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The Institution for "Insane Indians" is established in South Dakota.

1898

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Congress passes a bill creating the only Institution for "Insane Indians" in the United States. The Canton "Insane Asylum" (also called the "Hiawatha Insane Asylum") opens in January 1903. Many Native people are confined because they resist government regulations, and/or because they are struggling with alcoholism. Tourists visit in the summer to view the "insane Indians." Those who die are buried in a field that will eventually become a golf course. The asylum will close in 1934. The golf course still exists today.