Iowa at Portage des Sioux (1815)
On 16 September 1815 at Portage des Sioux, the Iowa made peace with the United States and agreed to deliver prisoners at St. Louis.
- Signed
- September 16, 1815
- Senate
- Ratified
What happened
What happened
On 16 September 1815, at Portage des Sioux, William Clark, Ninian Edwards and Auguste Chouteau, commissioners of the United States, signed a treaty of peace and friendship with the king, chiefs and warriors of the Iaway (Iowa) tribe or nation.
The preamble says both sides wanted to re-establish peace and friendship, and to put the Iowa on the same footing as before the war. Article 1 provides that every injury or act of hostility by either side would be forgiven and forgot. Article 2 declares perpetual peace and friendship between all citizens of the United States and all individuals of the Iowa tribe.
In Article 3 the contracting parties promised to deliver up all prisoners in their hands to the officer commanding at St. Louis, to be restored to their respective nations as soon as practicable. In Article 4 they recognized, re-established and confirmed every earlier treaty, contract and agreement between the United States and the Iowa.
The text cedes no land, sets no boundary and promises no payment. The page lists ratification on 26 December 1815. It does not say how many prisoners were exchanged or what earlier agreements are meant.
Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error
What the sources say, and how this was checked
Well supported by the sources below.
Every injury, or act of hostility, by one or either of the contracting parties against the other shall be mutually forgiven and forgot.
Treaty with the Iowa, 1815, Tribal Treaties Databaseto the officer commanding at St. Louis
Treaty with the Iowa, 1815, Tribal Treaties Databaserecognize, re-establish, and confirm, all and every treaty, contract, and agreement, heretofore concluded between the United States and the said Iaway tribe or nation
Treaty with the Iowa, 1815, Tribal Treaties DatabaseRatified Dec. 26, 1815.
Treaty with the Iowa, 1815, Tribal Treaties Database
Research notes. The treaty does not restate the earlier treaties it confirms.
What happened next
Everything the record holds about this land and this treaty, in order: what earlier agreements said, what this one did, and what the United States, the courts and the nations did afterwards.
Who is doing the work today
The nations connected to this treaty come first, then groups returning land and defending treaty rights. Support goes directly to them.
Who is doing the work
This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:
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.
Sources
Sources
- treaties.okstate.edu/treaties/treaty-with-the-iowa-1815-0122reference work
Sept. 16, 1815. | 7 Stat., 136. / scan: 122 TREATY WITH THE IOWA, 1815.
Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.