Winnebago at Washington, DC (1837)

What happened

On November 1, 1837, Carey A. Harris, specially directed by the President, signed a treaty at Washington with the Winnebago nation, through its chiefs and delegates. In Article 1 the Winnebago ceded all their land east of the Mississippi River. In Article 2 they relinquished the right to occupy, except for hunting, part of the land they held west of the river, though the treaty says this did not invalidate their title to the tract. In Article 3 they agreed to remove within eight months of ratification to the part of the neutral ground west of the Mississippi that the 1832 treaty had conveyed to them.

In Article 4 the United States set aside $200,000. Named individuals were paid from it "at the earnest solicitation of the chiefs and delegates," and the balance went to debts. It also promised $100,000 to relations and friends with at least one quarter Winnebago blood, up to $7,000 for removal, goods, horses, provisions and a grist-mill. The balance of the proceeds, $1,100,000, was to be invested at not less than five per cent, with a share of the interest for schools and services. The treaty was proclaimed on June 15, 1838.

The Minnesota Historical Society says treaties signed in 1832 and 1837 called for Ho-Chunk removal to northeastern Iowa. Many rejected the 1832 treaty and stayed in Wisconsin, and after 1837 more made the journey. In 1848 the United States removed the Ho-Chunk from Iowa to Long Prairie in Minnesota Territory.

Good to know. The Sauk County Historical Society says the Ho-Chunk delegation had no official power to sign and was misled into thinking the treaty gave them 8 years to move, when it said 8 months.

Summarized with AI assistance from 5 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error