Treaty of St. Peters may be one of two treaties conducted between the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Native American peoples, conducted at the confluence of the
Minnesota River (then called "St. Peters River") with the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, in what today is
Mendota, Minnesota
Mendota is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The name is derived from the Dakota language, meaning "mouth or junction of one river with another. The population was 198 at the 2010 census.
History
The town was one of the first ...
.
1805 Treaty of St. Peters
The 1805 Treaty of St. Peters or the Treaty with the Sioux, better known as Pike's Purchase, was a treaty conducted between Lieutenant
Zebulon Pike
Zebulon Montgomery Pike (January 5, 1779 – April 27, 1813) was an American brigadier general and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado was named. As a U.S. Army officer he led two expeditions under authority of President Thomas Jefferson ...
for the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and Chiefs "''Le Petit Carbeau''" and ''Way Aga Enogee'' on behalf of the
Sioux Nation
The Great Sioux Nation is the traditional political structure of the Sioux in North America. The peoples who speak the Sioux language are considered to be members of the Oceti Sakowin (''Očhéthi Šakówiŋ'', pronounced ) or Seven Council Fire ...
. The treaty conducted on September 23, 1805, purchases two tracts of land: nine-square miles each at the confluence of the
St. Croix River about what now is
Hastings, Minnesota and confluence of the
Minnesota River with
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
about what now is
Mendota, Minnesota
Mendota is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The name is derived from the Dakota language, meaning "mouth or junction of one river with another. The population was 198 at the 2010 census.
History
The town was one of the first ...
, for the purposes of establishing military posts at each of the two sites. A military post was not established at the confluence of the St. Croix with the Mississippi, but
Fort Snelling
Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...
was established on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota with the Mississippi. Though the treaty was never proclaimed by the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
, it was ratified by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
on April 16, 1808.
1837 Treaty of St. Peters
The 1837 Treaty of St. Peters or the Treaty with the Chippewa (or informally as the White Pine Treaty) was a treaty conducted between Governor
Henry Dodge
Moses Henry Dodge (October 12, 1782 – June 19, 1867) was a Democratic member to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, Territorial Governor of Wisconsin and a veteran of the Black Hawk War. His son, Augustus C. Dodge, served a ...
for the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and representatives from
Ojibwa bands located across today's
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
and
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. It was conducted on July 29, 1837, at St. Peters,
Wisconsin Territory
The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...
(known today as
Mendota, Minnesota
Mendota is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The name is derived from the Dakota language, meaning "mouth or junction of one river with another. The population was 198 at the 2010 census.
History
The town was one of the first ...
). Signatory tribes commonly call this treaty The Treaty of 1837. The treaty was proclaimed on June 15, 1838, and codified in the
United States Statutes at Large
The ''United States Statutes at Large'', commonly referred to as the ''Statutes at Large'' and abbreviated Stat., are an official record of Acts of Congress and concurrent resolutions passed by the United States Congress. Each act and resolut ...
as .
Land Cession Terms
In the treaty, the Ojibwa nations ceded to the United States a large tract of land located from the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
in east-central Minnesota to the
Wisconsin River
The Wisconsin River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At approximately 430 miles (692 km) long, it is the state's longest river. The river's name, first recorded in 1673 by Jacques Marquette as "Meskous ...
in northern Wisconsin, using as its southern boundaries the "Prairie du Chien Line" as established by the 1825
First Treaty of Prairie du Chien
The Treaty of Prairie du Chien may refer to any of several treaties made and signed in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin between the United States, representatives from the Sioux, Sac and Fox, Menominee, Ioway, Winnebago and the Anishinaabeg ( Chipp ...
, between the
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, ...
and the Ojibwa, and using the
Lake Superior
Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
watershed as its northern boundaries.
The land cession was conducted to guarantee access to the Wisconsin Territory's lumber resources that was needed to help build housing for the growing populations in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
and
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. In the sale, the United States obligated itself to payments to the signatory Bands for twenty years and additional provisions for the
Metis
Metis or Métis may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Métis, recognized Indigenous communities in Canada and America whose distinct culture and language emerged after early intermarriage between First Nations peoples and early European settlers, prima ...
in the territory. In turn, the signatory Ojibwa bands retained
usufruct
Usufruct () is a limited real right (or ''in rem'' right) found in civil-law and mixed jurisdictions that unites the two property interests of ''usus'' and ''fructus'':
* ''Usus'' (''use'') is the right to use or enjoy a thing possessed, direct ...
uary rights to continue hunting, fishing and gathering within the treaty-ceded territory.
Signatories
Commissioner:
*
Henry Dodge
Moses Henry Dodge (October 12, 1782 – June 19, 1867) was a Democratic member to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, Territorial Governor of Wisconsin and a veteran of the Black Hawk War. His son, Augustus C. Dodge, served a ...
, Commissioner
Recording Secretary:
*
Verplanck Van Antwerp, Secretary to the Commissioner
Indian Agents:
*
Lawrence Taliaferro
Lawrence Taliaferro ( ; February 28, 1794 – January 22, 1871) was a United States Army officer who served as an Indian agent at Fort Snelling, Minnesota from 1820 through 1839. He was also part of the famous African American slave Dred Scott's s ...
