Treaties and Treaty-Making

Defined

            Treaties are considered to be similar to a contract in which two sovereign independent nations come to a formal agreement about a certain dispute (nebraskastudies.org). These treaties were created by the President of the United States and ratified by the Senate.  The treaties with Native Americans mainly negotiated the territories recognized by the United States government as Native American land.  Many treaties also prohibited Native Americans from hunting in exchange for traded goods as well as annual cash payments.  Some land was “reserved” specifically for tribal use which led to the more modern idea of reservations (nebraskastudies.org). 

History

The first treaty that the United States created with the Native Americans was in 1778 with the Delaware tribe.  This treaty was part of a strategic plan for the United States to gain support in the war against the British.  The Delaware were recognized as a sovereign nation and were even granted permission to send a representative to Congress (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6979/treaties.html).  Although, many tribes signed these treaties because they saw it as a way to escape the white settlers and remain in control of their land, the majority of treaties were not honored for long by the US government (nebraskastudies.org).  Many natives believed the treaties would last “for as long as the sun shines and the rivers run” (Geocities November 26, 2007).  But the promises made in the treaties were often broken; having a lasting effect on the Native American culture. 

            The treaties allowed white Americans to quickly explore and expand settlements across the western part of the United States.  Treaties allowed easy transfer of Indian land into white land.  Many Native American nations that resisted making treaties with the United States were forcibly removed from their land.  In retrospect the treaties are clearly a tactic for the US to steal land from the natives, but the majority of Native Americans tribes at the time were dying from disease and war brought by the white settlers and were desperate for a solution.  Many also signed treaties to appease the US government, to gain protection from violent white settlers, and to gain territory that was suppose to be protected by the government.  Native Americans viewed treaties as a last resort to stop white settlers from invading their territory (nebraskastudies.org).   

From 1778 to 1871 three hundred and seventy treaties were made between the United States government and the Native Americans.  Over half of these treaties were land cessions and less than a third were peace treaties.  By the end of the treaty-making era Native Americans had ceded 450 million acres at around twenty cents an acre (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6979/treaties.html).  Treaties were a way for the United State government to get the Native Americans to cooperate, but by 1830 the government began integrate the use of a new tactic to control the Native Americans; Indian Removal (nebraskastudies.org).

The end of treaty-making with the Native Americans sparked the now infamous “Trail of Tears” that many tribes were forced to go on.  In 1830 President Jackson was able to convince Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act which forced all native tribes to settle on land set aside in South Dakota and Oklahoma.  This allowed the Native Americans to be isolated away from western expansion and settlement.  One tribe, the Cherokees, who resisted removal were forced by President Jackson as well as the state of Georgia to travel the distance to Oklahoma.  Many of the Cherokees died during the passage, designating it “The Trail of Tears” (nebraskastudies.org).

Treaty of Hellgate

            Throughout the history of treaty-making with Native Americans white settlers have used complicated wording and unrealistic promises as a way to obtain land where natives resided. On July 16, 1855 the Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d’Oreille tribes of Montana signed the Treaty of Hellgate believing that it was not a document stating that they must leave their homeland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Hellgate).  These tribes believed that the Treaty of Hellgate created a friendship between the Indians and their non-Indian neighbors, while the white settlers viewed the treaty as a way to claim Indian land as their own.  Bitterroot Valley, where the Salish tribe resided, was left undisturbed for fifteen years after the treaty had been signed.  In 1864 gold was found on western Montana territory causing the government as well as violent white settlers to pressure the tribes to leave their homeland and move to the Flathead Reservation.  By the time that the three tribes realized that in signing the Treaty of Hellgate meant that they had ceded twenty million acres of land to the US government, it was too late (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederated_Salish_and_Kootenai_Tribes_of_the_Flathead_Nation).  By 1891, any Native American who had not already left their homeland to move to the 1.25 million acre reservation was forcibly removed by the US government (Missoulian, Devlin & montanatribes.org, Bigart and Woodcock).  The Treaty of Hellgate is a prime example of how the US used treaties to manipulate the Native Americans tricking them into signing documents that were not at all fair. 

Contemporary Litigations

            Treaties created in the past between natives and the US government were mainly concerned with land rights and property ownership, but today these treaties are used as evidence during disputes over natural resources.  In Wisconsin the Chippewa used the treaties their tribal leaders signed between 1837 and 1842 in a 1974 lawsuit.  The dispute was over the Chippewa tribe of Lake Superior right to hunt and fish.  Although this tribe had ceded the land covering one third of Wisconsin to the US government in the mid 1800’s their treaty specifically stated that they were still permitted to hunt on non-reservation land.  This case, known as the Voigt case, set a precedent for treaty litigation to come.  By using the treaty signed by their ancestors over a hundred years before the Chippewa won their lawsuit, reinforcing the validity of their treaty (wisbar.org, Pierson).       

 Work Cited

“A Long History of Treaties.” 24 November 2007. nebraskastudies.org

“Confederate Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation.”  25 November 2007.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederated_Salish_and_Kootenai_Tribes_of_the_Flathead_Nation.

Devlin. Sherry. “Hellgate Treaty Remembered.” Editorial. Missoulian Online. 26 November 2007.  http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2003/10/05/news/local/znews06.txt

Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler. Washington : Government  Printing Office, 1904. http://www.digital.library.okstte.edu/kappler/

In the Name of the Salish & Kootenai Nation. Edited by Robert Bigart and Clarence

Woodcock. Salish Kootenai College Press, 1996.

montanatribes.org

Pierson, Brian L. Chippewa Treaty Rights Litigation in Wisconsin. June 2000. 27 November 2007. http://www.wisbar.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=24013.

“Treaties Made with the North American Indians!” 24 November 2007. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6979/treaties.html.

“Treaty of Hellgate.” 25 November 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Hellgate