North America

Case Studies
 Part One:
U.S. Colonization
Southeast Connecticut Indian Tribes in 1636

September 1636 -The English burn a Pequot village along the Pequot River in
retaliation for the murder of an Englishman and earlier conflicts, initiating
hostilities that lead to the Pequot War.
Spring 1637-The colonies of Connecticut and Massachusetts prepare for an
offensive against the Pequot Tribe.
May 26, 1637 -The combined forces of the English, Narragansett and Mohegan
attack the Pequot fort at Mystic, killing nearly all but a few of the inhabitants -
about 600 Pequots.
Sept. 1638-The Pequot War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Hartford.
Surviving Pequots are forbidden to return to their villages or to use the tribal
name. The Tribe is divided between the Native allies of the English -- the
Mohegan and the Narragansett -- or placed into slavery among English colonists
Connecticut Tribal Map 1637

Sept. 1638-The Pequot War ends with the signing of the

Treaty of Hartford. Surviving Pequots are forbidden to
return to their villages or to use the tribal name. The Tribe
is divided between the Native allies of the English -- the
Mohegan and the Narragansett -- or placed into slavery
among English Colonies
Western Pequot Reservation 1666
Mid-Michigan
Mecosta county part of large area seasonally utilized by
Odawa; settled by pioneers after 1836 Treaty of Washington
1855 Treaty of Detroit
In mid-1860s government creates Saginaw Chippewa
reservation plus holds land in trust as part of  original terms
from the 1855 Treaty of Detroit; large migration of Ojibwa,
Odawa, into Mt. Pleasant from Lapeer, Macomb, Wayne,
Washtenaw, St. Clair, and Oakland Counties in Michigan
1883 Industrial Indian School complex opens in Mt. Pleasant
on
reservation burial grounds and continues until 1923; military
like
schedule, "outing" of labor to local non-Indian community,
assimilation
Los Alamos,
New Mexico
1175 – 1550 Area inhabited
by Native Americans
1598 – Spanish expedition
led by Juan de Oñate
reaches Los Alamos
1742 – Land granted to
Pedro Sanchez by the
viceroy of Spain
1851 – Land sold to Ramon
Vigil by Sanchez Family.
Bought, sold, and traded
many times until 1917.
1862 – U.S. passes
Homestead Act. Would
bring many Hispanic
homesteaders to region
1920 – Los Alamos Ranch
School established
Columbus, New Mexico
Large profits were to be made
along the growing Santa Fe Trail
during the 1830s and 1840s. As a
result, U.S. government
involvement in New Mexican affairs
grew, creating conflict between
Hispanic New Mexicans and U.S.
citizens. The annexation of Texas
further encouraged U.S.
expansionists to demand the
annexation of all the Southwest
and California. After moving troops
to the mouth of the Rio Grande,
which Mexico considered a
provocation, President James K.
Polk declared war on Mexico in
1846. The Mexican-American war
ended in 1848 with the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo, which formally
ceded New Mexico to the United
States. The Gadsden Purchase,
which supplied the land that
Columbus was established on, was
intended to allow for the
construction of a transcontinental
railroad, the full compensation for
lands taken after the war, and
possibly the expansion of the slave
territories.
Crow Nation and Little Big
Horn
ca 1700 The
Crow came to the
region that is now
known as south-
central Montana.
ca 1700-35 The
Crow are
introduced to the
horse by Tribes
near the Great
Salt Lake.
The Black Hills

1851 Fort
Laramie Treaty
1868 for
learning Treaty
Manifest
Destiny
Motives and
misunderstandi
ngs
 1792 Captain George Vancouver sails into
Puget Sound, Anchors near present day

Fort Lawton Seattle

1830’s and 1840’s missionaries come to

Puget sound region and spread Roman
Catholic religion

I851 Denny party Lands at Alki Point in

West Seattle

1855 Elliot Point Treaty signed by leaders

of the Duwamish tribe including Chief
Seattle.
Port of Tacoma
•1792: area is
“discovered”

