Land area

Land of the Iowa, Medewakanton and others in Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri, ceded 1830 (area 151)

Shape traced from the 1899 maps; approximate. Open on the map

1830
Ceded to the United States
By Treaty of Prairie du Chien (1830), Sauk, Fox, Sioux, Omaha, Iowa, Oto, Missouri
1837
Earlier terms confirmed
By Sauk and Fox (Confederated Tribes) at Washington, DC (1837)
1837
Earlier terms confirmed
By Yankton Sioux at Washington, DC (1837)
1837
Earlier terms confirmed
By Sauk and Fox of Missouri at Washington, DC (1837)
1837
Earlier terms confirmed
By Iowa at St. Louis, Missouri (1837)

In the record

Ceded in July 1830 at Prairie du Chien by the Sauk and Fox, Sioux, Omaha, Iowa, Oto and Missouri, land in Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri; 1837 treaties gave up remaining interests in it. The area covers about 11 million acres in what is now Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri.

The 1899 record names Iowa, Meskwaki (Fox), Omaha, Oto, Sauk (Sac) and 3 more as the people of this land.

How it was taken: a treaty made under documented pressure. Treaties Matter says the U.S. threatened a military invasion and trade embargo before insisting on land cessions at the 1830 Prairie du Chien council.

Today, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma, Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska and 17 more carry the history of the people named here.

Written from the records linked here; open any of them for its sources.

See this cession on the map

Shapes come from C. C. Royce’s 1899 maps as georeferenced by the US Forest Service. They are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land. Royce recorded land the United States treated as ceded; the shape does not show a nation’s territory.

Who is doing the work

This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:

Working with these nations

Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Sicangu Oyate) Nation government Pe' Sla (1,942 acres, Nov 30, 2012)
Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
Lakota People's Law Project (program of Sacred Defense Fund) Native-led Legal advocacy Give on their site Website
NDN Collective (LANDBACK Campaign) Native-led LANDBACK campaign (launched 2020; Mount Rushmore closure and return of Black Hills public lands), Indigenous… Give on their site Website
Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP) Native-led Youth programs Website
Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation (Lakota Land Systems) Native-led Lakota-led regenerative community development on Pine Ridge: Lakota Land Systems Give on their site Website

Land return and Native-led work nearby

Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) Nation government Ojibwe treaty rights in ceded territories, natural resource stewardship, manoomin, and a Land Conservancy program… Give on their site Website
Great Plains Action Society Native-led ReMatriation, land defense, Protect the Sacred, regenerative economy, civic engagement in Iowa and eastern Nebraska Give on their site Website
Dream of Wild Health Native-led Owns a 30-acre farm in Hugo MN Give on their site Website
Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) Native-led Environmental and climate justice Give on their site Website

Native legal and land defense, nationally

Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Native-led Litigation and legal advocacy for tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, land and resources Give on their site Website
Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy Give on their site Website
Honor the Earth Native-led Pipeline resistance, sovereignty, energy justice Give on their site Website
Indian Law Resource Center Native-led Legal assistance to Indigenous nations to protect lands, resources, treaty and human rights Give on their site Website

Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.

Connections

Links marked “suggested” were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.

Nations named for this land 22

Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakotamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Iowaas named in the 1899 recordsuggested
Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraskamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Iowa Tribe of Oklahomamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesotamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Meskwaki (Fox)as named in the 1899 recordsuggested
Omahaas named in the 1899 recordsuggested
Omaha Tribe of Nebraskamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Otoas named in the 1899 recordsuggested
Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahomamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Prairie Island Indian Community in the State of Minnesotamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraskamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested

Show all 22

Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahomamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraskamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Sauk (Sac)as named in the 1899 recordsuggested
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesotamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Sioux (as named in treaty records)as named in the 1899 recordsuggested
Sissetonas named in the 1899 recordsuggested
Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyatematched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Upper Sioux Community, Minnesotamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Wahpetonas named in the 1899 recordsuggested

Agreements recorded for this land 5

Treaty of Prairie du Chien (1830), Sauk, Fox, Sioux, Omaha, Iowa, Oto, Missouri1830suggested
Iowa at St. Louis, Missouri (1837)1837suggested
Sauk and Fox (Confederated Tribes) at Washington, DC (1837)1837suggested
Sauk and Fox of Missouri at Washington, DC (1837)1837suggested
Yankton Sioux at Washington, DC (1837)1837suggested

Located in 3

Sources

Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1830-07-15primary record
Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1830-07-15primary record
Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1837-10-21primary record
Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1837-10-21primary record
Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1837-10-21primary record
Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1837-11-23primary record
Royce’s map sheet: Minnesota 1 (Library of Congress)primary record
Royce’s map sheet: Missouri 1 (Library of Congress)primary record
Royce’s map sheet: Iowa 1 (Library of Congress)primary record
USDA Forest Service, Tribal Lands Ceded to the United States (digitized Royce maps)reference work

The record’s fields

Area number in the 1899 record: 151
Dates in the 1899 record: 1830-07-15; 1837-10-21; 1837-10-21; 1837-11-23
Kind of instrument: Treaty or agreement
Peoples as named in the 1899 record: Iowa; Medewakanton; Missouri; Omaha; Oto; Sauk and Fox; Sioux (Wahpeton and Sisseton Bands); Wahpekuta
States: IA; MN; MO
Counties: Adair; Adams; Andrew; Atchison; Audubon; Buchanan; Buena Vista; Calhoun; Carroll; Cass; Cherokee; Clay; Crawford; Dickinson; Emmet; Fremont; Guthrie; Harrison; Holt; Humboldt; Ida; Jackson; Lyon; Mills; Monona; Montgomery; Nobles; Nodaway; O Brien; Osceola; Page; Palo Alto; Platte; Plymouth; Pocahontas; Pottawattamie; Ringgold; Sac; Shelby; Sioux; Taylor; Union; Woodbury
Map sheets in the 1899 record: Minnesota 1; Missouri 1; Iowa 1
Geometry: Approximate shape from Royce’s 1899 maps

Research notes

geometry_role is 'cession' for every USFS feature: no field in the source distinguishes cessions from reservations.

Kind: Land area
Confidence: Medium

Correct this record