Treaties
between the United
States and the First
Nations 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:
Continental Divide
– Headwaters
(Click on the button to see a map .)
• Small creeks at the uppermost end of a stream system, often
found in the mountains, that contribute to larger creeks and
rivers.
49th
Parallel
• (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.)
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Map of the Great Divide
19
The 49th
Parallel at
Waterton
Lake
Image licensed under
Wikimedia
20
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 Locations
Write 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.
26
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
27
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.
Floor
Plan
From The Treaty Trail lesson plan, Washington State History Museum
28
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
30
Rules of Negotiation
Groups A, B, C, and D
From The Treaty Trail lesson plan, Washington State History Museum
Return to
Negotiation
Preparations
Slide
Return to
Negotiation
Guidelines
Slide
31
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 Group A
Siblings Group B
Sons and Daughters
Parents Group D
Back to
Rules
Group C
To Slide
37
From The Treaty Trail lesson plan, Washington State History Museum 32
Siblings Group A
33
Siblings Group B
34
Sons & Daughters Group C
35
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.
Back to
Rules
 Teacher avoids interfering.
 Record treaty settlements on the handout
From The Treaty Trail lesson plan, Washington State History Museum 37
Treaty Settlement Worksheet
38
Treaty Negotiations Summary
 For homework, journal about your feelings
during treaty negotiations.
 Class discussion about treaty negotiations.
– Read examples from A-B negotiations and CD negotiations.
– Discuss how sibling-sibling negotiations
differed from parent-child negotiations.
From The Treaty Trail lesson plan, Washington State History Museum
39
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
40
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
42
Whose Worldview? European
Americans or Native Americans?
 Age-old connections
to the land.
 Generations of
ancestors had lived
there.
 Covenant with the
Creator
 Homeland had been
left far behind.
 Thought of the land as
something to be used
rather than something
that sustained them.
 Humans are superior
– Care for plants and
– Little concern for
animals in homeland
– Creator would care for
them in return.
plants and animals.
– No interdependence
with creation.
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