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Treaty

Caddo at Agency House, Caddo Nation, Louisiana (1835)

In 1835 the Caddo ceded their land between the Sabine and Red rivers for $80,000 and promised to leave the United States.

Signed
July 1, 1835
Senate
Ratified
Land given up
about 977,000 acres
The land in this treaty’s record. Open on the map

What happened

On July 1, 1835, Jehiel Brooks, commissioner for the United States, signed a treaty at the agency house in the Caddo nation, Louisiana. The other party was the chiefs, head men and warriors of the Caddo. In Article I they agreed to cede and relinquish all their land within stated boundaries. The land lay between the Sabine and Red rivers, west of the line then separating the United States from the Republic of Mexico. The text gives no acreage, only "more or less."

Article II says the Caddo voluntarily relinquished the territory and promised to remove, at their own expense, out of the boundaries of the United States within one year of signing. They also promised never to return to live there as a nation, tribe or community. The United States agreed in Article III to pay a total of $80,000: $30,000 in goods and horses at signing, $10,000 in money within a year, and $10,000 a year for the next four years.

Supplementary articles signed the same day confirmed four square leagues of land for the heirs of François Grappe. The text says the Caddo had given a league each to Grappe and his three sons in 1801. They also reserved one section for Larkin Edwards, a longtime interpreter. The treaty was proclaimed on February 2, 1836. The Oklahoma State University database lists the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma as successor in interest. The treaty text does not describe the circumstances of the negotiation.

Summarized with AI assistance from 3 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. promise to remove at their own expense out of the boundaries of the United StatesTreaty with the Caddo, 1835 (OSU Tribal Treaties Database)
  2. Thirty thousand dollars to be paid in goods, and horsesTreaty with the Caddo, 1835 (OSU Tribal Treaties Database)
  3. Ten thousand dollars in money to be paid within one yearTreaty with the Caddo, 7 Stat. 470 (govinfo)

Research notes. The treaty gives no acreage. The sources used here do not describe how the negotiation was conducted or what happened after the Caddo left.

What the treaty did to the land

About 977,000 acres given up. Each shape is a numbered area in the federal government’s 1899 record of land cessions.

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.

This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:

Native legal and land defense, nationally

Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.

Sources

  1. treaties.okstate.edu/treaties/treaty-with-the-caddo-1835-0432reference work
    Treaty with the Caddo, 1835 July 1, 1835. | 7 Stat., 470.

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