Sioux (Wahpekute, Sisseton, and Upper Mdewakanton) (1836)
In 1836 the Wahpekute, Sisseton and Upper Mdewakanton Sioux ceded the land between Missouri and the Missouri River for $550 in goods.
- Signed
- November 30, 1836
- Senate
- Ratified
What happened
What happened
On November 30, 1836, Indian agent Lawrence Taliaferro held a convention at St. Peters with the chiefs, braves and principal men of the Wahpaakootah, Susseton and Upper Medawakanton tribes of Sioux. It is the last of five 1836 agreements over the same strip of land between the State of Missouri and the Missouri River.
The text repeats the common background. The 1830 treaty of Prairie du Chien said the country was to be assigned to tribes living there or others the President might place there. The 1836 document says it was "desirable" that the lands become part of Missouri, with the earlier terms kept until the Indians involved gave assent.
The signers then agreed to "forever cede, relinquish and quit claim" all their right, title and interest, and freed the United States from any guarantee under the earlier treaty. The text gives as their reasons that the lands could never serve Indian purposes and that settling Indians there would bring collisions with citizens.
In return the United States agreed to furnish presents of five hundred and fifty dollars in goods, and the text says receipt was acknowledged. Seventeen leaders signed with marks. The treaty was proclaimed on February 18, 1837.
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.
forever cede, relinquish and quit claim to the United States all our right, title and interest of whatsoever nature
Tribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Sioux (Wahpekute, Sisseton, and Upper Mdewakanton) (1836)presents to the amount of five hundred and fifty dollars in goods, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged
Tribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Sioux (Wahpekute, Sisseton, and Upper Mdewakanton) (1836)Nov. 30, 1836. | 7 Stat., 527. | Proclamation, Feb 18, 1837.
Tribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Sioux (Wahpekute, Sisseton, and Upper Mdewakanton) (1836)
Research notes. The treaty text does not say what happened to the land or the people afterward. The OSU page lists the Santee Sioux Nation (Nebraska) and the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation as successors in interest.
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.
Who is doing the work
This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:
- Crow Creek Sioux Tribe
- Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota
- Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota
- Prairie Island Indian Community in the State of Minnesota
- Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska
- Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota
- Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
- Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana
Working with these nations
- Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Sicangu Oyate) Nation government Pe' Sla (1,942 acres, Nov 30, 2012)
- Owamniyomni Okhodayapi (formerly Friends of the Falls) Native-led Dakota-led restoration and return of care for sacred St. Anthony Falls (Owamniyomni) site in Minneapolis, with… Give on their site Website
- Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
- Lakota People's Law Project (program of Sacred Defense Fund) Native-led Legal advocacy 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
- Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP) Native-led Youth programs Website
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
- Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy Give on their site Website
- Honor the Earth Native-led Pipeline resistance, sovereignty, energy justice Give on their site Website
- Indian Law Resource Center Native-led Legal assistance to Indigenous nations to protect lands, resources, treaty and human rights 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
- treaties.okstate.edu/treaties/treaty-with-the-sioux-1836-0481reference work
Treaty with the Sioux, 1836 Nov. 30, 1836. | 7 Stat., 527.
Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.