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Treaty

Chickasaw at Washington, DC (1834)

In May 1834 the Chickasaw and United States set terms for individual reservations, sale of the rest, and a possible move west.

Signed
May 24, 1834
Senate
Ratified
Promises
0 of 1 broken or only partly kept

What happened

On 24 May 1834, at Washington, John H. Eaton signed articles for the United States with a delegation of the Chickasaw nation. The text calls them articles "proposed by the Commissioners ... in pursuance of the request made, by the Delegation" and says the Chickasaws "are about to abandon their homes."

The agreement revises the 1832 Treaty of Pontotoc. Article 5 changes the reservations to be granted in fee (full ownership): four sections to heads of families of ten or more, three for five to nine, two for fewer, with an added section for those owning more than ten slaves and half a section for ten or fewer. Other articles gave sections to unmarried adults, half sections to orphans, and special grants to named chiefs, the agent and two lawyers.

Reservations could be sold only after certification, by at least two of seven named persons, that the owner could manage their affairs, and with the President's approval. Article 11 says the rest of the Chickasaw country would be sold as public land, first at not less than $1.25 an acre and falling over time, with the proceeds invested and the interest paid to the Chickasaws.

If the Chickasaws found a home west of the Mississippi, the United States would protect them there, let them sell invested stock to buy land, and furnish guides and a year of supplies. The page lists a proclamation on 1 July 1834.

What was promised, and what happened

  • Not known

    Furnish guides and a year of supplies to Chickasaws who remove west, charged to their fund. (Art. 13)

    the United States will furnish competent persons, safely to conduct them to their future destination treaties.okstate.edu

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. The Chickasaws are about to abandon their homes, which they have long cherished and lovedTreaty with the Chickasaw, 1834, Tribal Treaties Database
  2. those who own more than ten slaves, shall be entitled to one additional sectionTreaty with the Chickasaw, 1834, Tribal Treaties Database
  3. the residue of the Chickasaw country shall be sold, as public lands of the United States are soldTreaty with the Chickasaw, 1834, Tribal Treaties Database
  4. hereby consent to protect and defend them against the inroads of any other tribe of Indians, and from the whitesTreaty with the Chickasaw, 1834, Tribal Treaties Database

Research notes. This is a long agreement; its main points are summarized. The sale-price schedule falls to 12.5 cents an acre in later years; the text lets the Chickasaws abandon unsold land to the United States. The sources cited do not show what was actually sold, paid or protected.

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-chickasaw-1834-0418reference work
    Treaty with the Chickasaw, 1834 May 24, 1834. | 7 Stat., 450.

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