US Government Documents related to Indigenous Nations

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  President Hayes's Executive Order, 1880 (Kappler)

  Charles J. Kappler and Rutherford B. Hayes

  This 1904 reprint of President Rutherford B. Hayes’s 1880 Executive Order was transcribed and published in vol. I of Charles Kappler’s Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Originally issued on July 13, 1880, President Hayes’s Executive Order significantly reduced the size of the Fort Berthold Reservation. Created at the behest of the Northern Pacific Railroad, this executive order resulted in a considerable loss of Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara homelands, hunting grounds, and sacred sites.

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  Treaty of Fort Laramie with Sioux, Etc., 1851 (Kappler)

  Charles J. Kappler, David D. Mitchell, and Thomas Fitzpatrick

  This 1904 reprint of the Treaty of Fort Laramie with the Sioux, Etc., 1851—also known as the Horse Creek Treaty—was transcribed and published in vol. II of Charles Kappler's Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Originally signed on September 17, 1851, this treaty between the US Government and representatives from the Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Crow, Assiniboine, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations, recognized and defined the boundaries between the Indigenous tribes of the Northern Great Plains. Equally, it sought to establish an effective and lasting peace between the signers by agreeing to a series of concessions. In return for recognizing their right to establish roads and posts, the US Government promised to protect the tribes from all depredations by the people of the United States and pay annual annuities of $50,000 for fifty years. This document reflects Congress’ amendment changing the annuity in Article 7 from fifty to ten years. The Senate ratified this treaty on May 24, 1852.

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  Treaty of Fort Laramie, 1868 (Kappler)

  Charles J. Kappler, Nathaniel G. Taylor, William T. Sherman, William S. Harney, John B. Sanborn, Samuel F. Tappen, Christopher C. Augur, Alfred H. Terry, John B. Henderson, and Andrew Johnson

  This 1904 reprint of the Sioux Treaty of 1868, also known as the Treaty of Fort Laramie, 1868, was transcribed and published in vol. II of Charles Kappler’s Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. This treaty, between the United States government and the Sioux and Arapaho Nations, established the Great Sioux Reservation, promised the Sioux would own the Black Hills in perpetuity, and set aside the country north of the North Platte River and east of the summits of the Big Horn Mountains as unceded Indian territory. Furthermore, the U.S. government pledged to close the Bozeman Trail forts and provide food, clothing, and annuities to the tribes, given that they agreed to relinquish all rights to live outside the reservation.

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  Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock

  United States Supreme Court

  This United States (US) Supreme Court case, argued on October 23, 1902 and decided on January 5, 1903, held that the US Congress does have the right to pass legislation that changes the terms of tribal treaties without the necessary consent of the tribes with whom the treaties were made. The petitioner in this case, Lone Wolf (representing members of the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes) appealed a decision from the court of appeals from the District of Columbia. The petitioner claimed that the Medicine Lodge treaty of 1867 with the Kiowa and Comanche tribes was violated when Congress passed bills modifying the treaty without the consent of three fourths of the adult male members of the tribes, per the specifications of the treaty. In their decision on the appeal, the US Supreme court noted its view that Indigenous people are “wards” of the US Government, requiring resources, protection, and management/governance. The decision cites Cherokee Nation v. Hitchcock (1902) which “held that full administrative power was possessed by Congress over Indian tribal property.” Further, the Court held that they could not limit the powers of Congress to control tribal lands as in the event of an emergency or urgent situation, Congress would not be able to wait for tribal consent and that acts of Congress are legislative in nature and not “subject to the control of the courts.” The Supreme Court affirmed, and Justice White delivered the opinion of the court.

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  Cherokee Nation v. Hitchcock

  United States Supreme Court

  This United States (US) Supreme Court case, submitted October 23, 1902 and decided December 1, 1902, held that the US Congress has the right to pass legislation that controls the actions and/or property of tribes in the United States without tribal consent. This case began when the Cherokee Nation attempted to stop the Secretary of the Interior from leasing their land for oil extraction. The Cherokee Nation asserted that an 1835 treaty granted them the right to their lands and to self-government. In their decision on this appeal, the Court asserts that the June 28, 1898 act of the US Congress and the case Stephens v. Cherokee Nation (174 U.S. 445) gave the US Congress “practically full control over the Cherokees, as well as other nations constituting the five civilized tribes.” As such, the Court held that the US Congress has the authority to control tribal property because the power of Congress is legislative and therefore not for the courts to determine. The US Supreme Court affirmed, and Justice White delivered the opinion of the court.

