Treaty with The Sioux
June 19, 1858
Articles of agreement and convention made and concluded at
the city of Washington, on the nineteenth day of June, one thousand
eight hundred and fifty-eight, by Charles E. Mix, commissioner
on the part of the United States, and the following-named chiefs
and headmen of the Mendawakanton and Wahpahoota bands of the
Dakota or Sioux tribe of Indians, viz, Wabashaw, Chetanakooamonee,
Washuhiyahidan, Shakopee, Wamindeetonkee, Muzzaojanjan, and
Makawto, chiefs, and Hinhanduta, Ha-raka-Muzza, Wakanojanjan,
Tachunr-pee-muz-za, Wakinyantowa, Chunrpiyuha, Onkeeterhidan,
and Wamouisa, braves, on the part of the Mendawakantons, and
Hushawshaw, chief, and Pa-Pa and Tataebomdu, braves, on the
part of the Wahpakootas, they being duly authorized and empowered
to act for said bands.
Article 1.
It is hereby agreed and stipulated that, as soon as practicable
after the ratification of this agreement, so much of that
part of the reservation or tract of land now held and possessed
by the Mendawakanton and Wahpakoota bands of the Dakota or
Sioux Indians, and which is described in the third article
of the treaty made with them on the fifth day of August, one
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, which lies south or
southwestwardly of the Minnesota River, shall constitute a
reservation for said bands, and shall be surveyed, and eighty
acres thereof, as near as may be in conformity with the public
surveys, be allotted in severalty to each head of a family,
or single person over the age of twenty-one years, in said
band of Indians, said allotments to be so made as to include
a proper proportion of timbered land, if the same be practicable,
in each of said allotments. The residue of said part of said
reservation not so allotted, shall be held by said bands in
common, and as other Indian lands are held: Provided, however,
That eighty acres, as near as may be, shall, in like manner
as above provided for, be allotted to each of the minors of
said bands on his or her attaining their majority, or on becoming
heads of families by contracting marriage, if neither of the
parties shall have previously received land.
All the necessary expenses of the surveys, and allotments
thus provided, for shall be defrayed out of the funds of said
bands of Indians in the hands of the Government of the United
States.
As the members of said bands become capable of managing their
business and affairs, the President of the United States may,
at his discretion, cause patents to be issued to them, for
the tracts of land allotted to them, respectively, in conformity
with this article; said tracts to be exempt from levy, taxation,
sale or forfeiture, until otherwise provided for by the legislature
of the State in which they are situated with the assent of
Congress; nor shall they be sold or alienated in fee, or be
in any other manner disposed of except to the United States
or to members of said bands.
Article 2.
Whereas by the treaty with the Mendawakanton and Wahpakoota
bands of Sioux Indians, concluded at Mendota on the fifth
day of August, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, said
bands retained for their "future occupancy and home," "to
be held by them as Indian lands are held, a tract of country
of the average width of ten miles on either side of the Minnesota
River," extending from Little Rock River to the Tchatamba
and Yellow Medicine Rivers, which land was to "be held by
said bands in common."
And whereas the Senate of the United States so amended said
treaty as to strike therefrom the provision setting apart
said land as a home for said bands, and made provision for
the payment to said bands "at the rate of ten cents per acre
for the lands included in the" said tract so reserved and
set apart for the "occupancy and home" of said bands, and
also provided in addition thereto, that there should be "set
apart, by appropriate landmarks and boundaries, such tracts
of country without the limits of the cession made by the first
article of the" said treaty as should "be satisfactory for
their future occupancy and home," said Senate amendment providing
also "that the President may, with the consent of these Indians,
vary the conditions aforesaid, if deemed expedient;" all of
which provisions in said amendment were assented to by said
Indians.
And whereas the President so far varied the conditions of
said Senate amendment, as to permit said bands to locate for
the time being, upon the tract originally reserved by said
bands for a home, and no "tracts of country without the limits
of the cession" made in the said treaty has [have] ever been
provided for, or offered to, said bands:
And whereas by the "act making appropriations for the current
and contingent expenses of the Indian Department and for fulfilling
treaty stipulations with various Indian tribes," approved
July 31, 1854, the President was authorized to confirm to
the Sioux of Minnesota forever, the reserve on the Minnesota
River now occupied by them, upon such conditions as he may
deem just:
And whereas, although the President has not directly confirmed
said reserve to said Indians, they claim that as they were
entitled to receive "such tracts of country" as should "be
satisfactory for their future occupancy and home," and as
no such country has been provided for, or offered to, said
bands, it is agreed and stipulated that the question shall
be submitted to the Senate for decision whether they have
such title: and if they have, what compensation shall be made
to them for that part of said reservation or tract of land
lying on the north side of the Minnesota River - whether
they shall be allowed a specific sum of money therefor, and
if so, how much; or whether the same shall be sold for their
benefit, they to receive the proceeds of such sale, deducting
the necessary expenses incident thereto. Such sale, if decided
in favor of by the Senate, shall be made under and according
to regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior,
and in such manner as will secure to them the largest sum
it may be practicable to obtain for said land.
