Harvard College is founded
Harvard University is now the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Its influence, wealth, and rankings have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
United States
The Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca peoples form the Iroquois Confederation
The Iroquois Confederacy or Haudenosaunee is believed to have been founded by the Peacemaker in 1142 or 1451 C.E., bringing together five distinct nations in the southern Great Lakes area into “The Great League of Peace”.
Inuit culture emerges in the Arctic
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting Inuit Nunangat, the regions of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska
The Plains Indians begin their purification ceremonies held in sweat lodges
The sweat ceremony is intended as a spiritual reunion with the creator and a respectful connection to the earth itself as much as it is meant for purging toxins out of the physical body.
Dorset culture emerges in modern-day Canada and Alaska
The Dorset was a Paleo-Eskimo culture, lasting from 500 B.C.E. to between 1000 and 1500 C.E., that followed the Pre-Dorset and preceded the Inuit in the Arctic of North America.
The Poverty Point culture in modern-day southern United States flourishes
Poverty Point culture is an archaeological culture that corresponds to an ancient group of indigenous peoples who inhabited the area of the lower Mississippi Valley and surrounding Gulf coast from about 2200 B.C.E. – 700 B.C.E.
Humans invent footwear, perhaps sagebrush bark sandals in modern-day Oregon
In 1938 archaeologist Luther Cressman (from the University of Oregon) excavated at Fort Rock Cave in central Oregon. Cressman found dozens of sandals below a layer of volcanic ash.
Humans migrate from Siberia to Americas across the Bering Land Bridge
As of 2008, genetic findings suggest that a single population of modern humans migrated from southern Siberia toward the Bering Land Bridge as early as 30,000 years ago, and crossed over by 16,500 years ago.