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  An Act Making Appropriations for the Current and Contingent Expenses of the Indian Department and for Fulfilling Treaty Stipulations with Various Indian Tribes for the Fiscal Year Ending June Thirteenth, Nineteen Hundred and Two, and for Other Purposes.

  United States Congress

  This United States (US) public law, noted as “Chap. 832” dated March 3, 1901, details the appropriations that will be made to various tribes for the fiscal year ending June 1902. This funding breakdown includes payments made to the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes residing at the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota. Appropriations in this law are noted as supporting treaty stipulations, schools, and a variety of miscellaneous expenses including construction, provisions, and the management of small pox.

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  An Act to Provide for the Allotment of Lands in Severalty to Indians on the Various Reservations (General Allotment Act or Dawes Act)

  Henry L. Dawes

  This Act, passed on February 8, 1887, authorized the US government to break up reservations and tribal lands, previously held in common, into individual plots. Aimed at assimilating Indigenous people into white society, this act promoted agriculture and grazing by allotting tribal members or families who registered a portion of reservation land outlined in the document. Furthermore, this document granted American citizenship to those who accepted the division of tribal lands.

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  Rules Governing the Court of Indian Offenses

  Hiram Price

  This transcribed document, dated March 30, 1883, contains a letter from Henry M. Teller of the United States (US) Department of the Interior to Hiram Price of the US Office of Indian Affairs outlining perceived problems among Indigenous tribes in the US. This letter is followed by a set of rules written in response to the expressed concerns. These rules are commonly referred to as The Code of Indian Offenses. Teller expressed concern about religious practices among Indigenous tribes, including sacred dances and the leadership of medicine men. He was also concerned about plural marriage and practices surrounding property ownership. He felt that traditional practices were a hinderance to the “civilization” of Indigenous people and that something needed to be done to curb these practices. Hiram Price wrote The Code of Indian Offenses to address these concerns, outlining specific offenses that correlated to Teller’s concerns. Punishment for these offenses included, withholding of rations, hard labor, fines, and jail time. The practice of outlawing religious practices among Indigenous people in the United States legally persisted until 1978 when the US Congress passed American Indian Religious Freedom also known as the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 (sometimes abbreviated AIRFA).

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  President Hayes's Executive Order, 1880

  Rutherford B. Hayes

  This Executive Order, issued by President Rutherford B. Hayes on July 13, 1880, significantly reduced the size of the Fort Berthold Reservation. Created at the behest of the Northern Pacific Railroad, this executive order resulted in a critical loss of Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara homelands, hunting grounds, and sacred sites.

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  Durfee & Peck. Letter from the Secretary of the Interior, inclosing an account of Messrs. Durfee & Peck, for rent of agency buildings at Fort Berthold. February 11, 1871

  United States Congress; US House of Representatives; US Department of the Interior; and US Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs

  This letter, dated February 11, 1871 from United States (US) Secretary of the Interior Columbus Delano to Speaker of the US House of Representatives James G. Blaine, also known as US House of Representatives Executive Document 115, transmits communications from US Commissioner of Indian Affairs Ely S. Parker, Dakota Territory Governor and ex-officio Superintendent of Indian Affairs John A. Burbank, and D. W. Marsh, agent for the Leavenworth, Kansas firm of Durfee & Peck, from whom the Upper Missouri Indian Agency has been renting the Fort Berthold Agency buildings for the sum of $3,500 per year. The agent for Durfee & Peck has offered to sell the buildings for $16,000, and the matter is being "respectfully submitted to Congress for such action as may be deemed proper by that body."

  The document also contains a detailed inventory of buildings and structures to be included in the purchase.

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  Executive Order of 1870

  Ulysses S. Grant, George L. Hartstuff, Samuel A. Wainwright, Ely S. Parker, and Jacob D. Cox

  This Executive Order, issued by President Ulysses S. Grant on April 12, 1870, established the Fort Berthold Reservation. In addition to Grant’s Executive Order, this document includes a series of letters, proposals, and endorsements for the creation of a reservation for the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara. Importantly, this document also contains the original map outlining the proposed boundaries and the president’s diagram which significantly reducing the size of the reservation.