•1854: Medicine
Creek Treaty

• 1865: Tacoma
settled
Nisqually & Fort Lewis
1792 - George Vancouver sent Lt. Peter Puget and Joseph Whidbey to
survey the Southern Sound
1818 - Joint Occupancy Treaty gives U.S. and Great Britain rights to
live on and use the land.
The “Indian Treaty Act” of 1850- allowed for a few select men to
attempt to reach agreements with the native people in the west.
Treaty of Medicine Creek 1854- The treaty affected the people of
Nisqually, Puyallup, Steilacoom, Squawskin, S'Homamish, Stehchass,
T'Peeksin, Squi-aitl, and Sa-heh-wamish tribes.
1855 - Puget Sound Indian War fought over land and fishing rights.
Leschi Tried and Hung February 19, 1858- Leschi a key figure in the
“Indian Wars”
Nevada Test Site
Area inhabited by
the Shoshone for
thousands of years
prior to
European/American
contact (1826)
Bidwell trail in N.
Nevada (1841)
Treaty of Ruby Valley
(1863)
“Gradual
encroachment” (late
19th century- early
20th century)
Nez Perce Tribe
1855 Treaty

1863 cession

1877 gold on
reservation
lands
 Hanford Nuclear Site
Since time immemorial Native Americans lived on the land now
named the Hanford Site
First contact with Euro-Americans began the late 18th century
Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-06
Fort Nez Perce established in 1817-18 (Later it was changed to Fort
Walla Walla in 1836)
First settlers were missionaries, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman in
1836
Annexation of the Oregon Territory in 1848
Donation Land Act of 1850
Treaty of 1855-ratified by Congress in 1859
Further pressure to undermine Tribal sovereignty and land holdings:
1885 Slater Allotment Act, 1887 Dawes Allotment Act, 1891 Leasing
Act, 1906 Burke Act, 1902-16 Heirship Acts, 1934 Indian
Reorganization Act, 1954 Termination Bill
Lands taken were gifted to settlers-1870 townships of Hanford and
White Bluffs
Spokane, WA
Spokane Tribe
Indian Wars and Col.
Wright
 1857 Coeur d’Alene War
 1858 defeat of Col.
Steptoe
 1858 Battle of Four Lakes
 1858 Battle of Spokane
Plains
Spokane not “settled”
until 1870s
1887: Spokane Indians
move to reservation
Aleutian Islands
1867: The United States purchased the
territory of Alaska from the Russian
Empire.
1897: Gold rush causes a dramatic
increase in Alaskan settlers
1913: Aleutian Islands Reservation
created to protect ‘animal resources’
1959: Alaska became a state
Discussion
Part Two Militarization

Resource Exploitation

Urbanization
Western Pequot Reservation 1666-1983

1761-Reservation land is reduced

to 989 acres by the colony of
Connecticut.

1866- Size of the reservation is

reduced to just 204 acres.
Mid-Michigan
Impact of logging on Muskegon and
Chippewa rivers in late 1800s;
emptying of land, industrialization,
urbanization of Big Rapids

Violation of water diversion law by

Perrier Nestle Corp. as recently
2002; Little Traverse Bay Band of
Odawa Indians, the Grand
Traverse
Band of Ottawa and Chippewa
Indians and the Little River Band of
Ottawa Indians file suit and lose

Exploitation of labor, Mt. Pleasant

Industrial Indian School
Columbus, New Mexico

On March 9, 1916, on orders of Mexican revolutionary leader Francisco "Pancho"

