Oct 6, 1879
Carlisle Indian School
Richard Henry Pratt and Sarah Mather arrive at Carlisle, Pennsylvania with 82 Indian children recruited from the Dakota Territory for their new school. At the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Pratt will implement his theories about education and assimilation, developed while earlier supervising 72 Indian prisoners at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida.
Dec 15, 1890
Murder of Sitting Bull
Sioux chief Sitting Bull is killed by Indian police attempting to arrest him under orders from the territorial Indian agent, who fears that the hero of the Little Big Horn will unite Indians incited by the Ghost Dance to launch a war against white settlements and federal authority in the Dakota Territory. In the aftermath, Sitting Bull's followers flee the camp to seek protection under Chief Red Cloud at the Pine Ridge Agency.
Sep 20, 1932
Death of Wovoka
Jack Wilson dies in Yerington, Nevada. As Wovoka, Wilson led the revival of the Ghost Dance in 1890, a spiritual and political movement leading to the Massacre at Wounded Knee.
Nov 1944
National Congress of American Indians
The National Congress of American Indians holds its first conference in Denver, Colorado. Building on the efforts of earlier organizations such as the Society of American Indians and the American Indian Federation, the NCAI works to overcome tribal provincialism and forge a Pan-Indian alliance to advance the common objectives of Native Americans in the modern United States. The NCAI will lead the opposition to the "termination" policies advanced by Congress during the 1950s, leading to the repudiation of these policies by President Richard Nixon in 1973.
