Creeks at Fort Gibson, West of Arkansas; includes Supplemental Article of June 13, 1854 (1838)
In 1838 the Creek Nation traded its claims for property lost in removal for $50,000 in livestock and a $350,000 investment.
- Signed
- November 23, 1838
- Senate
- Ratified
What happened
What happened
This treaty was signed at Fort Gibson, west of Arkansas, on November 23, 1838. It settles money claims, not land. The Creek delegation had come to adjust "their claims for property and improvements abandoned, or lost, in consequence of their emigration west of the Mississippi."
In Article 1 the Creek Nation relinquished those claims. In exchange, Article 2 had the United States pay $50,000 in stock animals, to be distributed to the people of each town in proportion to their loss. Article 3 promised to invest $350,000 for the individuals concerned and secure five percent interest, paid yearly. Article 4 says that after twenty-five years the invested sum would be used for the common benefit of the Creek nation.
Article 5 added $21,103.33 to satisfy claims of early emigrants of the McIntosh party. Article 6 proposed $10,000 in stock animals for about two thousand five hundred Creeks removed "as hostiles," and said that if this article was rejected the others would stand.
The treaty was proclaimed on March 2, 1839.
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
Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.
their claims for property and improvements abandoned, or lost, in consequence of their emigration west of the Mississippi
Treaty with the Creeks, 1838 (OSU Tribal Treaties Database)the sum of fifty thousand dollars in stock animals as soon as practicable after the ratification of this treaty
Treaty with the Creeks, 1838 (OSU Tribal Treaties Database)the sum of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars and secure to them the interest of five per cent. thereon
Treaty with the Creeks, 1838 (OSU Tribal Treaties Database)
Research notes. The treaty text does not say what happened afterward, or whether Article 6 was accepted.
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:
- Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town
- Kialegee Tribal Town
- Muscogee (Creek) Nation
- Poarch Band of Creek Indians
- Thlopthlocco Tribal Town
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
- treaties.okstate.edu/treaties/treaty-with-the-creeks-1838-0524reference work
Treaty with the Creeks, 1838 Nov. 23, 1838. | 7 Stat., 574.
Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.