monday, December 18, 2006

On this day in 1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was signed into law. It extinguished all aboriginal title to land and water in Alaska. It led to the establishment of Native corporations in the state.

Friday, December 15, 2006

During this week in 1852, Ned Christie was born in Oklahoma. The Cherokee citizen was elected as a tribal senator. He was falsely accused of killing a U.S. Marshal and became the most wanted fugitive in the territory.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

During this week in 1970, President Richard Nixon endorsed the official signing ceremony for the return of Blue Lake to the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico. The lake was taken in the early 1900's by the U.S. government.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

During this week in 1987, Congress established the "Trail of Tears" National Historical Trail. It follows the routes taken by Cherokees who were forcibly removed from North Carolina to Oklahoma.

Monday, December 11, 2006

During this week in 1991, a monument in Montana was renamed the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.

Friday, December 8, 2006

On this day in 1829, in his State of the Union Address, President Andrew Jackson proposed the Indian Removal Act to relocate Indians in the southeastern part of the U.S. to lands west of the Mississippi River.

Thursday, December 7, 2006

On this day in 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and the U.S. entered World War II. Japanese-Americans were placed in internment camps, as well as Alaska Natives from the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands.

Wednesday, December 6, 2006

On this day in 1960, the Arctic National Wildlife Range was created in Alaska, north of the Arctic Circle. It was renamed the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Today, more than 19-million acres of land are protected and many Alaska Natives disagree on oil drilling in the range.

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

During this week in 1973, Shirley Plume was appointed as Bureau of Indian Affairs Agency Superintendent for the Standing Rock Reservation of North and South Dakota. The Oglala Sioux member was the first Native woman in the nation to hold such a title.

Monday, December 4, 2006

On this day in 1947, Carl Huntington was born in Alaska. The Athabascan man from Galena, won the second ever Iditarod race in 1974. It took Huntington 20 days and 15 hours to finish the race.

Friday, December 1, 2006

On this day in 1958, Alaska Native civil rights leader Elizabeth Peratrovich died. The Tlingit women helped get the first anti-discrimination law passed in the state.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

During this week in 1864, the Sand Creek Massacre took place in south-eastern Colorado. U.S. soldiers slaughtered more than 150 Cheyenne and Arapahoe people.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

On this day in 1949, the Alaska Native Medical Center opened in Anchorage. It provides care for more than 200 tribes in the state.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

On this day in 1922, Stella Martin was born in Kake, Alaska. Martin was an important Tlingit spokesperson, a leader of the Alaska Native Sisterhood and the Sealaska Heritage Foundation. She passed away in 2002.

Monday, November 27, 2006

During this week in 1884, 756 square miles of land was set-aside for the Northern Cheyenne people. The reservation is located in south-central Montana. It’s made up of valleys, plateaus, rivers, streams, and prairies. The area accommodates farming and ranching, which helps the economy of the tribe.

Friday, November 24, 2006

During this month in 1989, Congress enacted the National Museum of the American Indian Act. It required the museum to inventory, document, and repatriate human remains and funerary and cultural objects to federally recognized Native American tribes who request the items.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

On this day in 1939, the constitution and bylaws were ratified for the Nome Eskimo Community, under the Indian Reorganization Act. Alaska Natives from the Bering Strait Region formed the community.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

On this day in 1917, the Mountain Village reserve with nearly 1,300 acres was created by Executive Order. The Yup’ik village is located on the north bank of the Yukon River, nearly 500 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

On this day in 1993, Athabascan Chief Walter Northway died in Northway, Alaska. He was well known for hunting and providing for his people. The village was named in his honor. Chief Northway lived to be 117 and he was one of the last Athabascan elders who recalled what life was like before contact with non-Native people.

Monday, November 20, 2006

During this week in 1880, the Havasupai Reservation was established in the western part of the Grand Canyon. The reservation was initially 60-square miles. Two years later it was reduced to less than one-square mile to accommodate mining interests in the area. It took more than 90 years for the tribe to get their land back.

