Treaty of La Pointe (1854) with the Chippewa of Lake Superior and the Mississippi
The 1854 Treaty of La Pointe ceded Ojibwe lands on the north and west shores of Lake Superior for reservations, annuities and continued hunting and fishing.
- Signed
- September 30, 1854
- Senate
- Ratified
- Land given up
- about 6.1 million acres
- Land set aside for the nations
- about 443,000 acres
What happened
What happened
On September 30, 1854, at La Pointe, Wisconsin, commissioners Henry C. Gilbert and David B. Herriman signed a treaty with the Chippewa of Lake Superior and the Mississippi. The Lake Superior Chippewa ceded the lands east of a line running from Snake River to the Vermillion River. The United States set apart reserved tracts in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, including a tract for the La Pointe band and 200 acres on Madeline Island. Article 11 provided that the Indians "shall not be required to remove from the homes hereby set apart for them," and that those living in the ceded territory "shall have the right to hunt and fish therein, until otherwise ordered by the President."
MNopedia says the main U.S. aim was access to copper, minerals and pine. Many Ojibwe owed money to traders and were open to a deal. In 1850 President Taylor had ordered Ojibwe in Wisconsin and Michigan removed, an order later cancelled, and hundreds died after payments were moved to Sandy Lake. The Ojibwe therefore asked for guarantees against removal.
The Senate ratified the treaty on January 10, 1855. Timber and mining companies followed, and many Ojibwe fell deeper into debt. MNopedia says these hunting and fishing rights never expired, citing the 1983 Voigt decision; that federal case concerned rights reserved in the 1837 and 1842 treaties, which it held the 1854 treaty did not end.
Summarized with AI assistance from 4 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.
the Indians shall not be required to remove from the homes hereby set apart for them
Treaty with the Chippewa, 1854 (Oklahoma State University Tribal Treaties Database)For the U.S., the main aim of the treaty was access to natural resources on Ojibwe land
Treaty of La Pointe, 1854, MNopedia (Minnesota Historical Society)Many Ojibwe owed money to white or mixed-race traders
Treaty of La Pointe, 1854, MNopedia (Minnesota Historical Society)neither terminated nor released by the 1854 treaty
Lac Courte Oreilles Band v. Wisconsin, 760 F.2d 177 (7th Cir. 1985) (law.resource.org)
Research notes. The treaty text describes the reserved tracts by townships and band rather than by today's reservation names. The Senate ratified the treaty on January 10, 1855. The cited sources give no acreage for the cession. MNopedia credits the 1983 Voigt decision with upholding these hunting and fishing rights, but that case concerned rights reserved in the 1837 and 1842 treaties.
What the treaty did to the land
About 6.1 million acres given up. about 443,000 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 6.1 million acres
Land of the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior in Minnesota, ceded 1854 (area 332)
Ceded by the Chippewa of Lake Superior and the Mississippi in the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe, their lands in Minnesota.
set aside as a reservationabout 106,000 acres
Reservation of the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior in Wisconsin (area 336)
Set apart for Wisconsin bands of Chippewa near Lac du Flambeau by the 1854 La Pointe treaty; a reservation, not a cession.
set aside as a reservationabout 105,000 acres
Reservation of the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior in Wisconsin (area 334)
Set apart for the La Pointe band of Chippewa (Bad River) in Wisconsin by the 1854 La Pointe treaty; a reservation, not a cession.
set aside as a reservationabout 105,000 acres
Land of the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior in Minnesota, ceded 1889 (area 338)
Set apart for the Fond du Lac bands of Chippewa in Minnesota in 1854, then ceded in an agreement signed in November 1889 under the Nelson Act.
set aside as a reservationabout 85,000 acres
Reservation of the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior in Wisconsin (area 337)
Promised to the Chippewa at Lac Court Oreilles by the 1854 La Pointe treaty; the land chosen was approved in 1873 and the rest of the held land reopened for sale. The reserve was never ceded.
set aside as a reservationabout 21,000 acres
Reservation of the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior in Michigan (area 333)
Set apart for the L'Anse and Vieux Desert bands of Chippewa in Michigan by the 1854 La Pointe treaty; a reservation, not a cession.
set aside as a reservationabout 21,000 acres
Land of the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior in Minnesota, ceded 1889 (area 339)
Set apart for the Grand Portage band of Chippewa in Minnesota in 1854, then ceded in an agreement signed in October 1889.
set aside as a reservation
Reservation of the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior in Wisconsin (area 335)
Set apart for the La Pointe band of Chippewa (Bad River and Madeline Island) by the 1854 La Pointe treaty; the Secretary of the Interior approved the land chosen in 1859. Never ceded.
set aside as a reservation
Reservation of the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior in Michigan (area 340)
Promised to the Ontonagon band of Chippewa in Michigan by the 1854 treaty and formally set aside by executive order in 1855; never ceded.
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.
- 1854
This treaty
About 6.1 million acres ceded to the United States by the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior. About 443,000 acres set aside as a reservation for the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior
The 1854 Treaty of La Pointe ceded Ojibwe lands on the north and west shores of Lake Superior for reservations, annuities and continued hunting and fishing.
- 1855
Land record
Earlier terms confirmed for the land of the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior
The 1899 record: “Formal withdrawal of land for reserve, as provided for by sixth clause of article 1, treaty of Sept. 30, 1854”
- 1859
Land record
Earlier terms confirmed for the land of the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior
The 1899 record: “Secretary of Interior approves and reports to General Land Office selections for reserve on Madeline island, as per treaty of Sept. 30, 1854”
- 1873
Land record
Earlier terms confirmed for the land of the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior
The 1899 record: “Secretary of Interior approves selection of reservation and restores to market balance of land withdrawn Nov. 22, 1859, and Apr. 4, 1865”
- 1889
Land lost
About 21,000 acres ceded to the United States by the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior
The 1899 record: “Cede to the U. S. all their title and interest in and to the Grand Portage reservation”
- 1889
Land lost
About 105,000 acres ceded to the United States by the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior
The 1899 record: “Cede to the U. S. all their title and interest in the Fond du Lac reservation, and all their rights in such portion of Red Lake reservation as is not needed for allotment”
- 1970
Promise broken
Voigt decision (1983): Wisconsin's denial of 1837/1842 treaty rights
In 1983 a federal appeals court held that Ojibwe bands kept 1837 hunting and fishing rights in Wisconsin; protests followed.
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:
- Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, Wisconsin
- Bay Mills Indian Community
- Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana
- Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan
- Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
- Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
- Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Michigan
- Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana
Working with these nations
- Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) Nation government Ojibwe treaty rights in ceded territories, natural resource stewardship, manoomin, and a Land Conservancy program… Give on their site Website
- Honor the Earth Native-led Pipeline resistance, sovereignty, energy justice Give on their site Website
- White Earth Land Recovery Project (WELRP) Native-led Recover the original White Earth reservation land base Give on their site Website
- Native Land Conservancy (Massachusetts) Native-led Native-led land conservation Give on their site Website
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
- digitreaties.org/treaties/treaty/68161618reference work
Research notes
Land description/Kappler page; Stat. page per Stat. vol. 10 OCR index.
Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.