Sauk and Fox at Sauk and Fox Agency, Iowa Territory (1842)
In 1842 the Sac and Fox ceded all their claims west of the Mississippi, kept a three-year right to stay, and agreed to move.
- Signed
- October 11, 1842
- Senate
- Ratified
- Land given up
- about 12 million acres
- Land set aside for the nations
- about 287,000 acres
What happened
What happened
On October 11, 1842, John Chambers, commissioner for the United States, signed a treaty at the Sac and Fox agency in Iowa Territory with the confederated tribes of Sacs and Foxes, represented by their chiefs, headmen and braves. In Article I they ceded forever all the lands west of the Mississippi River in which they had any claim, title or interest. They reserved the right to occupy for three years the part west of a north-south line running from the "painted or red rocks" on the White Breast fork of the Des Moines River. The treaty states no acreage.
In Article II the United States agreed to pay each year five per cent interest on $800,000 and to pay the debts in an attached schedule, $258,566.34. It also agreed that the President would assign a tract on the Missouri River or its waters as a permanent home for them and their descendants. The tribes were to pay for moving the blacksmith and gunsmith shops, except for the part the United States already owed under earlier treaties.
In Article III the Sacs and Foxes agreed to move west of the line by May 1 of the next year. They agreed to move to the assigned land when their chiefs consented, and to move at their own expense if they had not left within three years. The United States agreed to furnish provisions for the journey. The treaty was proclaimed on March 23, 1843. The sources used here do not describe the removal itself.
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.
cede to the United States, forever, all the lands west of the Mississippi river, to which they have any claim or title
Treaty with the Sac and Fox, 1842 (OSU Tribal Treaties Database)if they do not remove before the expiration of the term of three years, they will then remove at their own expense
Treaty with the Sac and Fox, 1842 (OSU Tribal Treaties Database)painted or red rocks
Treaty with the Sac and Fox, 7 Stat. 596 (govinfo)
Research notes. No acreage is stated. The cited sources do not describe the tribes' later move to the assigned land.
What the treaty did to the land
About 12 million acres given up. about 287,000 acres recognized, kept or set aside for the nations. Each shape is a numbered area in the federal government’s 1899 record of land cessions.
ceded to the United Statesabout 12 million acres
Land of the Sauk and Fox in Iowa, ceded 1842 (area 262)
Ceded by the Sauk and Fox in 1842, their lands in Iowa, though they kept the right to live on the western part for three more years.
set aside as a reservationabout 239,000 acres
Land of the Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi in Kansas, ceded 1859 (area 419)
Assigned to the Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi in Kansas in 1842; this part was given up in 1859, to be sold on their behalf, and an 1867 treaty disposed of what remained unsold.
set aside as a reservationabout 48,000 acres
Land of the Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi in Kansas, ceded 1867 (area 494)
Assigned to the Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi in Kansas in 1842, reduced to a smaller reserve in 1859, and the unsold rest ceded in the 1867 treaty.
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.
- 1842
This treaty
About 12 million acres ceded to the United States by the Sauk and Fox. About 287,000 acres set aside as a reservation for the Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi
In 1842 the Sac and Fox ceded all their claims west of the Mississippi, kept a three-year right to stay, and agreed to move.
- 1859
Land lost
About 239,000 acres ceded to the United States by the Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi
By Sauk and Fox at Sauk and Fox Agency, Kansas Territory (1859)
- 1859
Land kept
About 48,000 acres set aside as a reservation for the Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi
By Sauk and Fox at Sauk and Fox Agency, Kansas Territory (1859)
- 1867
Land record
About 239,000 acres named in the record
By Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi at Washington, DC (1867)
- 1867
Land lost
About 48,000 acres ceded to the United States by the Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi
By Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi at Washington, DC (1867)
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:
- Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa
- Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska
- Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma
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-sauk-and-foxes-1842-0546reference work
Treaty with the Sauk and Foxes, 1842 Oct.11, 1842. | 7 Stat., 596.
Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.