Friday, November 17, 2006

On this day in 2004, Navajo Code Talker Samuel Billison died in Window Rock, Arizona. Billison transmitted messages in his traditional language during World War II. He received the Silver Medal of Honor.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

During this week in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians was established. It monitors federal policies. Today, there are more than 200 member tribes.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

During this week in 1990, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was signed into law. NAGPRA provides a process for museums and federal agencies to return certain Native American sacred items, human remains, and cultural and funerary objects to tribes.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

During this week in 1907, Oklahoma Territory combined with Indian Territory to become the 46th state. Today, there are more than 30 tribes in Oklahoma.

Monday, November 13, 2006

During this week in 1993, sisters Mary and Carrie Dann received the "Right Livelihood Award." For more than forty years they helped their tribe, the Western Shoshone, fight for land rights. The award is widely known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize."

Tuesday, November 7, 2006

During this week in 1969, the second occupation of Alcatraz Island in California took place. It was led by Mohawk Native Richard Oakes. He set out on a chartered boat with a group of Native American college students. They claimed the island for Indians and represented themselves as "Indians of all tribes."

Friday, November 3, 2006

During this week in 1912, the Alaska Native Brotherhood was established. It helps preserve Native culture in Alaska.

Thursday, November 2, 2006

On this day in 1966, the Fur Seal Act became law. It prohibited the killing of fur seals to help protect the animal. Exceptions were made for Alaska Natives living on the coasts of the North Pacific Ocean and the Pribilof Islands.

Wednesday, November 1, 2006

During this week in 1992, Ben Nighthorse Campbell became the first Native American to serve in the U.S. Senate in more than 60-years. The Northern Cheyenne tribal member represented the State of Colorado. He served three terms and retired in 2004.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

During this week in 1986, the National War Monument was dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery. It was the first national memorial honoring Native Americans who served in the military.

Monday, October 30, 2006

During this week in 1978, the Education Amendments Act was passed by Congress. The Act established standards for educating American Indian children. It also restructured the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ educational functions.

Friday, October 20, 2006

During this week in 1983, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation received its federal recognition status. The Connecticut tribe's recognition was made possible when President Ronald Reagan amended their Indian Land Claims Settlement Act.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

During this week in 1992, Rigoberta Menchu, an outspoken Indian rights activist from Guatemala won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

On this day in 1899, a stolen Tlingit totem pole was erected in Pioneer Square in Seattle, Washington. It was stolen from Alaska by some Seattle citizens who claimed the village was deserted.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

On this day in 1972, the Cook Inlet Region Corporation was established for the Village of Eklutna. The Athabascan village is located northeast of Anchorage, Alaska.

Monday, October 16, 2006

During this week in 1988, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress. It established standards and federal regulations for gaming. The Act also protected gaming as a means of generating tribal revenue.

Friday, October 13, 2006

During this week in 1913, Aleut, John “Benny” Benson was born in Chignik, Alaska. Benson developed the design of Alaska’s state flag when he was in seventh grade.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

On this day in 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on what he called the New World. The Taino people were the first Natives to meet Columbus on an island in the Bahamas. Columbus called the island San Salvador. The arrival of Columbus to the western hemisphere forever changed the lives of Indigenous people.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

On this day in 1996, KNBA the first urban all-Native radio station went on the air in Anchorage, Alaska. It’s owned by Koahnic Broadcast Corporation. National Native News is also a KBC program.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

On this day in 1894, dozens of Hopi men defied U.S. government agents by planting wheat in fields they claimed as their aboriginal lands. Nineteen of the men were found guilty of rebelling and were sent to prison on Alcatraz Island for nearly a year.

Monday, October 9, 2006

On this day in 1987, Seminole Chief James E. Billie was acquitted of state charges for killing an endangered panther. Billie killed, skinned and ate the panther in Florida, nearly four years earlier. He argued religious freedom and treaty rights.

Friday, October 6, 2006

On this day in 1986, the U.S. Congress designated the Nez Perce Historical Trail. The Nez Perce took the 1,170-mile long trail while fleeing from the U.S. Army in the late 1800’s.

