Land area

Land of the The several tribes of New York Indians in Wisconsin, recorded 1838 (area 247)

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

In the record

The area covers about 66 thousand acres in what is now Wisconsin.

The record ties this land to 2 agreements: Treaty of Buffalo Creek with the New York Indians, 1838 and Oneida (First Christian and Orchard Parties) at Washington, DC (1838). Which one ceded it has not been checked yet, so the map dates it by the first.

How it was taken: not stated. The Historical Society of the New York Courts records the Tonawanda Seneca's position that the treaty was invalid because their sachem was not a party to it.

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

Oneida Indian Nation Nation government About 18,000 acres in trust (2022 est.), 25,000-acre cap under 2013 agreement
Rematriation Native-led Indigenous women-led media, education, community advocacy Give on their site Website
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Allied land trust Funder/partner in several tribal land returns 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
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Nation government Restoration of about 200,000 acres to reservation status (1975)
Stockbridge-Munsee Community (Band of Mohican Indians) Nation government 372 acres on Monument Mountain's north slope (finalized Apr 2025; $2.5M, $2.26M state grant)

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
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
Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy 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.

Sources

Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1838-01-15primary record
Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1838-01-15primary record
Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1838-02-03primary record
Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1838-02-03primary record
Royce’s map sheet: Wisconsin 2 (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: 247
Dates in the 1899 record: 1838-01-15; 1838-02-03
Kind of instrument: Treaty or agreement
Peoples as named in the 1899 record: The several tribes of New York Indians
States: WI
Counties: Brown; Outagamie
Map sheets in the 1899 record: Wisconsin 2
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

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