William W. Warren’s History of the Oiibways is published.
History of the Ojibways, Based upon Traditions and Oral Statements, by Minnesota state legislator William W. Warren, is published more than 30 years after his death. The son of a white trader and a French-Ojibway woman, Warren interviewed Ojib-way elders to research the one-volume history.
“When an Ojibway dies, his body is placed in a grave, generally in a sitting position, facing
The west____After camping out
Four nights, and traveling each day through a prairie country, the soul arrives in the land of spirits, where he finds his relatives accumulated since mankind was first created, all is rejoicing, singing and dancing, they live in a beautiful country interspersed with clear lakes and streams, forests and abounding in fruit and game[,] . . . all that the red man most covets in this life.”
—Ojibway author William W.
Warren in History of the Ojibways
Washington Matthews begins recording Navajo (Dineh) ceremonies and songs.
Fearing that knowledge of traditional ceremonies, songs, and ceremonial dry paintings is in danger of being lost, Washington Matthews, the doctor at Fort Defiance, enlists the aid of Navajo (Dineh) leader Chee Dodge in recording these elements of tribal culture. The result of their efforts is a series of works, including Navaho Legends (1897) and The Night Chant, a Navaho Ceremony (1902).
Congress passes the Major Crimes Act.
Drafted as a result of the Supreme Court ruling in Ex parte Crow Dog (see entry for DECEMBER 17, 1883), the Major Crimes Act establishes that Indians accused of committing major crimes on Indian reservations will be tried in U. S. courts, rather than in tribal courts. (The act defines “major crimes” as murder, manslaughter, arson, burglary, rape, larceny, and assault with the intent to kill.) It is the first piece of legislation to make Indians on tribally held lands subject to U. S. law. (See also entry for 1886.)
Louis Riel forms a Metis government in the Second Northwest Rebellion.
Following an unsuccessful Metis rebellion in Manitoba (see entry for NOVEMBER 2, 1869, and for AUGUST 24, 1870), rebel leader Louis Riel Jr. escaped Canadian authorities by moving to Montana, where he worked as a schoolteacher. As whites begin encroaching on the territory of the Saskatchewan Metis, a delegation led by Gabriel Dumont visits Riel in early 1884 and asks him to appeal to the Canadian government to recognize their land claims. While in exile, Riel has been elected to parliament three times but has been unable to take his seat for fear of arrest. When his appeal is ignored by the Canadian government, Riel organizes a second Metis uprising. He and his followers seize the church at Batoche, Northwest Territories (now in Saskatchewan), and establish an independent Metis government there. (See also entry for MAY 12 TO
15, 1885.)
Geronimo’s band breaks out of the Apache reservation.
Forty-two men and 92 women led by Geronimo flee the San Carlos Reservation and head south to Mexico. Geronimo had surrendered less than two years earlier (see entry for JUNE 1883), but he found reservation life intolerable. Particularly bothersome to Geronimo are petty reservation rules that prohibit the consumption of tiswin, an alcoholic drink.
Canadian troops crush the Second Northwest Rebellion.
After the rebelling Metis at Batoche (see entry for MARCH 19, 1885) meet police in several skirmishes, the Canadian government sends federal troops to end the uprising. In a three-day battle, the rebels are defeated. While the Metis disperse, their leader, Louis Riel Jr., surrenders to Canadian authorities. For his role in the rebellion, Riel will be hanged for treason on November 16. After his death, he will become a martyr for both the Metis and the French Canadians in their efforts to force the Canadian government to recognize their sovereignty.
Chief Joseph’s band of Nez Perce returns to the Northwest.
The 150 surviving followers of Chief Joseph board a train to take them from their reservation in Indian Territory to the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State. Although they are not permitted to return to their homeland in the Wallowa Valley of Oregon, their return to the Northwest is considered a victory by the eastern non-Indian reformers who, impressed by Chief Joseph’s passion and personal charisma, have taken up the Nez Perce cause (see JANUARY 14, 1879). Chief Joseph, however, is reportedly still despondent over his separation from the Wallowa Valley. At the Nez Perce leader’s death in 1904, the doctor at Colville will maintain officially that Joseph died of a broken heart.
Sitting Bull appears in “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.”
Vigorously courted by William Cody, the founder of “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” (see entry for MAY 17, 1883), Sitting Bull signs a contract to appear in the show’s 1885 tour of the United States and Canada. As the Indian leader best known to the non-Indian public, Sitting Bull brings both jeers and cheers from the crowd as he parades on a beautiful gray circus horse through the arena in each show. In exchange for his performance, he receives $50 a week, a $125 bonus, and the exclusive right to sell his photograph and autograph to audiences.
Sitting Bull tells reporters that he enjoys show business but will decline Cody’s invitation to stay with the show for a tour of England because he is needed on the Great Sioux Reservation. When Sitting Bull’s contract ends, Cody, who has become a friend, gives him the gray horse.
World History
