Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior at Fond du Lac, Lake Superior (1847)

What happened

On August 2, 1847, Isaac A. Verplank and Henry M. Rice, commissioners for the United States, signed a treaty at Fond du Lac of Lake Superior with the Chippewa Indians of the Mississippi and Lake Superior, through their chiefs and head-men. In Article 2 they ceded and sold all the land within boundaries starting at the junction of the Crow Wing and Mississippi rivers. The line ran up the Crow Wing and Long Prairie rivers, along the Sioux-Chippewa boundary, and down the Watab River to the Mississippi. They also ceded their interest in a tract north of the Long Prairie River called One-day's Hunt. The treaty states no acreage.

The boundary with the Pillager band was indefinite, so the treaty says it must be defined to the Pillagers' satisfaction before the United States used or occupied the tract north of the Long Prairie River.

In Article 3 the United States agreed to pay $17,000 in specie to the Chippewas of Lake Superior and $17,000 to the Chippewas of the Mississippi, within six months of ratification. It also agreed to pay the Mississippi Indians $1,000 a year for forty-six years, which could be spent on schools, blacksmiths and laborers on their request. Article 4 let Chippewas of mixed blood share the annuities. Article 5 was stricken out. The treaty was ratified on April 3, 1848 and proclaimed on April 7, 1848.

Summarized with AI assistance from 3 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error