this month in Native American History
by Phil Konstantin
March
EASTERN COMANCHE
| Nana Butituikatu Mua | Tahpooku Mua | |
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| Hot & Cold Moon | Cottonball Moon |
March 1st,1851:
Governor McDougal of California writes
the President. He states there are over 100,000 hostile Indians in California
and that an uprising is going on. This information is
false., but McDougal still requests permission to call out the militia.
March 2,
1876:
The
Secretary of War is impeached for taking bribes to make political
appointments
March 3,
1819:
The United States starts it Indian "civilization: program.
March 4,
1643:
Today, the Canarsee Indians will negotiate a peace with the Dutch in Fort
Amsterdam. The Canarsee are the Indians who sold Manhattan to Peter Minuit
for $24.00 in trinkets, even thought they did not own it.
March 5,
1831:
Today the Supreme Court decided in the case of the Cherokee Nation v. Georgia. The
court decided that the Cherokees are not a "foreign state,: and therefore the
court has no jurisdiction in the dispute. However, the court does decide that
the Cherokees are a distinct political society capable of governing itself and
managing its own affairs.
March 6,
1777:
70 Shawnee warriors led by Chief Blackfish will attack settlers near
Harrodsburg, Kentucky. One white man managed to escape capture and warn the
settlement.
March 7,
1783:
Col. David Williamson and Pennsylvania soldiers surround the peaceful Moravian
Indian village in Gnadenhutten, (today's Ohio) The Indians are herded into
two houses, and the majority of the soldiers attack the Indians. Several soldiers
killed 96 Indian men, women, and children in cold blood.
March 8.
1965:
The
Winnebago sign a treaty regarding the Omaha reservation.
March 9,
1768:
It's believed that Tecumseh, the Great Shawnee leader, is born near the Shawnee capital
of Chalagatha
in today's Ohio. [added by Native Village]
March 10,
1930:
An executive order is issued which extends the trust period on land allotments
made to members of the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians in Kansas.
March 11,
1824:
John
C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs within the
War Department. Thomas McKenney is appointed its first head.
March 12,
1858.
After
giving up some of their ancestral lands, the Poncas sign a treaty granting them
a permanent home on the Niobrara River and protection from their enemies, both
white and Indian. Several years later, the government forces them to share
land with the Sioux. The Poncas will live in constant fear of attack.
March 13,
1864,
The
first group of Navajo finish the "Long Walk" to Fort Sumner on the Bosque
Redondo Reservation, NM. During their march, 13 of the 1,430 Indians will
either die or are kidnapped by Mexicans.
March 14,
1493:
Columbus writes a letter describing the generous nature of Indians and mentions
they are "men of great deference and kindness."
March 15,1858:
After
fighting the Americans for almost 25 years, the great Seminole leader, Billy
Bowlegs, will surrender with 163 of his followers. They are shipped west.
March
16, 1621:
Samoset
meets the Pilgrims.
March 17, 1775:
The Transylvania Company purchases a huge track of Kentucky and Tennessee lands
from the Cherokee. The treaty is revoked by Virginia and North Carolina which
won't permit a private company to own the land. However, the U.S. will use the treaty
as a claim on Cherokee lands.
March 18,
1871:
Indians
make several sorties on a government wagon trail near Fort Dodge, in SW Kansas.
Three citizens are killed; 5 Indians are wounded in the fighting.
March 19, 1851:
A
treaty is signed with California Indians at Camp Fremont. The treaties set aside
lands for the Indians and protect them form angry whites.
March 20,
1699:
While
exploring the Mississippi River, French explorer Lemoyne d'Iberville visits a
Houma Indian village.
March 21, 1883:
Chiricahua Apaches raid a mining town near Tombstone, AZ. This is the pretext
General George Crook needs to mount a raid into Mexico to find the Apaches.
March 22,1764,
The
English mount an expedition to retrieve a slave who's taken refuge with
the Tunica Indians. The Tunica, Ofo, Avoyel, and Choctaw Indians attack the
small boats carrying the English. Six English are killed before the whites
abandon their mission.
March 23,1889,
President Harrison says part of Oklahoma will be opened to the public.
March 24,1617.
King
James I decides Virginia Indians must be educated. Today he directs the Anglican
church to collect funds to build churches and schools.
March 25,1916,
Ishi, ("the last of his tribe") dies.
March 26, 1973:
A
Native American mass is held in New York City at Saint John the Divine
Cathedral. Almost 4,000 people will attend.
March 27,1973:
Sacheen Littlefeather refuses Marlon Brando's Oscar as a protest against media
and governmental mistreatment of American Indians.
(
Marlon Brando's Unfinished Oscar Speech)
March 28,1953:
Jim
Thorpe dies.
March 29, 1797:
A Mohawk treaty is signed in Albany by 5 Indians, including Joseph Brandt,
All of their lands are ceded for $1,000.
March 30,1854:
Indians successfully attack and defeat a company of dragoons at Cieneguilla, NM.
March 31,1877:
Part of the White Mountain/San Carlos Reservation in Arizona is restored to
public domain.
Dates reprinted with permission by Phil Konstantin: http://americanindian.net/index.html
hot cold moon photo: www.evanravitz.com/2004/
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