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Treaty

Sioux of the Leaf, Sioux of the Broad Leaf, and Sioux Who Shoot in the Pine Tops at St. Louis (1816)

On 1 June 1816 at St. Louis, eight Sioux bands made peace with the United States and confirmed earlier cessions to other powers.

Signed
June 1, 1816
Senate
Ratified

What happened

On 1 June 1816, at St. Louis, William Clark, Ninian Edwards and Auguste Chouteau signed a treaty of peace and friendship for the United States. On the other side were chiefs and warriors representing eight bands of the Siouxs, which the text groups into three tribes: the Siouxs of the Leaf, the Siouxs of the Broad Leaf, and the Siouxs who shoot in the Pine Tops.

The preamble says both sides wanted to re-establish peace and put the bands on the same footing as before "the late war between the United States and Great Britain." One article forgives every injury or act of hostility on either side. Another declares perpetual peace and friendship and renews the friendly relations that existed before the war.

The treaty also contains a land clause. The chiefs and warriors confirmed to the United States every cession of land earlier made by their tribes to the British, French or Spanish government, within the limits of the United States or its territories. Both sides recognized and confirmed every earlier treaty between the United States and the tribes. The chiefs and warriors acknowledged themselves to be under the protection of the United States and of no other nation, power or sovereign.

The text names no acreage and no places for the earlier cessions. The page lists a proclamation on 30 December 1816.

Good to know. The treaty does not describe the earlier cessions to Britain, France and Spain that it confirms, so which land they covered is unclear.

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

Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.

  1. Every injury or act of hostility, committed by one or either of the contracting parties against the other, shall be mutually forgiven and forgot.Treaty with the Sioux, 1816, Tribal Treaties Database
  2. confirm to the United States all and every cession, or cessions, of land heretofore made by their tribes to the British, French, or Spanish governmentTreaty with the Sioux, 1816, Tribal Treaties Database
  3. representing eight bands of the Siouxs, composing the three tribes called the Siouxs of the LeafTreaty with the Sioux, 1816, Tribal Treaties Database
  4. to be under the protection of the United States, and of no other nation, power, or sovereign, whatsoeverTreaty with the Sioux, 1816, Tribal Treaties Database

Research notes. The earlier cessions to Britain, France and Spain are not described, so what land is affected is unclear from this page. The page's article headings appear out of line with the article text; the text was used. Which of today's Sioux nations descend from these bands is not stated in the text.

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.

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Sources

  1. treaties.okstate.edu/treaties/treaty-with-the-sioux-1816-0128reference work
    June 1, 1816. | 7 Stat., 143. / scan: 128 TREATY WITH THE SIOUX, 1816.

Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.