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TreatiesTreatiesbetween the United between the United States and the First States and the First

Nations Who Live HereNations Who Live Here

Treaties can be enforced by law but can also be broken by either side.

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Treaties – What are they? All Americans today live on land that was once Indian

land. Treaties transferred the land from the Indian tribes to

United States control. President George Washington signed the first treaties

with Indian tribes. – The bargains were between equal groups.– The U.S. was a sovereign nation and each Indian tribe was a

sovereign nation.– The first treaties were of peace.– Both sides were military equals.

• http://stories.washingtonhistory.org/treatytrail/teaching/pdfs/whatisatreaty_UT.pdf

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The Indian Removal Act of 1830

Signed by President Jackson.

States were eager to gain access to Indian lands.

Tens of thousands of Indians emigrated to the lands to the west.

Many Indians were removed forcibly against their will.

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Indian Removal Act of 1830

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Treaties Indians thought treaties were legal immediately

upon signing, but they weren’t. Congress had to ratify the treaties first.

Treaties that were signed between the U.S. and Montana’s tribes. – Treaty of Fort Laramie

• signed September 17, 1851

– Flathead Treaty • signed July 16, 1855• Ratified March 8, 1859

– Blackfoot Peace Treaty • signed October 17, 1855• Became law in 1856

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Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851) Established territorial boundaries for tribes east

of the Continental Divide in Montana. Was not attended by the Blackfeet, but it did

define their territory. No land was ceded (surrendered) to the U.S.

from Montana tribes. U.S. promised control of the Great Plains to the

Indians “as long as the river flows and the eagle flies.”

Indians guaranteed safe passage for settlers on the Oregon Trail.

Provided a brief period of peace.

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Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 – Lands Defined

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Isaac Stevens 1st governor of newly formed Washington

Territory.– Called treaty councils and invited tribes, hoping to

place them on reservations. – Indians thought they were attending peace councils,

not councils which would put them on reservations. From 1855-56, Stevens formed several treaties

between the U.S.and Indians in territory that is now Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.

1855 Montana Treaties under Governor Stevens:– July 9th – 16th : Flathead Council (Treaty of Hell Gate) – October 16th – 17th : Blackfoot Council (Lame Bull

Treaty)

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The Medicine Creek Treaty In 1854, before heading to the area that is now Montana,

Governor Stevens held a treaty council in the area that is now Washington state. – Medicine Creek Treaty

• December 26, 1854• Affected Coastal and Plateau tribes

– To view a short video on the Native American perspective of that historic incident, click on the first image below and wait for the site to load…

• Once you’re at the site, follow Steps 1 and 2 below.• Step 1 -

• Step 2 - Choose the option circled in red below. • Step 3 – Click on the back button on your browser to return to this

slide.

Run time: 2 ½ minutes

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Hellgate Treaty (1855) Also known as the Flathead Treaty Three tribes ceded large tracts of land to the U.S.

– Gave up 12 million acres of ancestral land– “Received” 1.25 million acres on Flathead

Reservation. Established the Flathead Reservation in its

present location for the Pend d’Oreille and Kootenai.

Provided a conditional reservation in the Bitterroot Valley for the Salish– In 1872, this land was withdrawn from consideration;

the Salish were later forcibly removed to the Flathead Reservation.

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The Site of the Hellgate Treaty – a present day state park

Council Grove State Park, near Missoula

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Blackfoot Peace Treaty (1855) Also known as:

– the Lame Bull Treaty– the Judith River Treaty– Fort Benton Council– The Great Peace Council

Gathering was dominated by bands of Blackfeet and their allies, the Gros Ventre.

Thousands of people from the western tribes attended (Salish, Kootenai, Pend d’Oreille, and Nez Perce).

Assiniboine sent messages, but did not attend. Crow did not attend; had not been notified.

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Site of the Blackfoot Peace Treaty

© Regional Learning Project

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The Great Peace Council – 1855 – Blackfoot Peace Treaty

1855 Treaty Gathering– At the mouth of the Judith River– Thousands of people from 3 different groups

• Officials representing U.S. government.

• Tribal members from east of the Continental Divide.

• Tribal members from west of the Continental Divide.

– Promised peaceful relations with tribes who signed.– Created shared buffalo hunting areas in portions of

Blackfoot territory east of the Rocky Mountains.– Both past generations and our current society have

been affected.

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The Great Peace Council of 1855 – Blackfoot Peace Treaty Terms of a treaty are negotiated (agreed

upon) between the parties to the treaty. As a class, we will negotiate for

something we want to protect. Before we begin negotiating, we will

work with maps and terms to help us understand what the Great Peace Council meant to the Indians and to the United States officials who participated in it.

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Knowing Montana’s Rivers Now we will pause our slide show to use Google

Earth. We will “fly to” these life-sustaining Montana rivers that were so important to the Indian way of life.

Choose two or more of the following rivers to “fly to.” [Make note of the river names and switch to Google Earth now.]

– Missouri– Musselshell– Milk– Marias– Yellowstone– Clark Fork

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Montana Rivers Map Exercise Now that we’ve seen an aerial view of the

rivers, we’ll proceed to locate them on the map.

Use a blue pencil or marker and USGS map to highlight the course of:– Missouri and its three separate forks– Musselshell– Milk– Marias– Yellowstone– Clark Fork

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Patterns of River Systems

In which direction do these rivers flow? Are the rivers tributaries to larger rivers? What body of water do these rivers end up spilling

into eventually? Investigate the following vocabulary terms:

(Click on the button to see a map .)

