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.

Native American History

Learn about Native American tribes and leaders like Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Tecumseh, and events like the Trail of Tears, the French and Indian War, the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the American Indian Movement (AIM).

Native American History: Tribes, Timeline & Reservations | HISTORY

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June 18

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May 28

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May 5

1978

The turbulence of 1968 began on New Year’s Day with the Tet Offensive, shocking Americans with the unwinnable realities of the Vietnam War. The assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy darkened the national mood and deepened domestic unrest. Mass protests erupted around the globe, from Chicago to Prague to France, Mexico and beyond. In space, Apollo 8 orbited the moon, while back on earth, “Laugh-In” topped TV ratings, “Hair” premiered on Broadway and McDonald’s debuted the iconic Big Mac.

1968

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November 21

The Cold War heated up in 1949 when the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb and Germany split into two separate nations—one aligned with the West, the other with the Soviets. To counteract the threat, the U.S. and European allies signed the NATO charter. In Asia, Communists declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China. George Orwell predicted scarier times ahead with his novel “1984,” and consumers saw the introduction of 45 r.p.m. records, Kraft singles and Lego plastic bricks.

1949

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November 27

2020

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July 9

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July 2

1809

After the highly contested 1876 U.S. presidential election, the Compromise of 1877 put Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House. In exchange, post-Civil War federal oversight of Southern affairs known as Reconstruction ended—and, with it, any effort toward protecting Black citizens’ civil and political rights. The first general strike in U.S. history—by more than 100,000 workers—halted the nation’s railroads. Thomas Edison demonstrated his latest invention, the phonograph, while in Moscow, Tchaikovsky’s opera “Swan Lake” premiered in Moscow.

1877

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March 14

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March 15

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April 6

1934

The nearly 1,000-foot Eiffel Tower opened for business in Paris in 1889, reigning as the tallest structure in the world until 1930. That same year, fire in Seattle destroyed much of the city, while the Johnstown Flood in Pennsylvania swept more than 2,200 to their deaths after a dam collapse. In Japan, the videogame company now known as Nintendo started in business as a maker of playing cards.

1889

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July 15

1832

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Native American History ‑ This Day In History

Chief Tecumseh urges Native Americans to unite against white settlers

Black Hawk War begins

Sitting Bull leads his people into Canada

The First Seminole War begins in Florida

American Indian Movement (AIM) is founded

Deb Haaland sworn in as first Indigenous cabinet secretary

Supreme Court rules in McGirt v. Oklahoma

Indian Reorganization Act is signed into law

Maria Tallchief debuts in “Firebird” as the first‑ever American prima ballerina

Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte becomes the first Native American woman to graduate from medical school

2,800 mile‑long walk for Native American justice concludes in Washington, D.C.

Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act into law