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-MichiganMecosta county part of large area seasonally utilized by Odawa; settled by pioneers after 1836 Treaty of Washington1855 Treaty of DetroitIn 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 Michigan1883 Industrial Indian School complex opens in Mt. Pleasant onreservation burial grounds and continues until 1923; military likeschedule, "outing" of labor to local non-Indian community,assimilation

Los Alamos, New Mexico

1175 – 1550 Area inhabited by Native Americans1598 – Spanish expedition led by Juan de Oñate reaches Los Alamos1742 – Land granted to Pedro Sanchez by the viceroy of Spain1851 – 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 region1920 – Los Alamos Ranch School established

Columbus, New MexicoLarge 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 Treaty1868 for learning TreatyManifest DestinyMotives and misunderstandings

Fort Lawton1792 Captain George Vancouver sails into

Puget Sound, Anchors near present day 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 Lewis1792 - 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 SiteArea 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

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

Hanford Nuclear Site

Spokane, WASpokane TribeIndian 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 1870s1887: Spokane Indians move to reservation

Aleutian Islands1867: The United States purchased the territory of Alaska from the Russian Empire.1897: Gold rush causes a dramatic increase in Alaskan settlers1913: 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 recently2002; Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, the Grand TraverseBand of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and the Little River Band ofOttawa 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 drastically contributed to the local population until the 1960s.

Crow Nation and Little Big Horn

1805-06 The Lewis and Clark expedition meet the Crow1840-50 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 HornCuster'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 Mexico1942 – Manhattan Project established. Los Alamos selected as site.Goal of the Manhattan Project was to build the first atomic weaponsSite selected due to remote location, sparse populationRanch School owners received $225/acre, Hispanic homesteaders $7-$15/acre1943 – Construction Begins on lab1945 – First successful atomic bomb test takes place at Trinity 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 1966

Hanford Nuclear Site

Fairchild Air Force Base

Established in 1942Air repair depot in WWIIBombing and refuelingCold WarVietnam WarGulf WarIraq War

Aleutian Islands

1939: Remilitarization of Alaska beginsWorld War II battles fought on the Aleutians1957: Project ChariotNuclear testing on Amchitka in 1965, 1969, and 19711997: Adak Base closed2006: 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 EffectsGold Mining/ Geothermal Energy Water Extraction and ContaminationEnvironmental and Ecological Destruction- Landscape Alteration

Discussion

Part Three

ResistanceRestitutionDecolonization

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-MichiganResistance to Industrial Indian school at the time: account of arsonby students, many students attempted to escape though few escapes weresuccessful

Attempt at federal recognition for the Swan Creek Black RiverConfederated Ojibwa Tribes of Michigan; US congressional hearings

Resistance to Nestle-- Ottawa and Chippewa lawsuit in 2002, MichiganCitizens 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 claimWounded Knee memorial rideBradley 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 MexicoSteadily 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 Mexico1846 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 MexicoNuclear 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 provisionsNative and non-Native activism and civil disobedienceOrganizations: WSDP, Shudahai, H-O-M-E, etcCorbin Harney, the Dann SistersSetbacks:

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 TribeNez 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 Act1850: Oregon Donation Land Claim Act1855: Isaac Stevens declares Oregon Country open to white settlement

Indian Treaty1857: Coeur d’Alene War1858: Battle of Four Lakes and Battle of Spokane Plains 1863: Washington achieves statehood1887: Spokane tribe moves to reservation1942: Fairchild AFB established-

•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 than scheduled-

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-

Hanford Nuclear Site

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 area1598 – 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 region1920 – Los Alamos Ranch School established1942 – Site selected for Manhattan Project. Land taken over by government.1943 – Construction on lab begins1945 – 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.