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  Appropriations Indian service -- Fort Berthold Agency. Letter from the Secretary of the Interior Recommending an Appropriation to Pay Outstanding indebtedness on account of the Indian service at Fort Berthold Indian agency. February 18, 1870. -- Referred to the Committee on Appropriations and Ordered to be Printed

  United States Congress

  This Executive Document, dated February 18, 1870 consists of a letter from the United States Secretary of the Interior J. D. Cox recommending "An appropriation to pay outstanding indebtedness on account of the Indian Service at Fort Berthold Indian agency." The letter includes a communication from Commissioner of Indian Affairs Ely. S. Parker detailing "services rendered and supplies furnished for and on account of the Indian service at the Fort Berthold agency, Dakota Territory" totaling $63,203.05.

  Also included is the text of two letters from US Indian Agent Mahlon Wilkinson in which he explains that, due to frequent attacks from "the Sioux tribes of Indians, which have recently been placed on reservations contiguous to Fort Berthold," the Indians of Forth Berthold were often unable to leave the fort in search of game, and therefore were dependent on supplies provided by Agent Wilkinson to avoid starvation, and that even with those supplies there was considerable suffering among them.

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  Treaty Of Fort Laramie 1868

  Nathaniel G. Taylor, William T. Sherman, William S. Harney, John B. Sanborn, Samuel F. Tappan, Christopher C. Augur, Alfred H. Terry, John B. Henderson, and Andrew Johnson

  This treaty, signed on April 29, 1868, between the United States government and the Sioux and Arapaho Nations, established the Great Sioux Reservation, promised the Sioux would own the Black Hills in perpetuity, and set aside the country north of the North Platte River and east of the summits of the Big Horn Mountains as unceded Indian territory. Furthermore, the U.S. government pledged to close the Bozeman Trail forts and provide food, clothing, and annuities to the tribes, given that they agreed to relinquish all rights to live outside the reservation.

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  Indian Affairs in Dakota. Memorial and Resolution of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Dakota Relative to Indian Affairs in Said Territory

  United States House of Representatives, Territory of Dakota Legislative Assembly, Geo. I. Foster, A. J. Faulk, Enos Stutsman, and P. H. Halnan

  This "Memorial and Resolution" of the legislature of the Territory of Dakota, referred to the United States (US) House of Representatives Committee on Indian Affairs and ordered to be printed January 28, 1868, states the position of the Legislative Assembly of Dakota Territory regarding several matters involving relations and bureaucratic arrangement between the US government and local tribes and Dakota Territory and those tribes, and argues for Dakota Territory playing a greater role in the management of the tribal affairs and the administration of US obligations, including procurement and transportation of "Indian goods."

  Among changes argued for in the document are that the parts of the territory west of Nebraska and south of Montana be organized into a new territory, "being almost wholly unconnected and having no interests in common with the other settled portion of the Territory," and that, "If the system of small reservations is to be abandoned, and the Indians consolidated and given a territory in Dakota for their exclusive use and benefit, that territory should be located north of the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude. This section of country is capable of containing and supporting all the Indians in Dakota."

  The document also cites the abundance of timber, gold and other valuable resources south of the 45th parallel as grounds for protesting a proposed plan to include the Black Hills in "the Indian territory to be created for the exclusive benefit and habitation of the Indians that portion of Dakota known as the Black Hills."

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  An Act to secure Homesteads to actual Settlers on the Public Domain

  United States Congess

  This Act, dated May 20, 1862 also known as United States (US) Public Law 37-64 and popularly known as the Homestead Act, the Homestead Act of 1862, and the Homestead Act of May 20, 1862, provides for adults who fulfill certain requirements to acquire title of up to a quarter section (160 acres) land from the public domain by registering and making certain "improvements" to the land.

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  Indians on the Upper Missouri. Message from the President of the United States, transmitting a report in regard to the expedition among the Indians on the Upper Missouri. March 24, 1856. -- Referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs and ordered to be printed.

