9,000 B.C. - Evidence of Human Presence
Anthropologists have dated flint quarries along the Hudson River (near the present day city of Hudson) at 11,000 years old, giving concrete evidence that native peoples had settled in the area by that time. These first New Yorkers are thought to subsist primarily on land mammals, though they soon take up fishing as well.

1500s - Before Contact
Before Europeans arrive on the East Coast, the region is home to American Indians who speak the Algonquian language group. Hundreds of self-governing bands make their homes from Canada to North Carolina. At least 18 distinct groups live in the New York City area, practicing hunting, fishing, farming and trading.

1609 - Henry Hudson Explores New York
The first recorded European presence in the New York City area is in 1609, when Englishman Henry Hudson sails his ship “Half Moon” into New York Bay in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage for the Dutch East India Company. Hudson touches off a wave of European opportunists, who soon follow in search of beaver belts. According to a journal kept by "Half Moon" crewman Robert Juet, the explorers are fearful of the local American Indians and have several violent clashes with them.

May 24, 1626 - The “Purchase”
In a story that has been deeply emblazoned in mainstream American culture, a Belgian by the name of Peter Minuit (1580-1638) is said to have bought the island of Manhattan for the Dutch from local indigenous people. The identity of the American Indians has never been established conclusively (the usual telling is that they are Canarsie), and records of the supposed transaction are incomplete. The sale price is said to be 60 guilders, which 19th Century historians converted to the oft-repeated $24—using 19th Century exchange rates. It is also not known if it was literally beads and trinkets that changed hands, or if that was hyperbole. In any case, most historians now agree that, at the time, American Indians did not believe land could be privately owned. The process of forcibly evicting indigenous people from the area soon begins, and when some return, they are driven away.

1620s-1790s - Colonization and Decimation
European colonization of the Americas proceeds over several hundred years, sometimes gradually and diplomatically, at other times suddenly and violently. By the end of the 1700s the last of the American Indians living in the New York City area are denied use of their historic homeland. A few take up work in the expanding white man’s world, while many move north, south or west. Small reservations form on Long Island and in New Jersey. During this time, indigenous people are also caught up in numerous bloody wars among the colonial powers (as well as the American Revolution, which goes particularly badly for many American Indians, who side with the British in large numbers in the hope of slowing American expansionism). Indigenous people endure catastrophic losses of life, as well as land, political autonomy, and social cohesion. In addition to wars and extreme repression, infectious diseases such as smallpox, measles and influenza are introduced by Europeans, leading to raging epidemics among American Indians, who have no immunity to them.

1800s - Forced Relocation and Assimilation
Many American Indians are driven deeper and deeper to the West, especially into what is now Oklahoma. Most relocation treaties heavily favor the U.S. government, and even those are often ignored by settlers and local European-American leaders. An official policy of assimilation further destroys native culture by forcibly integrating American Indians into white society, often by directly outlawing customs and sending native children to Indian Boarding Schools. At the same time, many non-indigenous Americans cultivate a fascination with the country’s original inhabitants, and appropriate their imagery (think cigar store wooden Indians and books and advertisements of the day), as well as pay to see some of the survivors in Wild West Shows.

Late 1800s-Early 1900s - No Business Like Show Business
Around the turn of the century, some American Indians begin to trickle back into New York City, in part to take advantage of the Industrial Revolution’s increased economic opportunity. Some move into the city’s burgeoning tenement slums, as is documented by groundbreaking journalist Jacob Riis. Perhaps the most important employer of native peoples at the time is show business. Besides thriving theater and radio venues, New York hosts much of the world’s silent film industry. Princess Red Wing, Mildred Bailey and others are American Indians who find wide success performing in the metropolis (see Famous Native New Yorkers).

1926 - First Urban Indian Association Founded
Indigenous people living in the Big Apple form an organization to network, socialize and assist each other, the first of its kind.

1940s - Boerum Hill Community Grows
Hundreds of Mohawk families from Canada and upstate New York settle in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, as the men take to the high beams to build out the Big Apple’s ever expanding bones of concrete and steel. A Boerum Hill church begins holding services in the Mohawk language, and a bar called the Wigwam becomes a favorite watering hole. (See Mohawk Ironworkers).

1950s-1960s - (Encouraged) Urban Migration
In 1952, the U.S. government launches the Urban Indian Relocation Program in an effort to encourage reservation dwellers to move to major American cities. Participants are promised temporary housing, cash bonuses and access to such services as counseling and job placement assistance. A number of American Indians smoothly integrate into mainstream cities over time, while others claim the government fails to make good on its promises, and find the transition extremely difficult. Even so, researchers estimate that 750,000 American Indians move to cities—including New York—between 1950 and 1980, many on their own steam.

1969 - American Indian Community House Opens
The community house has long been a focal point for indigenous people in New York, providing a wide range of social services, as well as cultural and educational events. The community house currently serves about 6,000 people a year.

1970s-1980s - Rebirth and Renewal
American Indians continue to move into New York City, in part spurred by relatively affordable cost of living (versus today), as well as a resurgence of pride in indigenous culture. On the heels of the Civil Rights movement, minorities experience improved opportunity and acceptance, though substantial problems remain. Lloyd Oxendine, Diane Fraher, Louis Mofsie and others help lead a rebirth in contemporary American Indian art and performance, with galleries, theater groups, museum exposure and other events (see Arts Story). HIV begins to affect the community (See Health Story).
 
Present - Hope and Opportunity
At least 40,000 American Indians now make their homes in NYC, and each person has a highly unique experience. American Indians are working in many diverse fields, from healthcare to education, business, the arts, nonprofits, advocacy and virtually every other discipline. Mohawk men continue to lay steel many stories above the city streets. The American Indian Community House moves to its new location near the National Museum of the American Indian (near Battery Park). Challenges remain in terms of enduring stereotypes, discrimination and failure of the U.S. government to make good on past promises, but for many native New Yorkers, the future is bright.