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Treaty

Menominee at St. Louis (1817)

On 30 March 1817 at St. Louis, the Menominee made peace with the United States and confirmed earlier cessions to Britain, France and Spain.

Signed
March 30, 1817
Senate
Ratified

What happened

On 30 March 1817, at St. Louis, William Clark, Ninian Edwards and Auguste Chouteau signed a treaty of peace and friendship for the United States with chiefs and warriors deputed by the Menomenee tribe or nation.

The preamble says both sides wanted to re-establish peace and friendship and to place the Menominee on the same footing as before "the late war." Article 1 forgives every injury or act of hostility on either side. Article 2 declares perpetual peace and friendship between all citizens of the United States and all individuals of the tribe.

In Article 3 the chiefs and warriors, for their tribe, confirmed to the United States every cession of land earlier made by the tribe to the British, French or Spanish government within the limits of the United States, and every earlier treaty between the United States and the tribe. Article 4 had the parties deliver all prisoners to the officer commanding at Prairie du Chien, to be restored as soon as practicable. In Article 5 they 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 26 December 1817.

Good to know. The treaty does not describe the earlier cessions to Britain, France and Spain that it confirms.

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.

  1. 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 Menominee, 1817, Tribal Treaties Database
  2. confirm to the United States all and every cession of land heretofore made by their tribe or nation to the British, French, or Spanish, governmentTreaty with the Menominee, 1817, Tribal Treaties Database
  3. to the officer commanding at Prairie du ChienTreaty with the Menominee, 1817, Tribal Treaties Database
  4. on the same footing upon which they stood before the late warTreaty with the Menominee, 1817, Tribal Treaties Database

Research notes. The earlier cessions are not described. The text does not name the war. Later Menominee treaties are separate records.

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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Working with these nations

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Sources

  1. treaties.okstate.edu/treaties/treaty-with-the-menominee-1817-0138reference work
    March 30, 1817. | 7 Stat., 153. / scan: 138 TREATY WITH THE MENOMINEE, 1817.

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