1491 - What was the Western Hemisphere like?

1492 - Landfall of Columbus in what was to become the West Indies. Some contemporary observers estimate the populations at approximately two to four million, some as high as eight million.(1) By 1520 the estimated population was approximately 20,000.

1521 - Cortes tortures and murders Montezuma, conquering Tenochtitlan (the largest city at the time in the Western Hemisphere and larger than all of its Western European contemporary cities combined), destroying the city in a quest for gold, glory and God.

1560s - England situates colonies in what was to become Virginia, and France establishes what was to become Montreal around this time.

1600s - Sporadic warfare and trading involving many different Native Nations of the Northeast with European nations, for example: France, England, and trading with the Dutch. Each group came over with different objectives and methodologies in mind for establishing a permanent foothold in the "new world." The Guswenta (Two Row Wampum Belt) was established between the Mohawk and the Dutch; stating that each would respect and not interfere with the other's form of governance and culture.

1700s - Expansion is the key element of this era, as well as the famous shot heard around the world. The American Revolution occurs fracturing not only the European communities but Native communities as well. It must be noted that while many history books claim that the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) had sided with England during the American Revolution, the reality is that the Confederacy was in a position of neutrality as a Confederacy. Since individual freedom was so highly cherished among the Haudenosaunee, it did not limit its citizenship from participating in the revolution, as long as they did not break the Great Law of Peace, and fight with other members of the Confederacy.

1790 - Trade and Intercourse Act - Establishes that an agent of the Federal government will be present at any land transactions between Indians and states. It also sets up the notion that the US will deal with Indian nations thus acknowledging their nationhood.

1830 - Indian Removal Act - Forcibly removes the Cherokee from the state of Georgia, thus creating the Trail of Tears. It is where the famous words of President Andrew Jackson are uttered regarding the US Supreme Court's decision in favor of the Cherokee staying on their rightful lands in Georgia, "They have made their decision, now let's see them enforce it."

1871 - End of Treaty Making - A Congressional act that ends the era of treaty making with Indian Nations, under the assumption that Indians are now conquered, the West is settled and the reservation system is firmly in place, creating the illusion that Indians were defeated and their penalty is to live on reservations. The reality is that reservations were originally designed to allow the Indians to live as they always had.

1877 - Carlisle Indian School - The boarding school era policies take place, in which all Native children must attend an off-reservation boarding school and learn the ways of the dominant culture. Many of the incidents endured and suffered by the children in these schools would be considered criminal child abuse today.

1887 - Dawes Act (General Allotment Act) - Stipulates that each Indian person will receive approximately one hundred and sixty acres of land in the reservation systems. Surplus lands could then be rented or sold off to benefit the government in its care of the Indian despite the promise of the treaties. The land base of Native America plummets from approximately 150 million acres to 49 million acres with this act. This act also establishes the idea of blood quantum, whereby the Indian must be determined to be one-fourth Indian to be recognized by the US Government to receive allotment and treaty goods.

1924 - Indian Citizenship Act - Stipulates that all Indians are now citizens of the United States. A number of Nations rejected this act, among them the Onondaga and Hopi. When asked why, the answer is a very good question, "How does one have a treaty with oneself?"

1934 - Indian Reorganization Act - An attempt to correct some of the social ills and wrongs of the past by a return to the embracement of culture and language among the Indians. While noble in intention, questionable in outcome. Tied into this act was a dividing factor focusing on the issue of governance within Native nations. For example, rather than allow communal tribal governments, an elected form of governance was imposed. It set the stage for the division between progressive minded Indians and "Traditionalists."

1953 - The Termination Act - An act to literally dissolve Native nations and, by doing so, it absolved the US Federal government of fiscal and social obligations stipulated to in the treaties made with Native Nations.

1956 - Relocation Act - Encouraged the relocation of "reservation Indians" to urban centers for job training and incorporation into American culture. The resulting effect is a further fracturing of not only Indian identity, but of factionalism among Indians that can still be seen today.

1978 - American Indian Religious Freedom Act - Despite the United States being founded upon religious freedom, many Native nations lost the right and ability to practice religion and ceremony. Examples of this stem from the late nineteenth century massacres over the outlawed Ghost Dance. This Act was an attempt to restore or allow some practices.

1988 - Indian Gaming Regulatory Act - Allows gambling operations to occur on Indian lands, once a compact has been negotiated with the state government, another issue that at times has divided the Native community. It was done in the hopes of "allowing" the Indian to become economically self-sufficient.

1990 - Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act - Gave Indigenous communities and Nations the right to reclaim sacred objects and human remains from museums and universities. The Smithsonian Institute has some 18,500 sets of indigenous human remains, many of which have never been studied, the primary reason that they were gathered in the nineteenth century.(2)

(1) Wilson, James. The Earth Shall Weep.
(2) M. Annette Jaimes The State of Native America