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SouthwestTreaty

Treaty with the Utah (Abiquiu), 1849

An 1849 treaty at Abiquiu had the Ute acknowledge U.S. jurisdiction, annexed their territory to New Mexico, and left boundaries to the United States.

Signed
December 30, 1849
Senate
Ratified September 9, 1850

What happened

On December 30, 1849, James S. Calhoun, Indian agent at Santa Fe, signed a treaty as United States commissioner with twenty-nine named principal and subordinate chiefs, representing the Utah (Ute) tribe. In Article I the Utah tribe acknowledged that they were lawfully and exclusively under the jurisdiction of the United States and that "to its power and authority they now unconditionally submit."

Article II ended hostilities and set perpetual peace. Article III required the return of captives and stolen property at Abiquiu by March 1, 1850. Article IV extended the laws regulating trade and intercourse with Indians over the Utahs and annexed the territory they occupied to New Mexico, "until the Government of the United States shall otherwise order." Article V allowed free passage through their territory. Article VI provided for military posts, agencies and trading houses.

In Article VII the Utahs agreed that the United States should, at its earliest convenience, designate, settle and adjust their territorial boundaries. They also bound themselves not to leave their accustomed homes unless an agent permitted it, and to confine themselves to the limits assigned. The treaty cedes no named tract. It was ratified and proclaimed on September 9, 1850. The treaty text does not say how the signers were chosen or what followed.

Good to know. The treaty cedes no named tract of land.

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.

  1. to its power and authority they now unconditionally submitTreaty with the Utah, 1849 (OSU Tribal Treaties Database)
  2. the territory occupied by the Utahs is hereby annexed to New Mexico as now organizedTreaty with the Utah, 1849 (OSU Tribal Treaties Database)
  3. and to its power and authority they now unconTreaty with the Utah, 9 Stat. 984 (govinfo)

Research notes. The treaty cedes no named tract and states no acreage. The sources used here do not describe how the signers were chosen or the later history of the agreement. The OSU page lists the Southern Ute, Ute Mountain Ute and Uintah and Ouray Ute tribes 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.

  1. 1849

    This treaty

    Signed

    An 1849 treaty at Abiquiu had the Ute acknowledge U.S. jurisdiction, annexed their territory to New Mexico, and left boundaries to the United States.

  2. 1850

    This treaty

    Ratified by the Senate

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.

This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:

Working with these nations

Native legal and land defense, nationally

Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.

Sources

  1. digitreaties.org/treaties/treaty/175192400reference work
Research notes

Kappler pages 585-587 per OSU comprehensive index. Ratification detail: 1850-09-09 (Senate consent; read from the Stat. margin by V2).

Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.