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  1. Antiquity
    Origins
    Today, all tribes tell stories of their origins. There are as many creation stories as there are tribes, ...
  2. 40,000–10,000 BC
    Homelands
    Contemporary Native peoples from many nations teach that they originated in their traditional lands. ...
  3. 10,000–8000 BC
    Early North American lifestyles
    Ancestors of American Indians hunt large mammals, catch fish, and gather fruits and nuts. Archaeological ...
  4. 8000 BC
    Glaciers retreat; climate changes; diets shift
    At the end of the Ice Age, many large mammals become extinct. Across the Americas, people shift away ...
  5. 1851
    Congress creates reservations to manage Native peoples
    The U.S. Congress passes the Indian Appropriations Act, creating the reservation system. The government ...
  6. 1861–65
    Tribes react to the American Civil War
    Although most Indian tribes remain neutral in the conflict, some American Indians join Union or Confederate ...
  7. 1870
    Education promised to tribes is funded
    Congress earmarks the first federal funds for the education of Indians. Education, like health care, ...
  8. 1872
    General Mining Act gives rise to the taking of tribal lands
    President Ulysses S. Grant signs the General Mining Act into law, allowing individuals and corporations ...
  9. 1887
    U.S. subdivides reservation land; sells off surplus
    Congress passes the General Allotment Act, better known as the Dawes Severalty Act, which divides reservations ...
  10. 1890
    Native population plunges
    In the U.S., Native population falls to an all-time low. The 1890 census records 237,196 Native people— ...
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