Article 3.
It is also agreed that if the Senate shall authorize the
land designated in article two of this agreement to be sold
for the benefit of the said Mendawakanton and Wahpakoota bands,
or shall prescribe an amount to be paid said bands for their
interest in said tract, provision shall be made by which the
chiefs and head-men of said bands may, in their discretion,
in open council, authorize to be paid out of the proceeds
of said tract, such sum or sums as may be found necessary
and proper, not exceeding seventy thousand dollars, to satisfy
their just debts and obligations, and to provide goods to
be taken by said chiefs and head-men to the said bands upon
their return: Provided, however, That their said determinations
shall be approved by the superintendent of Indian affairs
for the northern superintendency for the time being, and the
said payments be authorized by the Secretary of the Interior.
Article 4.
The lands retained and to be held by the members of the Mendawakanton
and Wahpakoota bands of the Dakota or Sioux Indians, under
and by virtue of the first article of this agreement, shall,
to all intents and purposes whatever, be deemed and held to
be an Indian reservation; and the laws which have been, or
may hereafter be enacted by Congress, to regulate trade and
intercourse with the Indian tribes, shall have full force
and effect over and within the limits of the same; and no
person other than the members of the said bands, to be ascertained
and defined under such regulations as the Secretary of the
Interior shall prescribe, unless such as may be duly licensed
to trade with said bands, or employed for their benefit, or
members of the family of such persons, shall be permitted
to reside or make any settlement upon any part of said reservation;
and the timbered land allotted to individuals, and also that
reserved for subsequent distribution as provided in the first
article of this agreement, shall be free from all trespass,
use, or occupation, except as hereinafter provided.
Article 5.
The United States shall have the right to establish and maintain
upon said reservation such military posts, agencies, schools,
mills, shops, roads, and agricultural or mechanical improvements,
as may be deemed necessary, but no greater quantity of land
or timber shall be taken and used for said purposes than shall
be actually requisite therefor. And if in the establishment
or maintenance of such posts, agencies, roads or other improvements,
the timber or other property of any individual Indian shall
be taken, injured, or destroyed, just and adequate compensation
shall be made therefor by the United States. Roads or highways
authorized by competent authority other than the United States,
the lines of which shall lie through said reservation, shall
have the right of way through the same, upon the fair and
just value of such right being paid to the said Mendawakanton
and Wapakoota bands by the party or parties authorizing or
interested in the same, to be assessed and determined in such
manner as the Secretary of the Interior shall direct.
Article 6.
The Mendawakanton and Wahpakoota bands of Dakota or Sioux
Indians acknowledge their dependence on the Government of
the United States, and do hereby pledge and bind themselves
to preserve friendly relations with the citizens thereof,
and to commit no injuries or depredations on their persons
or property, nor on those of the members of any other tribe;
but in case of any such injury or depredation, full compensation
shall, as far as practicable be made therefor out of their
moneys in the hands of the United States; the amount in all
cases to be determined by the Secretary of the Interior. They
further pledge themselves not to engage in hostilities with
the Indians of any other tribe unless in self-defence, but
to submit, through their agent, all matters of dispute and
difficulty between themselves and other Indians, for the decision
of the President of the United States, and to acquiesce in
and abide thereby. They also agree to deliver to the proper
officers all persons belonging to their said bands who may
become offenders against the treaties, laws, or regulation
of the United States, or the laws of the State of Minnesota,
and to assist in discovering, pursuing, and capturing all
such offenders whenever required so to do by such officers,
through the agent or other proper officer of the Indian Department.
Article 7.
To aid in preventing the evils of intemperance, it is hereby
stipulated that if any of the members of the said Mendawakanton
and Wahpakoota bands of Sioux Indians shall drink, or procure
for others, intoxicating liquors, their proportion of the
annuities of said bands shall, at the discretion of the Secretary
of the Interior, be withheld from them for the period of at
least one year; and for a violation of any of the stipulations
of this agreement on the part of any members of said bands,
the persons so offending shall be liable to have their annuities
withheld and to be subject to such other punishment as the
Secretary of the Interior may prescribe.
