Treaty of Moultrie Creek (Florida tribes), 1823
In 1823 the Florida tribes ceded their claim to Florida except a central district, with twenty years of U.S. support promised.
- Signed
- September 18, 1823
- Senate
- Ratified
- Land given up
- about 29 million acres
- Land set aside for the nations
- about 6.3 million acres
- Promises
- 1 of 1 broken or only partly kept
What happened
What happened
On September 18, 1823, chiefs and warriors of the Florida tribes signed a treaty with the United States. A Florida historical marker says the leaders of the Seminole and Miccosukee met government officials on the banks of Moultrie Creek, near St. Augustine, and signed after twelve days of negotiation.
In Article 1 the chiefs and warriors wrote that they "have appealed to the humanity" of the United States and promised to stay under its protection and no other power's. They ceded "all claim or title" to the whole territory of Florida except a district assigned to them. Article 2 says the tribes "will hereafter be concentrated and confined" within set boundaries.
The United States promised protection, $6,000 in tools and livestock, and $5,000 a year for twenty years. It promised twelve months of rations, $4,500 for those forced to abandon improvements, and $1,000 a year for twenty years for a school. Article 9 records the chiefs' concern that the district might not hold enough good land to support them. It says the north line could be moved north if the land was found insufficient.
The marker says the tribes were to occupy a four million acre reservation, and that "failure on both sides to comply with the terms of this and later treaties" led to the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). It says the war decimated both tribes and led most survivors to surrender for transportation west.
What was promised, and what happened
- Partly kept
A reservation would be set aside and the United States would support the tribes for twenty years. (Art. 2-3)
Failure on both sides to comply with the terms of this and later treaties led to the Second Seminole War (1835-1842).
markers.flheritage.com
Good to know. The four million acre figure comes from a historical marker; the treaty describes boundaries, not acreage.
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.
The Florida tribes of Indians will hereafter be concen-
Statutes at Large, vol. 7 (GovInfo)cede and re- linquish all claim or title which they may have to the whole territory of Florida
Statutes at Large, vol. 7 (GovInfo)Failure on both sides to comply with the terms of this and later treaties led to the Second Seminole War (1835-1842).
Treaty Park historical marker (Florida Department of State)The tribes were to occupy a four million acre reservation of the interior peninsula extending roughly from Lake George to the Everglades.
Treaty Park historical marker (Florida Department of State)
Research notes. The treaty confines the tribes to a reservation; the text records objections about land quality (Article 9) but does not otherwise describe the pressure involved. The marker gives four million acres; the treaty gives boundaries, not acreage.
What the treaty did to the land
About 29 million acres given up. about 6.3 million acres recognized, kept or set aside for the nations. Each shape is a numbered area in the federal government’s 1899 record of land cessions.
ceded to the United Statesabout 29 million acres
Land of the Florida tribes in Florida, ceded 1823 (area 118)
Ceded by the Florida tribes in the 1823 Treaty of Moultrie Creek, which gave up all their claim to Florida except a district set aside for them.
set aside as a reservationabout 6.2 million acres
Land of the Seminole in Florida, ceded 1832 (area 173)
Set aside as the Florida tribes' district at Camp Moultrie in 1823, then given up when the Seminole relinquished their Florida lands at Payne's Landing in May 1832.
set aside as a reservationabout 26,000 acres
Reservation of the Florida tribes in Florida (area 119)
Set aside in the 1823 Treaty of Moultrie Creek as a 2-mile-square reservation at Tuphulga, Florida, for the chief Nea Mathla; never specifically ceded.
set aside as a reservationabout 26,000 acres
Land of the Appalachicola band in Florida, ceded 1833 (area 184)
Set aside for Mulatto King and Emathlochee on the Apalachicola in 1823, then ceded by the Appalachicola band in June 1833.
set aside as a reservation
Land of the Appalachicola in Florida, ceded 1832 (area 176)
Set aside for Blunt and Tuski Hajo on the Apalachicola River at Moultrie Creek in 1823, then ceded by the Appalachicola band in October 1832.
set aside as a reservation
Land of the Certain chiefs in Florida in Florida, ceded 1833 (area 185)
Set aside for Econchatimico on the Chattahoochee in 1823, then ceded by certain chiefs in Florida in June 1833.
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.
- 1823
This treaty
About 29 million acres ceded to the United States by the Florida tribes. About 6.3 million acres set aside as a reservation for the Seminole, Florida tribes and others
In 1823 the Florida tribes ceded their claim to Florida except a central district, with twenty years of U.S. support promised.
- 1830
Law
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 let the President swap eastern tribal lands for districts west of the Mississippi River.
- 1832
Land lost
About 6.2 million acres ceded to the United States by the Seminole
By Treaty of Payne's Landing with the Seminole, 1832
- 1832
Land lost
Land ceded to the United States by the Appalachicola
By Apalachicola at Tallahassee, Florida Territory (1832)
- 1832
Promise broken
Seminole removal: Payne's Landing (1832), Fort Gibson (1833) and the Second Seminole War
Seminole chiefs agreed at Payne's Landing in 1832 to move west if the land suited them; an 1833 acceptance was later disputed.
- 1833
Land lost
About 26,000 acres ceded to the United States by the Appalachicola band and Certain chiefs in Florida
By Apalachicola at Pope's, Fayette County, Florida Territory (1833)
- 1942
In court
Seminole Nation v. United States
In 1942 the Supreme Court said the United States must be judged by "the most exacting fiduciary standards" when it handles Indian treaty money.
The law behind it
The legal ideas behind the decisions, and related records without a date. Court cases and laws with a date are in what happened next, above.
Legal doctrine
claims
The 1946 Indian Claims Commission let tribes press land and treaty claims against the United States for money, as in the Sioux case.
Legal doctrine
trust doctrine
The 1831 'ward and guardian' description became a trust relationship that courts enforce for damages mainly where a statute or regulation creates the duty.
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
- digitreaties.org/treaties/treaty/100378116reference work
Research notes
Reservation ~4 million acres per Wikipedia (pointer); the inadequate reservation preceded Payne's Landing (1832).
Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.