, US Indian Agent at
St. Peters
*
Miles M. Vineyard, US Sub-Indian Agent at
Crow Wing, Minnesota
*
Daniel P. Bushnell, US Sub-Indian Agent at
La Pointe, Wisconsin
Interpreters:
*
John Baptiste DuBay
*
Peter Quinn
*
Scott Campbell
* Stephen Bonga
Army:
*
Martin Scott, Captain, Fifth Regiment Infantry
* Dr. John Emerson, Assistant Surgeon, US Army
Traders:
*
Hercules L. Dousman
Hercules Louis Dousman (August 4, 1800 – September 12, 1868) was a fur trader and real-estate speculator who played a large role in the economic development of frontier Wisconsin. He is often called Wisconsin's first millionaire.
Early life a ...
*
Henry Hastings Sibley
Henry Hastings Sibley (February 20, 1811 – February 18, 1891) was a North American fur trade, fur trader with the American Fur Company, the first United States House of Representatives, U.S. Congressional representative for Minnesota Territor ...
*
Lyman Marquis Warren of
La Pointe, Wisconsin
Special guests:
*
Jean Nicholas Nicollet
Others:
*
Harmen Van Antwerp
*
William W. Coriell
*
William H. Forbes
*
Ezekiel Lockwood
Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible.
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is acknow ...
of
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821.
Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was est ...
*
Samuel C. Stambaugh of
Green Bay, Wisconsin
In addition, two other known people were in attendance, but were not signatories:
*
William A. Aitken
*
Allan Morrison
Establishment of Reservations
Together with the 1842 and 1854 treaty-ceded territories in determining the locations of
Indian Reservation
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
s in the 1854
Treaty of La Pointe
The Treaty of La Pointe may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in La Pointe, Wisconsin between the United States and the Ojibwe (Chippewa) Native American peoples. In addition, the Isle Royale Agreement, an adhesion to the first Trea ...
and the 1855
Treaty of Washington, the 1837 treaty-ceded territory was divided into five zones.
Charles Royce in his 1899 report and accompanying map to the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
designated the territory as "Land Cession Area No. 242," thus the area is often called "Royce Area 242." The five zones each with proposed centralized Indian Reservations of approximately each were Mille Lacs Lake (242A), St. Croix (242B), Lac Courte Oreilles (242C), Lac du Flambeau (242D) and Mole Lake (242E), with access accommodations made for Fond du Lac, La Pointe and Lac Vieux Desert.
However, with St. Croix and Sokoagon walking out of the negotiations of the 1854
Treaty of La Pointe
The Treaty of La Pointe may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in La Pointe, Wisconsin between the United States and the Ojibwe (Chippewa) Native American peoples. In addition, the Isle Royale Agreement, an adhesion to the first Trea ...
, they were excluded from further business, losing their federal recognition until 1934, and the proposed St. Croix Indian Reservation was never established in zone 242B and Mole Lake was never established straddling zone 242E and 1842 treaty-ceded territory. In the case of St. Croix, illness overcame the Chief ''Ayaabens'' and the United States would not accept a sub-Chief vested with negotiation authority, so St. Croix had no choice but to walk away; oral history of both the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Minnesota of the
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe ( oj, Misi-zaaga'igani Anishinaabeg), also known as the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians, is a federally recognized American Indian tribe located in east-central Minnesota. The Band has 4,302 members as of 2012. ...
and the
St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin both state if it were not for Chief ''Ayaabens''’ illness, the St. Croix Band would have insisted on reaffirmation of treaty rights expressed in both the 1837 Treaty of St. Peters and the 1842 Treaty of La Pointe, so that the Band would not be face with loss of off-Reservation resources access. Shortly afterwards, Chief ''Ayaabens'' died from his illness. In the case of Mole Lake, their Chief was barred from the treaty council as the United States firmly believed that the initially proposed four Reservations of about each would not be an adequate alternative for a single Reservation of about . The Mole Lake Chief sent his sub-Chief to the Treaty council, with full negotiation authority, but like St. Croix, United States would not accept Mole Lake's sub-Chief, even when fully vested with negotiation authority, leaving the Mole Lake delegation no other choice but to walk away from Treaty council. However, Mille Lacs Lake and Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Reservations were established in 242A and 242C respectively, and Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservations was established straddling zone 242D and 1842 treaty-ceded territory.
Treaty area boundary adjustments
In Wisconsin, for regulatory purposes, the southern boundaries of the 1837 treaty-area have been adjusted to follow distinct landmarks such as roads and streams. However, in Wisconsin with consent of the property-owner and with tribally issued license, all treaty rights of hunting, fishing and gathering may be exercised by the members of the signatory bands.
In Minnesota, no boundary adjustments have been made. However, hunting is limited to public lands located within the 1837 treaty-area and requires tribally issued hunting license. For non-public lands within the 1837 treaty-area, hunting is subjectable to state hunting licensing and rules. For fishing and gathering, tribally issued licenses are required in Minnesota's portion of the 1837 treaty-ceded territory.
1851 Treaty of St. Peters
*See
Treaty of Mendota
The Treaty of Mendota was signed in Mendota, Minnesota on August 5, 1851 between the United States federal government and the Mdewakanton and Wahpekute Dakota people of Minnesota.
The agreement was signed near Pilot Knob on the south bank of the M ...
See also
*
Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Wisconsin
*
Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians,
Notes
References
*Zapffe, Carl A. ''Minnesota's Chippewa Treaty of 1837''.
Further reading
* McClurken, James M. (2000). ''Fish in the Lakes, Wild Rice and Game in abundance''. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
External links
Digital copy of the 1805 treaty*
Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians v. Minnesota (1994)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treaty Of St. Peters
Ojibwe in the United States
Sioux
St. Peters
Anishinaabe treaty areas
Pre-statehood history of Wisconsin
Native American history of Minnesota
1805 treaties
1837 treaties