Native American Encyclopedia Fox To Indian Territory

Native American Encyclopedia Fox To Indian Territory — page 7
8 George Chief Dan George Chief Dan 1899-1981 was the leader of the Salish people of British Columbia from 1951 to 1963 Though he did not begin his acting career until he was 60 years old he played roles in many films and won an Academy Award nomination for his role in the movie Little Big Man He attempted to promote understanding of First Nations peoples beliefs and values and wrote several books on that subject Meet Geronimo Geronimo 1829-1909 also known as Goyakla and Goyathlay meaning one who yawns acted as a Chiricahua Apache military and spiritual leader in the American Southwest He rose to power in the 1870s during the last efforts of the western native peoples to keep their traditional lands The United States Army with support from pioneers and Mexicans pushed the Chiricahuas onto the San Carlos Reservation in southeastern Arizona territory an area of harsh desert Those who refused to go escaped with Apache leaders Geronimo and Juh for a life on the run in the mountains of northern Mexico Over the next ten years the U S Army tracked and captured Geronimo and returned him to the reservation where he would once again escape In 1886 Geronimo and his band of 18 warriors and their families agreed to surrender to General Nelson Miles and his army of 5,000 soldiers This represented the end of Indian resistance The government sent Geronimo and his band to Florida prisons along with members who had settled on the San Carlos Reservation years earlier Many prisoners died The government sent the band’s children to Indian boarding schools The government later moved Geronimo to an Oklahoma reservation near Fort Sill and banned him from ever returning to his homelands in Arizona Geronimo remains a hero and his deep responsibility to protect his people has become legendary 1858 Mexican army attacks Geronimo’s camp and kills many including Geronimo’s wife children and mother 1876-1886 Repeatedly flees San Carlos Reservation with followers 1886 Surrenders to United States Army and sent to prison 1904 Appears at St Louis World’s Fair selling autographs and souvenirs