Native American Timeline

Native American Art Timeline

LEGEND

• Music

• Writers

• Art

1847

1800

• George Copway, Ojibwe writes "The Life, History, and Travels of Kah-ge-ga-gahbow" An autobiography detailing a Native American boy making the transition to Christianity.

1985

1875

1904

1860

• Native Americans begin to move away from oral tradition in adaptation to writing. This movement becomes complete with the 1960's Native American Literary Renaissance.

1977

1969

• 72 Plain Natives were held at Fort Marion. During their time they painted and artistically portrayed many cultural significances through Ledger Art.

1827

(Early Native American Literature)

• Plain Indian began drawing on cloth and paper with pencils and paint, providing an important foundation for what is now known as Ledger Art.

• Janet Campbell Hale published a novel as her master thesis called "The Jailing of Cecelia Capture" which would go on to be nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

• N. Scott Momaday's book "House Made of Dawn" won a Pulitzer Prize. Many attribute his success as what brought Native literature into the mainstream.

• Leslie Marmo Silko published her novel "Ceremony" to great critical acclaim

• Silver Horn rises in prominence as a highly respected and influential Ledger Artist.

(Early Native American Literature)

(Ledger Drawings)

• David Cusick published "Sketches of Ancient History of Six Nations" a compilations of drawing aimed at capturing native history.

(Native American Early Literature)

(Editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica)

(Lynch)

(Ipl2)

(Dept. Of Anthropology)

1845

1882

1519

1800

1860

1891

2009/2010

1519 - Hernan Cortez brought European music to Mexico.

• O'odham Fiddlers develope Waila in Tuscon, AZ playing Marzuka and Polka type music.

1890

1939

• New trends start to appear in Native American music as a result of European influence, namely the written documentation of hymns.

• S. Alice Callahan publishes the first female Native American novel entitled Wynema: A Child of the Forrest.

• Theodore Baker published first book on Ethnomusicology, a book dedicated to the study of Native American music.

• Thomas Commuck publishes the first Native American hymnal book. Written in English and European notation the book was entitled "Indian Melodies".

• Jennie Ross Cobb, a Cherokee, becomes the first female native american photographer.

• Alexie Sherman published War Dances which in 2010 would win the Lifetime Achievement Award.

(Early Native American Literature)

• Maria Montoya and Julian Martinez revive the Sikyatki style of pottery, an art form which was previously lost but uncovered in archeological digs around Santa Fe, New Mexico. They discovered how to reproduce black on black finish pottery, a task that took them 8 years.

(Casey)

(Jensen)

(Levine, Encyclopedia Britannica)

(Levine, Encyclopedia Brittannica)

(Pottery and Baskets)

1800

1519

1900

2000

1700

1920

1940

• The Kiowa Six (sometimes known as the Kiowa Five), all studied at the University of Oklahoma and collectively pushed their native art. They're credited with pushing Native American art into national acceptance as fine art.

• Alaskan Tribe Inupiat start to produce baskets constructed of baleen, a material that comes from the mouth of a baleen whale. Carl Toolak was among the first to pursue it artistically, building them via commission from non-natives.

1821

1890

1882

(Dept. Of Anthropology)

circa - 1700

1895

(Pottery and Baskets)

1850

• Cherokee Tribe writes a collectional of hymnals by Sequoyah. The text contains no music notation just syllabary - melody is meant to be passed down as oral tradition.

• U.S. Government bans the ghost dance, almost erasing it from history.

• Dat So La Lee is hired by Abe Cohn to commercialize Washoe basket weaving. Her weavings were highly influential as they helped non-natives recognize the art purpose of native baskets.

Circa 1700 - The Native American church of Mexico taught the Apache's to use water drum's, rattles and melodies to aid in prayer using peyote.

• Native Americans begin to develop their own marching bands to perform at events to attract non-native audiences.

(Levine, Encyclopedia Britannica)

• Indian Shaker Church developed. They began a style of music that paved the way for Ghost Dance which Indian seer's used to predict the settlers receding. The music consisted of hymns, stomps and hand bells.

(Levine, Encyclopedia Britannica)

(Pottery and Baskets)

(Levine, Encyclopedia Britannica)

1960

1974

(Levine, Encyclopedia Britannica)

1992

Water Drum

(Levine, Encyclopedia Britannica)

1986

(McCloud, Ethnology)

• Janet Campbell Hale published her first novel "The Owl's Song".

1900

• The Native American literary renaissance begins. A period when the amount of writing from native culture increases exponentially producing many highly influential Native writers.

• Leslie Marmon Silko releases her book "With the Delicacy and Strength of Lace: Letters Between Lesie Marmon Silk and James Wright" which won the Boston Globe Book Prize for non-fiction.

• Alexie Sherman, arguably the most successful Native writer today, published his first book, a compilation of poetry entitled "I Would Steal Horses"

(Editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica)

(Casey)

1854

1771

1829

(Lynch)

(Early Native American Literature)

• The Powwow was developed. A cultural celebration that involves multiple tribes sharing music and art. The music generally consists of hymns and the powwow drum.

• "The Life an Adventures of Joaquin Murieta" written by John Rollin Ridge is the first novel written by Native Americans.

• William Apess writes "A Son of the Forrest: The Experience of William Apess, a Native of the Forest", an autobiography.

• Samson Occom was the first Native American writer to be published in English with the book "A Sermon Preached at the Execution of Moses Paul, An Indian". It was eventually adapted into 19 editions.

(Levine, Encyclopedia Britannica)

(Early Native American Literature

(Early Native American Literature)

(MacKay)

1853

• Atsidi Sani becomes the first Navajo silversmith. Influencing the next two centuries of Navajo art.

(Jewelry)