Timeline

10,000 BCE: ancient Aboriginal culture developing on the plains
982 to 1014: CE Norsemen set up outpost in North America and encounter Inuit, Beothuks, and Mi’kmaqs
1540: horse brought to North America by the Spanish
1670: The Hudson’s Bay Company is established and fur trading begins
1690: Historians believe Métis history can be traced back to around this time frame
1730s: the horse and gun come to the Siksika on the northern plains
1738: smallpox strikes Aboriginal people in the west
1781: smallpox epidemic kills 1/3 of the Siksika (Blackfoot) population
1820: Métis people have marked permanent residence at Red River
1825: the last member of the Beothuk Nation dies
1830s: end of peak fur trading period
1837: smallpox kills 2/3rds of Siksika people and large numbers of Assiniboine
1840s: alcohol starts to take its toll on Aboriginal people on the Plains and the area becomes very unsettled
1869: small pox strikes Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai tribes
1869: Whiskey trade period at its peak until 1875
1874: North West Mounted Police formed and dispatched to the Plains to control whiskey trade; Fort Macleod is built
1876: Indian Act is passed
1876: serious depletion of the buffalo begins
1879: buffalo in Siksika hunting grounds are driven south forcing many to move to Montana to follow the buffalo
1884: an Indian Act revision bans the Potlatch ceremony on the Northwest coast
1885: Indian Act revision outlaws the Sun Dance
1920: all Canadian women are given the right to vote; Aboriginal people living on reserves are not allowed to vote
1951: revisions to the Indian Act; Potlatch ban is lifted
1961: National Indian Council is formed to promote unity amongst Aboriginal people; it is superseded by the National Indian Brotherhood in 1968
1962: Aboriginal people living on reserves are given the right to vote in Federal elections
1973: Aboriginal people regain control over education; end of the Residential School period
1982: new constitution recognizes the existence of Aboriginal rights but does not define them