Final answer:
Geronimo was the Apache leader who evaded arrest by leaving the reservation with his followers in 1885 as a form of resistance. Initially vilified, Geronimo's reputation changed over time, and by the century's end, he saw partial vindication of his actions against federal policy.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Indian who had been guilty of evading arrest for a minor offense on the reservation was Geronimo, an Apache leader. In 1885, Geronimo led a group of Apaches off their Arizona reservation, seeing the reservation life as unacceptable due to unfulfilled promises and restrictions. This act was a form of resistance against the reservation system.
Geronimo was pursued by federal troops for over a year, and upon surrendering in 1886 under the promise of a new reservation, he and his followers were instead shipped to a federal prison in Florida. While initially vilified, Geronimo's reputation underwent a transformation, and by the turn of the century, he achieved partial vindication for his resistance against federal policies.
The treatment of Native Americans during this period was a subject of much controversy and reform in the United States. Figures like Helen Hunt Jackson brought attention to their plight, and the government's conflicted policies ranging from forced assimilation to violent suppression demonstrated a nation grappling with its treatment of Indigenous peoples.