Sam B. Hilliard & Dan Irwin, Native American Land Loss Maps (1972)

This infographic, created by Sam B. Hilliard of Louisiana State University, in collaboration with Dan Irwin and staff of Southern Illinois University Cartographic Library, includes seven maps, five of which depict a chronological series of Native American land cessions from 1784 to 1972, and the other two depicting tribal land claims and Native American reservations at the time the infographic was published in 1972. Now featured alongside an animated version of the infographic on the Teaching for Change website, the maps illustrate the massive loss of land suffered by  Indigenous Peoples during this and other historical periods. As stated in the infographic's informational text, each map covers a time when cessions were most prevalent or when land transfers were especially active. Moving from the first to the second map in the series illustrates that land cessions became more dramatic after the War of 1812, which lasted from 1812 to 1815 and established the United States as the preeminent power in North America, ushering in an increased demand for more land. This was quickly followed by the 1830 Indian Removal Act, which the government used to persuade, bribe, and threaten tribes to negotiate land cession treaties, or else forcibly removed them from their lands. The next map in the series illustrates the disastrous effects of the California Gold Rush from 1848 to 1855. Overrun by outsiders attracted by the promise of riches, California Native American Tribes signed unfair cession treaties that would strip them of their land and move them to reservations. However, the Senate rejected ratification of the treaties, leaving them without even the promised reservation land, as can be seen in land losses between 1855 and 1859.