Reservation Era Begins 1850-1878
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1850
Indian slavery of Native children in California
The California legislature passes the Indian Act of 1850, authorizing the arrest of “vagrant” Natives...Read More
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1850s-1890s
Scalp bounty extermination laws create class of Indian hunters
Chihuahua’s Ley Quinto scalp bounties set a price of $150 for live women and children,...Read More
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1850
Mormons massacre Timpanogos (Utah)
Governor Brigham Young issued an order to exterminate the Timpanogos in Utah Valley. The Mormon...Read More
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1850
Bloody Island Massacre of Pomo Indians (California)
The military and California settlers believed the Pomo had killed two Clear Lake settlers who...Read More
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1851
1851 Indian Appropriations Act provides funds to move western tribes onto reservations
Congress passes the Appropriations Act to steal prime land from the Plains tribes for American...Read More
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1851
Roads and railroads move into the West
The U.S. government surveys lands for roads and railroad development across tribal territories. With the...Read More
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1851
Fort Defiance built to control Dine’ Indians
Fort Defiance is established to control Dine’, who are considered one of the “wild tribes.”...Read More
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1851
Tehama Massacre (California)
In Tehama county, California, local militia and U.S. military attack and raze California Native villages...Read More
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1851
“Mariposa War” (California)
With the invasion of miners and laws supporting indentured servitude, many miners enslave Native people,...Read More
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1851
California’s first elected governor promotes genocide
Peter Hardeman Burnett, in a second state of address, says, “That a war of extermination...Read More
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1851
Wintu Massacre (California)
Miners burn down the Wintu tribal council meeting house and massacre 300 Wintu Indians near...Read More
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1852
Hynes Bay Massacre of Karankawa (Texas)
Texas militiamen attack a Karankawa village and murder 45 out of 50 villagers (“List of...Read More
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1852
Quechan Indians rebel against construction of Fort Yuma (Arizona)
The Quechan had successfully routed the Spanish in 1781 and remain free from European domination...Read More
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1852
Bridge Gulch Massacre of Wintu (California)
Sheriff William H. Dixon and his posse of 70 American settlers massacre more than 150...Read More
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1852
Wright Massacre of Modoc (California)
Indian hunter Ben Wright, aided by American settlers, massacres 41 Modoc Indians during a peace...Read More
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1853
Howonquet, Yontoket, Achulet Massacres of Tolowa (California)
California settlers massacre 70 Tolowa Indians and burn down the Tolowa village of Howonquet. A...Read More
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1853
"Ox" Massacre (California)
U.S. military attack and massacre tribal people from the Four Creeks area of Tulare County,...Read More
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1854
Gadsden Purchase
With the 1854 Gadsden Purchase, the U.S. acquires lands in Arizona, New Mexico, and southern...Read More
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1854
Treaty of Medicine Creek
Pacific Northwest tribes cede farming land in exchange for fishing rights in perpetuity. Chief Leschi...Read More
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1854
Nasomah Tribe Massacre (Oregon)
A posse of 40 White settlers massacre 16 Nasomah tribal members while they sleep at...Read More
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1854
Chetco Village River Massacre (Oregon)
Nine American settlers approach the Chetco Indian village on the Chetco River in Oregon as...Read More
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1854
Asbill Sauk and Fox Massacre (Missouri)
More than forty unsuspecting Sauk tribal members are viciously attacked by six white settlers in...Read More
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1854
Southeastern tribal alliance forms
Post removal, southeastern tribes form an alliance, which consists of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek (Muskogee),...Read More
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1854-1856
Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota resistance (Sioux Wars)
During the 1850s, American settlers rapidly invade Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota territories in Wyoming, Minnesota,...Read More
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1855
Rogue River resistance (Oregon)
As miners encroach on Tolowa territory, tensions mount between Tolowa and the settlers. As the...Read More
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1855
Lupton Massacre (Oregon)
While a peaceful village near Upper Table Rock, Oregon sleeps, American settlers and miners launch...Read More
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1855
Tututni and Takelma Massacre on Little Butte Creek (Oregon)
A posse of Oregon settlers launch an attack at dawn on Tututni and Takelma Natives,...Read More
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1855
Harney Massacre of Dakota (Nebraska)
Brigadier General William S. Harney and his troops massacre Dakota at Blue Water Creek in...Read More
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1855-1858
Third Seminole Uprising
Known as the Third Seminole War in Florida, this third uprising starts when government workers...Read More
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1856
Grande Ronde River Valley Massacre of Cayuse and Walla Walla (Oregon)
Colonel Benjamin Shaw and his Washington volunteer army massacre 60 Cayuse and Walla Walla tribal...Read More
