Historical Events of Note During Chief Iron Nation’s Lifetime

1815
Chief Solomon Iron Nation Traditional Garb
1815

Solomon Iron Nation is born

Solomon Iron Nation is born into the Lower Brule Sioux in 1815 in Teton Sioux Country near modern-day Chamberlain, South Dakota, just 8 years after the passage of Lewis and Clark on the Missouri River.
1831
1831

Sitting Bull Born

Sitting Bull was born into the Hunkpapa Sioux Tribe in 1831 near modern-day Yankton, South Dakota.
Fall 1838
Fall 1838

Trail of Tears

Indians were forced to relocate from their homelands. The main tribes affected by this were the Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw and Choctaw. The path these tribes were forced to travel led to widespread disease, starvation, and exhaustion. Thousands died on this travel.
1842
1842

Crazy Horse born

Crazy Horse was born around 1842 into the Oglala Lakota tribe near modern-day Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
1851
1851

Indian Appropriations Act

The Indian Appropriations Act of 1851, signed by Millard Fillmore, moved western tribes onto reservations. These were the first Indian reservations to be made in the U.S.
September 17, 1851
September 17, 1851

Fort Laramie Treaty 1851

Tensions between settlers and Indians were running extremely high when this treaty was signed which was meant to establish peace. White travelers continuously passed through defined Indian territories and ignored the treaty, and Indian raids continued.
1858
1858

Maggie Iron Nation born

In 1858 Chief Solomon Iron Nation’s daughter Maggie was born.
October 19, 1865
October 19, 1865

1865 Treaty of Peace

Signed at Fort Sully, this treaty established the first Lower Brule Reservation around the mouth of the White River.
April 29, 1868
April 29, 1868

Fort Laramie Treaty 1868

This treaty created the boundaries of the Great Sioux Reservation, which included the Black Hills.
Juine 25, 1876
Juine 25, 1876

Battle of Little Bighorn

Commonly referred to as “Custer’s Last Stand”, this is one of the most famous battles between Americans and Indians. The battle, which occurred June 25–26, 1876, along the Little Bighorn River in eastern Montana Territory, was the most significant action of the Great Sioux War of 1876. Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer’s army was outsmarted by a coalition of Indian Tribes.
1876
1876

James Pachuta Byrnes born

James Pachuta Byrnes, grandson of Chief Solomon Iron Nation, was born in 1876.
September 5, 1877
September 5, 1877

Crazy Horse dies

Crazy Horse is killed by a U.S. soldier while resisting arrest at the age of 37.
December 15, 1890
December 15, 1890

Sitting Bull Dies

Indian police arrest Sitting Bull at 6:00 in the morning, hoping to spirit him away before his guards and neighbors knew what happened. The 59-year-old chief refuses to go quietly, and a crowd forms. Someone fires a shot that hits one of the Indian police; they retaliate by shooting Sitting Bull in the chest and head, killing him instantly. Before the ensuing gunfight ended, twelve more Indians died and three were wounded.
December 29, 1890
December 29, 1890

Wounded Knee Massacre

In the final chapter of America’s Indian wars, the U.S. Cavalry kills over 150 Lakota men, women and children at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota in 1890.
November 15, 1894
November 15, 1894

Solomon Iron Nation dies

Solomon Iron Nation dies of pneumonia at the age of 79, 5 years after South Dakota became a state.