– Headwaters• Small creeks at the uppermost end of a stream system, often

found in the mountains, that contribute to larger creeks and rivers.

• (Click on the button to see one of the locations of the 49th Parallel North, which forms part of the boundary between the United States and Canada.)

49th Parallel

Continental Divide

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Map of the Great Divide

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The 49th Parallel at Waterton

Lake

Image licensed under Wikimedia

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Historical Map Comparison Note the pattern of the river systems on the

map you colored. Recognize that pattern so that you can

orient yourself when you view an historic map.

Examine the 1857 Stevens map showing the Indian Nations and Tribes in the area that would become Montana.

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1857 Map

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1857 Stevens Map

Locate the rivers you identified on USGS map.

Locate “common hunting grounds” Locate forts and passes. Locate boundaries drawn to show

reservation lands on the west side. What other things can you learn from this

map?

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Use Maps to Find LocationsWrite down any six of the following terms and see if you can

locate them on one or both maps (Stevens and USGS.

Continental Divide Fort Benton Washington Territory

Nebraska Territory Fort Union Missouri River

Milk River Judith River Rocky Mountains

Yellow Stone River 50th Parallel 106 ° longitude

Bear Paw Mountains Teton River Meldrum’s Fort

Muscle Shell River Fort Owen Big Horn River

Arrow Creek Three Buttes Three Forks

Common Hunting Ground

Belly River Cypress Hills

Chief Mountain Smith’s River Bitter Root Valley

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Reflection Questions

Which features were you able to find only on the historic map?

Which features were you able to find on both maps?

Which features were you unable to find at all?

From your observations, which map features have changed and which have not in the past 150 years?

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The Circle is Sacred to Indian Culture

Power of the world works in circles

Circle is found in nature.

Traditional Indian activities conducted within the circle.

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Breaking the Sacred Circle Black Elk, a respected Oglala Sioux, was

12 when he participated in the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

He observed that:– the Sacred Circle was being broken, and the

American Indian was being placed in boxes. – Indians were restricted so much that they

could not carry on traditions they had practiced for generations.

From The Treaty Trail lesson plan, Washington State History Museum

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Your Sacred Space: An Activity Complete the following as homework:

– Create a floor plan of a place you consider uniquely yours and sacred. This is typically a bedroom, but could also be a favorite, private place that you like to go to play or think, or it could be a

church or a place of prayer. – Be as detailed as possible and list or draw all the items contained

in this area.

Think about why your sacred space is important to you, and how you’d feel if it was taken away.

Remember to bring back your floor plan for the next day’s activity. Click button now to view floor plan.

From The Treaty Trail lesson plan, Washington State History Museum

Floor Plan

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Floor Plan Worksheet

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Treaty Negotiations - Activity

Bring your sacred space floor plan with you.

Gather with your assigned group A, B, C, or D as instructed by your teacher.

If you forgot your sacred space floor plan, you will be placed in Group C or Group D.

Read the rules of Negotiation on the following slide.

From The Treaty Trail lesson plan, Washington State History Museum

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Rules of NegotiationGroups A, B, C, and D

From The Treaty Trail lesson plan, Washington State History Museum

Return to NegotiationPreparations

Slide

Return toNegotiationGuidelines

Slide

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Treaty Negotiation Preparations Before you enter the negotiations,

complete the worksheet. There are no wrong or right answers, but doing your best thinking will help with your upcoming negotiation with your pretend brother or sister or your parent or child.

Click to link to your worksheet.– Siblings – Siblings – Sons and Daughters– Parents

From The Treaty Trail lesson plan, Washington State History Museum

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group DTo Slide

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Back toRules

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Siblings Group A

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Siblings Group B

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Sons & Daughters Group C

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Parents Group D

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Negotiation Guidelines Feel free to negotiate based on what is best

for you, but abide by handouts. Teacher is ultimate authority in disputes. Teacher always sides with Group D and

Group B, even if their tactics are unfair. Students have 15 minutes to negotiate for

your sacred space. Teacher avoids interfering. Record treaty settlements on the

From The Treaty Trail lesson plan, Washington State History Museum

handout

Back toRules

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Treaty Settlement Worksheet

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Treaty Negotiations Summary

For homework, journal about your feelings during treaty negotiations.

Class discussion about treaty negotiations. – Read examples from A-B negotiations and C-

D negotiations.– Discuss how sibling-sibling negotiations

differed from parent-child negotiations.

From The Treaty Trail lesson plan, Washington State History Museum

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Differences in Negotiations Primary differences between early

treaties and later treaties were identical to your experiences.– English colonial treaties with Indian tribes.

– Group A – represented English colonial interests.

– Group B – represented Northeast tribes.

– U.S. Government treaties with tribes.– Group C – represented United States interests.

– Group D – represented Northwest tribes.

From The Treaty Trail lesson plan, Washington State History Museum

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How Successful Were the Indians?

Look at the map on the next page. The large colored portions of the map indicate

the lands that the Indian tribes negotiated in the treaty in 1855.

The small reservations that are shown on the map indicate the lands that the tribes hold today.

How successful were the tribes in keeping the land that had been agreed upon in the treaty?

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Tribal Territories Map

© Regional Learning Project

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Whose Worldview? European Americans or Native Americans?

Age-old connections to the land.

Generations of ancestors had lived there.

Covenant with the Creator– Care for plants and

animals in homeland– Creator would care for

them in return.

Homeland had been left far behind.

Thought of the land as something to be used rather than something that sustained them.

Humans are superior– Little concern for

plants and animals.– No interdependence

with creation.