The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty with the Sioux and Arapaho represents a pivotal moment in the complex and often fraught relationship between the United States government and the Native American tribes of the Great Plains. Signed on April 29, 1868, at Fort Laramie in the Dakota Territory, and formally ratified on February 24, 1869, this treaty aimed to establish peace and define territorial boundaries between the U.S. and several bands of the Sioux Nation, as well as the Arapaho tribe. This document, born out of a period of intense conflict and negotiation, outlined a series of agreements intended to ensure the well-being and self-determination of the signatory tribes, while also accommodating the westward expansion of the United States.
The treaty negotiations involved prominent figures on both sides. Representing the United States were Lieutenant-General William T. Sherman, General William S. Harney, General Alfred H. Terry, General C. C. Augur, and commissioners J. B. Henderson, Nathaniel G. Taylor, John B. Sanborn, and Samuel F. Tappan. These individuals, duly appointed by the U.S. government, were tasked with securing a lasting peace and establishing a framework for future relations.
On the Native American side, the negotiations were attended by chiefs and headmen representing various bands of the Sioux Nation. These included representatives of the Brulé, Oglala, Miniconjou, Yanktonai, Hunkpapa, Blackfeet-Sioux, Cuthead, Two Kettle, Sans Arcs, and Santee Sioux tribes. The diverse representation from across the Sioux Nation underscores the significance of the treaty as a collective agreement intended to bind multiple distinct communities.
The treaty itself is a comprehensive document comprised of seventeen articles addressing over forty distinct areas of concern. Beyond the establishment of peace, it encompassed a wide range of issues, from defining territorial boundaries and establishing legal frameworks for dealing with transgressions to outlining provisions for education, agriculture, and the distribution of goods and services. A key element of the treaty was the establishment of a large reservation for the exclusive use and occupancy of the signatory tribes.
Article 1 of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty with the Sioux and Arapaho explicitly declared the cessation of all war between the parties involved. Both the United States and the Native American tribes pledged to uphold peace and maintain honorable relations. The article also addressed the issue of justice and accountability. It stipulated that if white individuals or others under U.S. authority committed wrongs against Native Americans, the U.S. government would take action to arrest and punish the offenders, as well as reimburse the injured parties for their losses. Conversely, if Native Americans committed crimes against white, black, or other Native American individuals under U.S. authority, the tribes agreed to deliver the wrongdoers to the United States for trial and punishment. If the tribes refused to do so, the injured party would be reimbursed from the annuities or other funds due to the tribes under the treaty. This reciprocal arrangement aimed to establish a system of legal recourse and accountability for actions committed by members of both societies.
Article 2 defined the boundaries of the Great Sioux Reservation. This vast territory, intended for the "absolute and undisturbed use and occupation" of the Sioux and Arapaho, encompassed a significant portion of present-day South Dakota, including the Black Hills. Specifically, the reservation was defined as commencing on the east bank of the Missouri River at the forty-sixth parallel of north latitude, then following the river’s low-water mark south to the northern boundary of Nebraska, then westward along that boundary to the 104th degree of longitude west from Greenwich, then north to the forty-sixth parallel, and finally east back to the point of origin. The article explicitly prohibited non-Native Americans, with the exception of authorized government officials and agents, from entering, settling upon, or residing within the reservation boundaries. In exchange, the tribes relinquished all claims to any other lands within the United States, except as specifically provided for in the treaty.
Subsequent articles detailed provisions designed to promote the civilization and economic self-sufficiency of the tribes. Article 3 addressed the possibility of insufficient arable land within the reservation. If a survey revealed that the reservation contained less than 160 acres of tillable land per person and a significant number of Native Americans desired to engage in farming, the United States agreed to set aside additional arable land adjacent to the reservation.
Article 4 outlined the construction of various buildings on the reservation at the expense of the United States. These included a warehouse, a store-room for the agent, an agency building for the agent’s residence, a residence for a physician, and five other buildings for a carpenter, farmer, blacksmith, miller, and engineer. A schoolhouse or mission building was also to be constructed once a sufficient number of children could be induced to attend school. Furthermore, the United States agreed to erect a steam-powered circular sawmill with a gristmill and shingle-machine attached.
Articles 5 through 9 further detailed the roles and responsibilities of the U.S. government in assisting the tribes. The agent was required to reside among the Native Americans, maintain an open office, and diligently investigate complaints. Individual Native Americans were given the right to select and cultivate tracts of land within the reservation, and provisions were made for surveying the reservation and protecting the rights of settlers. Education was emphasized as essential for civilization, and the tribes pledged to compel their children to attend school. The United States agreed to provide a teacher for every thirty children attending school. Agricultural assistance was also provided, with heads of families receiving seeds and implements for farming.
Article 10 addressed the issue of annuities and goods. In lieu of previous treaty obligations, the United States agreed to deliver specific articles to the tribes annually for a period of thirty years. These included clothing for men, women, and children, as well as an annual appropriation of ten dollars per person for those who continued to roam and hunt and twenty dollars per person for those engaged in farming. The President was to detail an Army officer annually to oversee the delivery of these goods. Additionally, each Native American who settled permanently on the reservation was entitled to receive one pound of meat and one pound of flour per day for four years. Each lodge or family commencing farming was also to receive a cow and a pair of oxen.
Article 11 stipulated that the tribes relinquished their right to permanently occupy territory outside the reservation, but reserved the right to hunt on lands north of the North Platte River and on the Republican Fork of the Smoky Hill River as long as buffalo remained plentiful. The tribes also agreed to withdraw opposition to railroad construction, permit the peaceful construction of railroads not crossing their reservation, and refrain from attacking or molesting individuals, wagon trains, or livestock. They further pledged to never capture white women or children, nor kill or scalp white men.
Article 12 addressed the cession of any portion of the reservation held in common, requiring the signatures of at least three-fourths of all adult male Native Americans occupying or interested in the land. It also protected the individual rights of Native Americans to their selected tracts of land.
The remaining articles, 13 through 17, reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to providing personnel such as physicians, teachers, and blacksmiths, and established an annual fund for rewarding Native Americans who grew valuable crops. The tribes agreed to regard the reservation as their permanent home, subject to the hunting stipulations of Article 11. The United States stipulated that the country north of the North Platte River and east of the Big Horn Mountains would be considered unceded Indian territory, prohibiting white settlement or passage without tribal consent. Finally, the treaty explicitly abrogated all prior treaties and agreements obligating the United States to furnish money, clothing, or other articles to the tribes, but only to the extent of those specific obligations.
The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty with the Sioux and Arapaho, while intended to establish lasting peace and provide for the well-being of the tribes, ultimately failed to achieve its goals. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874 led to an influx of white settlers, violating the treaty’s guarantee of exclusive Native American occupancy. The subsequent conflict, known as the Great Sioux War of 1876, resulted in the U.S. government seizing the Black Hills and diminishing the size of the Great Sioux Reservation. The treaty remains a controversial and significant document in American history, representing both the hopes for peaceful coexistence and the tragic consequences of broken promises and the relentless pursuit of westward expansion. The legacy of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty with the Sioux and Arapaho continues to resonate today, shaping legal battles, land claims, and the ongoing relationship between the U.S. government and the descendants of the signatory tribes.