Thursday, October 5, 2006

On this day in 1979, the Kijik Coproation was established for the Village of Nondalton. The Athabascan community is located nearly 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006

On this day in 1990, the Indian Environmental Regulatory Enhancement Act became law. It authorized grants to help tribes regulate environmental quality on tribal lands.

Tuesday, October 3, 2006

During this week in 1920, Rika Murphy was born in Kenai, Alaska. She was the first Chief of the Kenaitze Indian Tribe. Murphy also served as President of the Salamatof Native Association and was a founding member of the Alaska Native Health Board.

Monday, October 2, 2006

During this week in 1873, Modoc Chief “Captain Jack” was hanged in Klamath, Oregon. He killed a Civil War General in order to keep his people from relocating to a reservation.

Friday, September 29, 2006

During this week in 1971, the Tanana Chiefs Conference was incorporated to offer services for the villages of Interior Alaska.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

During this week in 1973, the U.S. House Interior Committee approved the Menominee Restoration bill. The legislation reestablished federal recognition of the Menominee Indians in Wisconsin.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

During this week in 1839, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma passed a law allowing intermarriage between Cherokee women and white men. The law protected a Cherokee woman's assets. It stated that no white man could claim his wife's property if the marriage ended.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

During this week in 1841, Billy Caldwell a Potawatomi Chief died in Iowa. Caldwell was also a secretary to Tecumseh and a liaison to the British government.

Monday, September 25, 2006

During this week in 1973, well-known Inuit photographer, artist and historian died in Northern Canada. Peter Pitseolak is best known for capturing traditional Inuit life.

Friday, September 22, 2006

During this week in 1904, Chief Joseph died. The Nez Perce chief fought to preserve his homeland in the Pacific Northwest. Chief Joseph was renowned as a humanitarian and peacemaker.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

On this day in 2004, the National Museum of the American Indian opened its doors in Washington, D-C. Thousands of people attended the grand opening. Since then, millions more have toured through the museum on the National Mall. It offers visitors a unique perspective of Native people of the western hemisphere.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

On this day in 1987, Pope John Paul the second visited Canada's First Nations people in the Northwest Territories. His service was translated into several different Native languages.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

During this week in 1978, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe was federally recognized. The tribe is located in Arizona and has more than 200 acres of desert land. It has benefited from gaming and other enterprises.

Monday, September 18, 2006

During this week in 2004, the Lummi Nation of Washington State presented two totem poles titled “Liberty and Freedom” to the Pentagon.

Friday, September 15, 2006

On this day in 1903, the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation was established in Arizona. More than 24-thousand acres were designated for the Yavapai people.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

On this day in 1958, Chickasaw tribal member John Herrington was born. Harrington was the first Native American to fly in space.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

On this day on 1984, Ojibwe activist Dennis Banks surrendered to law enforcement officials in South Dakota. Eleven years earlier, he helped lead an American Indian Movement protest in South Dakota. Banks was arrested for his involvment. He was convicted of rioting and assault. But fled the state to avoid prison. After his surrender he served 18 months.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

On this day in 1944, Indigenous Rights Activist Leonard Peltier was born. He has served years in prison for the murder of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents. The FBI has never released all the records in his case.

Monday, September 11, 2006

During this week in 1851, a warrior named Conquering Bear was chosen to represent the Lakota people. He was picked after the Americans insisted each tribe name a head chief who could sign treaties on behalf of their people. Conquering Bear signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie.

Friday, September 8, 2006

During this week in 1989, the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma changed its tribal flag. A seven-pointed black star was added as a reminder of Cherokee people who lost their lives on the Trail of Tears.

Thursday, September 7, 2006

During this week in 1972, the Bureau of Indian Affairs was ordered to send a high school teacher to the Native village of Emmonak. It’s located on the Yukon River Delta.

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

During this week in 1877, Oglala Sioux Chief Crazy Horse died. He was reportedly stabbed in the abdomen by a soldier and was killed at Fort Robinson, Nebraska.

