Early California: pre-1769–1840s: Manifest Destiny
A village of Native American bark teepees. 1872. Albert Bierstadt, artist. Oil paint on canvas. Collection of Oakland Museum of California, Kahn Collection.
This image depicts a group of Native American homes in the Mariposa area of California. In 1846, John Fremont purchased 44,000 acres of land here. When gold was discovered there in 1848, conflict arose between the miners and the local Miwok Indians. In 1851 the Mariposa Battalion was formed to remove the Indians and force them onto reservations.