  United States Congress, US House of Representatives, President of the United States, Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, Alfred Cumming, and Franklin Pierce

  This Executive Document, dated March 24, 1856, also known as United States (US) House of Representatives Executive Document No. 65, consists of a message from US President Franklin Pierce, in which Pierce transmits, "in obedience to [the US House of Representatives'] resolution of the 17th instant, a communication from the Secretary of the Interior, accompanied by a copy of the report of Superintendent [Alfred] Cumming, in regard to his late expedition among the tribes of the Indians on the Upper Missouri."

  In his report, Cummings reports on his trip up the Missouri for the purpose of distributing "annuities" to local tribes, describing his impressions of the tribes, their customs, temperament, relations with neighbors, etc., as well as the landscape, flora and fauna he encounters along the way.

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  Treaty of Fort Laramie with the Sioux, ETC., 1851

  David D. Mitchell and Thomas Fitzpatrick

  This treaty, signed on September 17, 1851, was an essential agreement between the United States government and representatives of the Lakota, Dakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow, Assiniboine, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations. In this treaty, the United States acknowledged that the area surveyed by the treaty was Indigenous land and recognized each nation's exclusive territorial rights over a portion defined by geographical boundaries. Equally, the tribes agreed that the US government had the right to establish roads and posts—military and other—within their territories. They also promised to abstain from hostilities against other tribes, pay for any wrongs committed by their people, allow for the safe passage of travelers, surveyors, and workers through their land, and select head-chiefs to represent them in all their dealing with the US government. In return, the United States guaranteed it would protect the Indigenous Nations from American citizens and make annual annuities for fifty years. Before ratifying this treaty on May 24, 1852, Congress amended the term of annuities from fifty to ten years. This treaty is also known as the Horse Creek Treaty of 1851 and the Treaty of Fort Laramie, 1851.

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  Ratified Indian Treaty 133: Arikara (Ricara) - Arikara Village, July 18, 1825

  Henry Atkinson and Benjamin O'Fallon

  This treaty, signed on July 18, 1825, was the first major treaty between the US Government and representatives of the Arikara Nation. Also known as the Atkinson and O'Fallon Trade and Intercourse Treaty of 1825, this document was part of a series of friendship treaties between Henry Atkinson and Benjamin O’Fallon’s Indian Peace Commission and the Indigenous Nations beyond the Mississippi River. In this treaty, the Arikara acknowledged the supremacy of the United States, which successively promised them peace, friendship, and protection. The Arikara also admitted that they resided within the territorial limits of the United States and that it had the right to regulate all trade and intercourse with them. The treaty further states that the Arikara agreed to use the laws of the United States to prevent or redress any injuries done by individuals, both American and Indigenous.

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  Ratified Indian Treaty 134: Belantse-Etoa or Minitaree (Hidatsa)

  Henry Atkinson and Benjamin O'Fallon

  This treaty, signed on July 30, 1825, was the first major treaty between the US Government and representatives of the Hidatsa Nation. Also known as the Atkinson and O'Fallon Trade and Intercourse Treaty of 1825, this document was part of a series of friendship treaties between Henry Atkinson and Benjamin O’Fallon’s Indian Peace Commission and the Indigenous Nations beyond the Mississippi River. In this treaty, the Hidatsa acknowledged the supremacy of the United States, which successively promised them peace, friendship, and protection. The Hidatsa also admitted that they resided within the territorial limits of the United States and that it had the right to regulate all trade and intercourse with them. The treaty further states that the Hidatsa agreed to use the laws of the United States to prevent or redress any injuries done by individuals, both American and Indigenous.

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  Ratified Indian Treaty 135: Mandan

  Henry Atkinson and Benjamin O'Fallon

  This treaty, signed on July 30, 1825, was the first major treaty between the US Government and representatives of the Mandan Nation. Also known as the Atkinson and O'Fallon Trade and Intercourse Treaty of 1825, this document was part of a series of friendship treaties between Henry Atkinson and Benjamin O’Fallon’s Indian Peace Commission and the Indigenous Nations beyond the Mississippi River. In this treaty, the Mandan acknowledged the supremacy of the United States, which successively promised them peace, friendship, and protection. The Mandan also admitted that they resided within the territorial limits of the United States and that it had the right to regulate all trade and intercourse with them. The treaty further states that the Mandan agreed to use the laws of the United States to prevent or redress any injuries done by individuals, both American and Indigenous.