A story in 8 steps

Fort Laramie and the Black Hills

What happens to a promise over time?

Not yet reviewed by the Oceti Sakowin nations. The Black Hills are sacred; this tour gives no precise locations.

This story includes war and violence and seizure of sacred land.

1. 1851, the first Fort Laramie treaty

   The 1851 treaty at Fort Laramie (Horse Creek) set out territories for the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota and their neighbors. It did not create a reservation. It was written in English with too few interpreters, and both sides broke its terms.

   Treaty of Fort Laramie (Horse Creek), 1851See it on the map

2. Shared and overlapping lands

   Several nations used the same country. A later court held that the 1851 treaty recognized the Crow Nation's title to part of it, while a dissent noted that many peoples ranged over the same lands.

   Treaty of Fort Laramie (Horse Creek), 1851Crow (Apsáalooke)

3. 1868, the Great Sioux Reservation

   The 1868 treaty set apart the Great Sioux Reservation, including the Black Hills, reserved hunting lands beyond it, and promised that no further cession would be valid without the signatures of three-fourths of adult men. Not every band signed.

   Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), Lakota (Sioux) and ArapahoSee it on the map

4. 1877, the Black Hills taken

   Gold was found in 1874 and the nations refused to sell. In 1877 Congress passed an act taking the Black Hills without the three-fourths consent the treaty required.

   Black Hills Agreement (Act of February 28, 1877), LakotaSee it on the map

5. 1980, the Supreme Court

   In United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians the Supreme Court held the 1877 act was a taking that required just compensation, with interest from 1877.

   United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians

6. The money refused

   The Great Sioux Nation tribes have refused the award, which has grown with interest, because the Black Hills were never for sale. The refusal is itself an act of sovereignty.

   Black Hills (He Sapa) claim and LANDBACK Mount Rushmore campaign

7. Pe' Sla, bought back

   In 2012 the tribes raised money to buy Pe' Sla, a place in the Black Hills central to their creation story, with the help of Native-led organizations.

   Pe' Sla returned to the Oceti Sakowin

8. Today

   The governments that carry the 1868 treaty today are listed on the Oceti Sakowin page. The claim to the Black Hills continues.

   Oceti Sakowin (Great Sioux Nation)See it on the map

More stories