Villa, General Ramon Banda Quesada led over five hundred of his troops in an
attack against the town, which was garrisoned by a detachment of the U.S. 13th
Cavalry Regiment. They seized 100 horses and mules, burned the town, killed 14
soldiers and 10 residents, and took much ammunition and weaponry before
retreating back into Mexico. Quesada had five men captured and suffered the loss
of 80 dead or mortally wounded, mostly from the U.S. machine gun emplacements.
United States President Woodrow Wilson responded to the Columbus raid by
sending 10,000 troops under Brigadier General John J. Pershing to Mexico to pursue
Villa. This was known as the Punitive Mexican Expedition or Pancho Villa Expedition.
The expedition was eventually called off after failing to find Villa, who had
successfully escaped.
The U.S. military, the construction of railroads, and a successful mining industry
Crow Nation and Little Big
Horn
1805-06 The Lewis and Clark
expedition meet the Crow
1840-50 Smallpox reduces the
Crow population from around
8,000 members to less than
2,000 members.
Approximately 75% die from
the disease.
1851 & 1868 The Crow
participated in treaties at Fort
Laramie. The first treaty
leaves the Crow with around
35 million acres for their
reservation. The second treaty
reduces the reservation by
78% leaving the Crow with
around 8 million acres.
1876 The Crow serve as
scouts for General Custer in
the Battle of Little Bighorn.
The Black Hills & Wounded
Knee

Battle of Little Big Horn

Custer's expedition
 gold mining and encroachment
Original massacre at Wounded
Knee
Port of Tacoma
1833: Hudson Bay
Company builds
nearby trading post

1865: Tacoma settled

1883: Northern Pacific

Railroad connects
Tacoma to the rest of
the U.S.

1887: Dawes Act

1893: “unused” lots

put-up for sale
Fort
Lawton
Fort Lawton Established in
Magnolia in 1900
Fort Lawton never assumes the
size and economic
importance expected by
boosters in Seattle
Washington State Senator Henry
“Scoop” Jackson earmarks a
portion of the under-utilized
Fort Lawton in Seattle’s
Magnolia neighborhood for a city
park
Fort Lewis
1836 - Psychological Warfare & Spread of
Disease
Annexation of Fort Lewis 1917- Over half
of the Nisqually reservation, 3,370 acres are
STOLEN (not donated)
 Nez Perce
Tribe 
1863 treaties

Resource extraction
 Gold
 Timber
 Fish

Nez Perce land

destroyed
Los Alamos, New Mexico
1942 – Manhattan Project
established. Los Alamos
selected as site.
Goal of the Manhattan
Project was to build the
first atomic weapons
Site selected due to
remote location, sparse
population
Ranch School owners
received $225/acre,
Hispanic homesteaders
$7-$15/acre
1943 – Construction
Begins on lab
1945 – First successful
atomic bomb test takes
place at Trinity Site
 Hanford Nuclear Site
 Settlement of the now know named
Hanford Site sparse due to aridity of land
 Early 1940s, Air Force base established
at Pasco
 1943 site is surveyed for top secret
project known as the Manhattan Project
 Five key characteristics make Hanford
suitable
 Acquisition of land begins-400,000 acres
 13 months later, B-reactor goes online to
produce the plutonium in the first atomic
weapons-Alamagordo, New Mexico and
Nagasaki, Japan
 By 1964 eight reactors producing
plutonium, ninth operational dual-use in
Fairchild Air
Force Base
Established in
1942
Air repair depot in
WWII
Bombing and
refueling
Cold War
Vietnam War
Gulf War
Iraq War
Aleutian Islands
1939: Remilitarization of
Alaska begins
World War II battles
fought on the Aleutians
1957: Project Chariot
Nuclear testing on
Amchitka in 1965, 1969,
and 1971
1997: Adak Base closed
2006: Sea-Based X-Band
(SBX) radar system built
offshore of Adak Island
Nevada Test Site
Nuclear weapons
testing (1951-1991)
and Nuclear Storage
(1950- Present) at the
Nevada Test Site
(established 1950)
Commercial Activities
and Effects
Gold Mining/
Geothermal Energy
Water Extraction and
Contamination
Environmental and
Ecological
Destruction-
Landscape Alteration
Discussion
 Resistance
Restitution
Part Three Decolonization
Mashantucket Pequot 2000
and Future

1,900-acre area approved for the Mashantucket Reservation.

247-acre area pending approval to expand the reservation trust.

This area is planned to be used for a parking lot.

