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Native American History ‑ Stories

Native American history spans an array of diverse groups and leaders, including Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Tecumseh, and events like the Trail of Tears, the French and Indian War and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Wounded Knee Massacre

What Happened at the Wounded Knee Massacre?

White settlers feared the Lakota’s Ghost Dance presaged an armed uprising. But US troops carried out the bloodbath.

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Teddy Roosevelt Championed Conservation Efforts—That Also Displaced Native Americans

Teddy Roosevelt Championed Conservation Efforts—That Also Displaced Native Americans

He helped establish national parks, forests and game preserves. But much of that land had been stewarded by Indigenous people for generations.

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President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln’s Uneasy Relationship With Native Americans

Lincoln signed laws that gave away millions of acres of tribal land. And he approved the mass execution of 38 Dakota Sioux warriors.

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Colored engraving of early colonists arriving at Jamestown, with local Indigenous people present.

The Native American Chief Who Drove Out Spanish Colonists—and Nearly Expelled the English

Kidnapped and taken to Spain, Opechancanough used what he learned of the Europeans to lead his people against two of the world’s greatest powers.

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Ousamequin, chief of the Wampanoag signs a peace treaty with Governor John Carver (1576 - 1621).

Why the Wampanoag Signed a Peace Treaty with the Mayflower Pilgrims

The treaty that made the first Thanksgiving possible has a dark backstory.

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A vintage engraving of a 19th-century lacrosse game between Canadians and Iroquois. / Getty Images

The Native American Origins of Lacrosse

The sport, which dates to 1100 A.D., was a social event and sometimes played to settle disputes.

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The 1921 Wrangel Island Expedition team: Ada Blackjack, Allan Crawford, Lorne Knight, Fred Maurer, Milton Galle, and Victoria the cat.; 1921.

The Inuit Woman Who Survived Alone on an Arctic Island After a Disastrous Expedition

In the early 1920s, 25‑year‑old Ada Blackjack survived two years on the frigid Wrangel Island after a failed expedition to claim the island for Canada.

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Mid-18th century map of the Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the Five (later Six) Nations

How the Iroquois Confederacy Was Formed

In the story of the Great Law of Peace, Hiawatha and the Peacemaker convince leaders of the Five Nations to literally bury the hatchet.

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Po'payUNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 21: Sen. Pete Domenici (R), R-NM, at the dedication ceremony of the statue of Pueblo leader Po'pay in the Rotunda of Capitol. Po'pay led a revolt against the Spanish in 1680 that helped cement native culture. (Photo By Chris Maddaloni/Roll Call/Getty Images)

Po’Pay: The Little‑Known Pueblo Hero Who Led the First American Revolution

The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 drove out the Spanish for 12 years—and saved many Indigenous cultures from being wiped out.

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A fall harvest of corn, pumpkins and squash.

7 Foods Developed by Native Americans

These dietary staples were cultivated over thousands of years by Indigenous peoples of America.

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Geronimo and Chiricahua Apache warriors

The Apache Woman Warrior Who Helped Lead Resistance to European Invaders

Lozen fought against Mexican and American forces for 30 years, earning the nickname ‘Apache Joan of Arc.’

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Columbus fleet: Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria

How the Columbian Exchange Brought Globalization—And Disease

Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Caribbean in 1492 kicked off a massive global interchange of people, animals, plants and diseases between Europe and the Americas.

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