Article 8.
Such of the stipulations of former treaties as provided for
the payment of particular sums of money to the said Mendawakanton
and Wahpakoota bands, or for the application or expenditure
of specific amounts for particular objects or purposes, shall
be, and hereby are, so amended and changed as to invest the
Secretary of the Interior with discretionary power in regard
to the manner and objects of the annual expenditure of all
such sums or amounts which have accrued and are now due to
said bands, together with the amount the said bands shall
become annually entitled to under and by virtue of the provisions
of this agreement: Provided, The said sums or amounts shall
be expended for the benefit of said bands at such time or
times and in such manner as the said Secretary shall deem
best calculated to promote their interests, welfare, and advance
in civilization. And it is further agreed, that such change
may be made in the stipulations of former treaties which provide
for the payment of particular sums for specified purposes,
as to permit the chiefs and braves of said bands or any of
the subdivisions of said bands, with the sanction of the Secretary
of the Interior, to authorize such payment or expenditures
of their annuities, or any portion thereof, which are to become
due hereafter, as may be deemed best for the general interests
and welfare of the said bands or subdivisions thereof.
Article 9.
As the Senate struck from the treaty with the Mendawakanton
band of Sioux on the twenty-ninth day of September, one thousand
eight hundred and thirty-seven, the ninth clause of the second
article and the whole of the third article of said treaty,
which provided for the payment of four hundred and fifty (450)
dollars annually, for twenty years, to Scott Campbell, and
confirmed to the said Scott Campbell a title to five hundred
(500) acres of land which he then occupied, said payment and
land being deemed by said Indians to form a part of the consideration
for which they ceded to the United States a certain tract
of land in said treaty specified, which reduction, in the
consideration for said land, has never been sanctioned by
said Indians, the said Mendawakantons and Wahpakoota bands
now request that provision be made for the payment of the
sum of ten thousand (10,000) dollars to A. J. Campbell, the
son of said Scott Campbell, now deceased, in full consideration
of the money stipulated to be paid and land confirmed to said
Scott Campbell in the original draft of said treaty aforesaid;
which subject is hereby submitted to the Senate for its favorable
consideration.
Article 10.
The expenses attending the negotiation of this agreement
shall be defrayed by the United States.
In testimony whereof, the said Charles E. Mix, Commissioner,
as aforesaid, and the undersigned chiefs and headmen of the
said Mendawakanton and Wahpakoota bands, have hereunto set
their hands and seals at the place and on the day first above
written.
- Charles E. Mix, Commissioner, [L. S.]
- Wa-bash-aw, his x mark. [L. S.]
- Che-tan-a-koo-a-mo-nee, (Little Crow,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Wa-su-hi-ya-hi-dan, his x mark. [L. S.]
- Sha-ko-pee, (Six,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Wa-min-dee-ton-kee, (Large War Eagle,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Muz-za-o-jan-jan, (Iron Light,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Ma-kaw-to, (Blue Earth,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Hu-shaw-shaw, (Red Legs,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Hin-han-du-ta, (Scarlet Owl,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Ha-raka-muz-za,(Iron Elk,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Wu-ka-no-jan-jan, (Medicine Light,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Ta-chunr-pee-muzza, (His Iron War Club,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Wa-kin-yan-to-wa, (Owns the Thunder,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Chunr-pi-you-ha, (Has a War Club,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- On-kee-ter-hi-dan, (Little Whale,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Wa-mo-u-i-sa, (The Thief,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Pa-pa, (Sharp,) his x mark. [L. S.]
- Ta-ta-i-bom-du, (Scattering Wind,) his x mark. [L. S.]
Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of -
- Joseph R. Brown, Sioux agent
- A. J. Campbell, interpreter.
- N. R. Brown.
- A. Robertson.
- John Dowling.
- James R. Roche.
- B. D. Hyam.
- H. J. Myrick.
- Thos. A. Robertson.
- Fr. Schmidt.
[N. B. - By the first section of the act of February 16,
1863, 12th Statutes at Large, page 652, it is provided as
follows: That all treaties heretofore made and entered into
by the Sisseton, Wahpaton, Medawakanton, and Wahpakoota bands
of Sioux or Dakota Indians, or any of them, with the United
States, are hereby declared to be abrogated and annulled,
so far as said treaties or any of them purport to impose any
future obligation on the United States, and all lands and
rights of occupancy within the State of Minnesota, and all
annuities and claims heretofore accorded to said Indians,
or any of them, to be forfeited to the United States.]
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