Tuesday, September 5, 2006

During this week 1968, Reverend Dr. Roe Lewis received the national "Indian Achievement" of the year award. The Pima and Papago Native from Phoenix, Arizona was cited for his accomplishments in educational counseling.

Monday, September 4, 2006

During this week in 1907, the Principal Chief of the Creek Nation, Pleasant Porter died. Porter served in the Confederate Army as a private. Prior to his tribal leadership he served as a tribal superintendent of schools.

Friday, September 1, 2006

During this week in 1976, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center opened its doors. It is located in Albuquerque and owned by the 19 pueblos in New Mexico.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

On this day in 1905, Ely Samuel Parker died in New York. The Seneca man was an engineer, a brigadier general in the Civil War and the first Indian commissioner of Indian Affairs.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

On this day in 1876, Lillie Rose Minoka-Hill was born on the St. Regis reservation in New York. The Mohawk woman was one of the first Native physicians.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

On this day in 1973, the Chickaloon-Moose Creek Village in Alaska was officially incorporated.

Friday, August 25, 2006

During this week in 1983, the Cook Inlet Tribal Council was established to offer social, educational and employment services to Alaska Natives and Native Americans.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

During this week in 1869, U.S. Army Sergeant Mad Bear was awarded the Indian Wars Congressional Medal of Honor. The Pawnee scout was wounded by friendly fire as he pursued an enemy along the Republican River in northeast Kansas.

Monday, August 21, 2006

On this day in 1971, the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute was dedicated in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Nearly a month later, classes were opened to federally recognized tribal members to provide technical and higher education opportunities.

Friday, August 18, 2006

On this day in 1929, Flore Lekanof was born on St. George which is one of the Pribilof Island. Lekanof was the first ever President of the Alaska Federation of Natives.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

During this week in 1990, the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act was passed by Congress. Its purpose was to clarify and strengthen federal law enforcement services and officers in Indian Country.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

On this day in 1987, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp in honor of Oglala Sioux Chief Red Cloud. The Lakota leader is known for fighting for his people. He won Red Cloud’s War in the 1860’s in Wyoming and Montana territories over control of a primary route to the Montana gold fields. The war ended with the Treaty of Fort Laramie.

Monday, August 14, 2006

During this week in 1876, President Grant returned Uncompahgre Park and farmland, north of Ouray, Colorado to the Ute Reservation. The Utes signed a treaty eight years earlier establishing the original boundaries. But, parts of the reservation were taken away when gold and silver was found on the land.

Friday, August 11, 2006

On this day in 1978, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act became law. It protects and preserves the inherent right of American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians to believe, express and exercise traditional religions.

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

On this day in 1881, a lava flow from an erupting volcano stopped about a mile and a half away from the town of Hilo. Hawaiian Princes Ruth Ke’elikolani is credited for saving the town after she prayed to the Hawaiian Goddess of Fire and Destruction to spare the town.

Tuesday, August 8, 2006

On this day in 1879, Emiliano Zapata was born in the village of San Miguel Anencuilco in the Mexican State of Morelos. Zapata was a Mestizo who spoke his Native Nahuatl language. He was elected leader of his village in 1909 and went on to become a leader in the Mexican Revolution. He is considered a national hero in his country.

Monday, August 7, 2006

During this week in 1933, George Attla was born in Huslia. He is known as “The Huslia Hustler” for being one of Alaska’s top mushers. Attla an Athabascan, won 10 world titles and eight North American titles.

Friday, August 4, 2006

During this week in 1812, Shawnee leader Tecumseh led an ambush against American forces at Brownstone Creek in what is now Michigan. The Americans were forced to retreat.

Thursday, August 3, 2006

On this day in 1990, President George Herbert Walker Bush approved a resolution designating November of that year as National American Indian Heritage month.

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

During this week in 1948, Native Americans in New Mexico won the right to vote in the case Trujillo vs. Garley. The case was brought against the state by Miguel Trujillo. He was an Isleta Pueblo man and World War II veteran who was turned away by county clerks when he tried to register to vote.

Monday, July 31, 2006

On this day in 1882, Congress passed Act 22, Statute 179 to regulate trade in Indian communities. It made it illegal for non-natives and non-licensed traders to live in Indian Country.

