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• Tribal Independence Era

  Prior to 1491

  Tribal societies throughout the Americas and surrounding island nations flourish.

• Epidemics, Slavery, Massacres, and Indigenous Resistance

  1492-1599

  European settlers arrive in North America, bringing with them diseases and violence which kill an estimated 90 percent of the Native populations they encounter.

• Invasion from All Directions—Stolen Lands, Stolen Peoples

  1600-1699

  Spanish, French, Dutch, and English colonists continue invading Native lands. Tribes navigate competing foreign interests while maintaining their sovereignty through treaty negotiations.

• Strategic Alliances and Trail of Broken Treaties

  1700-1799

  Native tribes form strategic alliances amidst international battles on their lands, while facing enslavement and continued land dispossession.

• Sovereign Nation Era Ends

  1800-1827

  The new United States government continues its expansion, disregarding treaties and launching a "civilization" campaign to eradicate Native identities.

• Indian Removal Era Begins

  1828-1849

  A new policy forcibly removes Native peoples from their lands, leading to the Trail of Tears and other relocation marches.

• Reservation Era Begins

  1850-1878

  With the U.S. now stretching to the West Coast, settlers continue to massacre Natives and force them onto undesirable lands (reservations), with no rights and restricted freedoms.

• Boarding School and Land Allotment Eras

  1879-1933

  The boarding school policy removes Native children from their communities to assimilate them. The Dawes Act dissolves tribal landholding and allots parcels to Native families, while selling the remainder to non-Indians.

• Indian New Deal, Tribal Termination, and Urban Relocation

  1934-1967

  The U.S. government passes a reform bill but subsequently launches another assimilation campaign to end federal recognition of tribes and incentivize Native peoples to relocate to urban areas.

• Indian Self-Determination and Self-Governance Era

  1968-present

  Tribes are granted greater authority to manage local government and communities, and a Native resistance movement continues to fight for rights, lands, and healing.