1200-acre Scout camp that is planned to be added to the trust

Area of long range reservation boundary presented to Ledyard,

North Stonington and Preston.-
Mashantucket Pequot Economic
Growth
 Mid-Michigan
Resistance to Industrial Indian
school at the time: account of
arson
by students, many students
attempted to escape though few
escapes were
successful

Attempt at federal recognition for

the Swan Creek Black River
Confederated Ojibwa Tribes of
Michigan; US congressional
hearings

Resistance to Nestle-- Ottawa

and Chippewa lawsuit in 2002,
Michigan
Citizens for Water Conservation,
Great Lakes Alliance -
The Black Hills & Wounded
Knee
1973 wounded knee
occupation
 reign of terror
 Leonard Peltier
1980 Supreme Court
ruling, Black Hills claim
Wounded Knee
memorial ride
Bradley and Martinez
bills-
Crow Nation and Little Big
Horn
Late 19th-20th
century- The Crow
struggle to adapt to a
reservation lifestyle
 Religion, Capitalism,
and Subsistence.
20th-21st century-
The Crow retain
traditional values
while experiencing a
growing population
and economical
base.-
Columbus, New Mexico
Steadily
increasing
military presence
at border.
Border Patrol in
Hachita, New
Mexico receiving
assistance from
the Stryker
Brigade Combat
Team from Ft.
Lewis in 2005.-
 Columbus, New Mexico
1846 Mexican-American War starts. New Mexico annexed to the United
States.
1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the war.
1854 The Gadsden Purchase from Mexico adds 45,000 square miles to
the territory, including what is present day Columbus, NM.
1878 The railroad arrives in New Mexico, opening full-scale trade and
migration from the east and Midwest. Lincoln County War erupts in
southeast NM.
1912 New Mexico becomes 47th state.
1916 Pancho Villa attacks and raids Columbus, NM.
1923-24 Oil is discovered on Navajo Reservation.
1945 World’s first atomic bomb detonated at Trinity Site in southern New
Mexico after being developed at Los Alamos.
Late 90s-2000’s Extensive military build up/ increased patrol of border
with Mexico. Units from Ft. Lewis sent to help “secure” the border in
2005.
The U.S. military has historically been a major contributor to the cultural,
political, and economic landscapes of New Mexico, often becoming the
catalyst for trade and population increases. More recently, there has
been a focus of military security at the U.S./Mexico border, purportedly to
help curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking, as well as to discourage
“terrorists” from entering the country. -
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Nuclear Disarmament –
Many groups opposed to
nuclear weapons have
sought to close the lab.
Environmental Impact –
Research at lab uses
extremely dangerous
materials. Has resulted in
contamination.
Health – Concern over
cancer and other negative
health effects, especially
from Native Americans
living in vicinity.
Homesteaders – Families of
Hispanic homesteaders
seeking compensation
In 2004 Congress
established $10 million
Parajito Plateau
Homesteaders
Compensation Fund.-
Nevada Test
Site
Movement to revisit the
treaty and its provisions
Native and non-Native
activism and civil
disobedience
Organizations: WSDP,
Shudahai, H-O-M-E, etc
Corbin Harney, the Dann
Sisters
Setbacks:
 Dann case in 1974

(U.S. Supreme Court

1985)
 Western Shoshone

Distribution Bill (July

2004)-
 Fort
Lawton
Occupation of Fort Lawton begins
on March 8, 1970
United Indians of All tribes
Foundation granted 99 year
lease to 20 acres of Fort
Lawton property
Daybreak Star Cultural Center
opens its doors in 1977
Clinton administration grants the
Duwamish federal recognition
in 2001 during final days in
office
Less than 48 hours later incoming
Bush administration denies
federal recognition
Duwamish purchase first land in
Seattle since 1855 in hopes of
building longhouse cultural
center-
Port of Tacoma