Friday, July 28, 2006

On this day in 1996, a skull was found on the banks of the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington. The skeleton was named “Kennewick Man.” Tribes in the Northwest fought to rebury him but lost in court to scientist who then studied the remains.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

On this day in 1868, the United States and Mexico issued a joint resolution outlawing the enslavement of Navajo people. For more than 250 years Navajos were captured and sold into slavery by Spanish and Mexican colonists.

Monday, July 24, 2006

On this day in 1843, England apologized to a Hawaiian leader for the actions of an overzealous Lord who had claimed Hawaii for the Crown. King Kamehameha III was re-recognized as the leader of the Hawaiian Nation.

Monday, July 24, 2006

During this week in 1971, John Crow, a Cherokee man was appointed commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs by President Richard Nixon

Thursday, July 13, 2006

During this week in 1837, the first Mandan to die from smallpox was recorded. It was documented along the upper Missouri River. The outbreak of this disease spread rapidly and was extremely deadly to the Mandan and others in the area.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

During this week in 1981, the Paiute Tribe in Utah adopted an official tribal membership role. The tribe had been restored to federal recognition status about a year earlier. The tribe’s recognition was terminated in 1954.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

During this week in 1939, Alaska Native leader Frank Ferguson was born in Kotzebue. Ferguson served in the Alaska Legislature and as President of the Alaska Federation of Natives. He was instrumental in expanding rural court systems, public health and safety programs and helped improve rural telecommunications.

Monday, July 10, 2006

During this week in 1948, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in the case Harrison v. Laveen. It gave Native Americans in the state the right to vote.

Friday, July 7, 2006

On this day in 2002, the Rodeo-Chediski fire was finally controlled. Both fires started on the Fort Apache reservation and merged to become the worst fire in Arizona history, consuming nearly 470-thousand acres of land.

Thursday, July 6, 2006

During this week in 1943, Robbie Robertson, a Mohawk was born in Toronto, Canada. Robertson became a prolific musician and composed the soundtrack for “Raging Bull.” He played in the rock and roll group “The Band” during the sixties and seventies.

Tuesday, July 4, 2006

During this month in 1968, the American Indian Movement was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group formed to protect Native residents from police brutality and to provide job and housing assistance.

Monday, July 3, 2006

On this day in 1973, the Twin Hills village was officially incorporated. The Yup'ik Eskimo village is located at the mouth of the Twin Hills River about four-hundred miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

On this day in 1906, Mesa Verde was designated as a National Park. The ancient village was the first cultural site to be made into a national park. Mesa Verde was once home to pueblo people and is the largest cliff dwelling in North America. It is located in southwestern Colorado.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

On this day in 1989, the Coquille Restoration Act was passed. It restored the Oregon tribe’s federal recognition status which was stripped 35 years earlier under the Termination Act.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

On this day in 1882, the Pechanga Indian Reservation was established in California. More than 2,500 acres were reserved for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians. This came seven years after the band was evicted from their ancestral home by sheep ranchers. The reservation is about three miles east of the tribe's original homeland.

Friday, June 23, 2006

On this day in 1997 The United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the Venetie case. It centered around the question of whether or not “Indian Country” existed in the State of Alaska.” The following year the justices ruled no - voting in favor of the state.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

On this day in 1980, the Vatican beatified Kateri Tekakwitha. The Mohawk-Algonquin woman was born in New York. She’s the first Native American to be declared blessed by the Roman Catholic Church, which is one step away from becoming a Saint.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

During this week in 2003, the first Indian Memeorial was dedicated at the Little Bighorn National Monument in Montana. The June 25, 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand, was between the U.S. Army and the combined forces of Lakota and Cheyenne.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

During this week in 1972, the Indian Education Act was passed. The Act funded programs to help American Indian students both on and off reservations.

Monday, June 19, 2006

On this day in 1934, The Indian Reorginization Act was passed. The Act aimed to restore tribal self-government and to build tribal economies.

Friday, June 16, 2006