Between 1800-1900, the United States government rapidly changed its policy in regard to its role in the affairs of First Nations. It was in American periodicals of this period that First Nations were erased of personhood through the images which whites created for their publications. Simultaneously, First Nations were also denied the status of independent nations by the United States government. This exhibition displays illustrated images of First Nations which were published in American periodicals from 1800-1900. The images are cataloged by key years in a chronological timeline. The timeline begins with the year 1812 which marked the defeat of First Nations against the United States government and the beginning of a series of concessions and forced treaties. Initially, First Nations were considered to be independent nations by the United States government.
But the will of the American public would surmount any treaties or agreements made by the federal government. Manifest destiny and white settlership become the national mantras of the United States. The desire for land and westward expansion by white citizens expanded astronomically during this same period, and would-be settlers placed pressure not only on the federal government but on the state governments to allow settling on protected or prohibited lands. The periodical in its representations of First Nations, as both a marker of the status quo and a voice of the white public, shows the profound importance of media on society in regard to prejudice and policy. Each year will show the policy du jour of the government alongside concurrently published images in popular periodicals.