 1936: Puyallup Tribal

Council established

 1950’s – 1970’s: “fish-ins”

oppose blocking of treaty
fishing rights

 1988: $162 million deal to

the Puyallup to settle land
claims

 2007: Puyallup makes deal

with Port of Tacoma and
SSA Marine -
Fort Lewis
Boldt Decision1974- Judge Boldt rules in
favor of upholding treaties. Half of fish
obtained in usually and accustomed
places become the Nisqually tribe’s
right and responsibility.
Fort Lewis 6 1970- 6 soldiers refuse
orders to ship overseas and are court-
martialed. This incident had precedent
and not isolated for Fort Lewis.-
Nez Perce
Tribe
Nez Perce lobbying for
dam removal

Monitoring resource
removal on Nez Perce
lands

1990’s: took title to

10,300 acres as
restitution-
Spokane, WA and Fairchild
AFB
Fairchild’s
economic impact

Resistance to
closure
 Fear of
encroachment-
Spokane, WA and Fairchild
AFB
1834: Indian Intercourse Act
1850: Oregon Donation Land Claim Act
1855: Isaac Stevens declares Oregon Country
open to white settlement
 Indian Treaty
1857: Coeur d’Alene War
1858: Battle of Four Lakes and Battle of
Spokane Plains
1863: Washington achieves statehood
1887: Spokane tribe moves to reservation
1942: Fairchild AFB established-
Hanford Nuclear Site
•1977 Department of Energy (USDOE) takes
over the Hanford Site
•Late 1970s news papers and employees
increasingly critical of operations secrecy
•1986 Hanford Education Action League
(HEAL) and Spokane Physicians for Social
Responsibility file FOIA request
•1 month later, USDOE releases 19,000 pages
on past radiation
•States of Washington and Oregon get
involved-sign Tri-party agreement to clean-up
Hanford Site
•January 9th 2000 President Clinton signs
order under the 1906 Antiquities Act, creating
the Hanford Reach National Monument-
195,000 acres of endangered environment
and last 51 mile stretch of free flowing
Columbia River
•Clean-up continues over-budget and later
Hanford Nuclear Site
Land confiscated and annexed from Native
Americans
Land forcibly bought and turned into the most toxic
place in the Western Hemisphere
Resistance mounts as information is revealed-fight
is taken into the courts to hold the Federal
government accountable
Today the Government attempts to consolidate
waste and restart production of nuclear
weapons-
Aleutian Islands
 1971: Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act
 1980: Alaska Maritime Wildlife
Refuge established
 1996: Greenpeace study
evaluating radioactive
pollution on Amchitka Island
 1997: Alaska Community
Action on Toxics (ACAT)
founded
 2004: Major oil spill off the
coast of Unalaska-
Discussion
Fin.
North America Summary
Los Alamos, New Mexico
1175 – Earliest record of Native American activity in
area
1598 – Spanish expedition led by Juan de Oñate reaches
Los Alamos. Expedition marked first western arrival in
Los Alamos.
1862 – U.S. passes Homestead Act. Would bring many
Hispanic homesteaders to region
1920 – Los Alamos Ranch School established
1942 – Site selected for Manhattan Project. Land
taken over by government.
1943 – Construction on lab begins
1945 – First successful nuclear tests. Bombs dropped
on Japan.
2004 - Congress establishes $10 million Parajito Plateau
Homesteaders Compensation Fund.
 Port of Tacoma
1833: the Hudson Bay Company builds a trading post near Nisqually
River allowing for grater trade in the region.
1854: the Medicine Creek Treaty is signed guaranteeing rights to
fishing and education.
1865: Tacoma is settled. There’s still plenty of lumber to be had and
water for transport nearby.
1887: the Dawes Act called for the allotment of tribal land to individual
or private ownership within the tribe.
1893: land that was not deemed beyond native needs was re-allotted
and sold.
1936: the Puyallup Tribal Council is established under the 1934 Indian
Reorganization Act.
1988: the Puyallup tribe makes a deal with the federal and state
government, Union Pacific Railroad, Port of Tacoma, city of Tacoma,
and others totaling $162 million for the tribe.
2007: the Puyallup are working with the Port of Tacoma and SSA
Marine to build and run a port terminal on Puyallup land. This is not
only a new source of jobs for the Puyallup, but it will also diversify
tribal income.