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Pacific NorthwestTreaty

Hellgate Treaty (Bitterroot Salish, Pend d'Oreille, Kootenai), 1855

The 1855 Hellgate Treaty ceded most of western Montana from the Flathead, Kootenay and Pend d'Oreille and created the Flathead Reservation.

Signed
July 16, 1855
Senate
Ratified March 8, 1859
Land given up
about 17 million acres
Land set aside for the nations
about 1.5 million acres
The land in this treaty’s record. Open on the map

What happened

On July 16, 1855, at Hell Gate in the Bitter Root Valley, Governor Isaac Stevens signed a treaty with chiefs and delegates of the confederated Flathead, Kootenay and Upper Pend d'Oreille tribes, who were declared a nation under head chief Victor. They ceded a tract that began on the Rocky Mountain crest at the 49th parallel. A general reservation was reserved, with the Bitter Root Valley to be surveyed and possibly set aside for the Flathead. The United States promised $120,000 and secured fishing "at all usual and accustomed places."

Char-Koosta News, the Salish and Kootenai tribal newspaper, says Stevens wanted to acquire large areas of tribal land for settlement and railroad expansion, that interpreters were present but language differences led to misunderstandings, and that leaders negotiated "amid pressure from U.S. officials." It describes an "eventual, though not total, forced relocation to the Flathead Reservation" and says Chief Victor defended the Bitterroot Valley as his people's homeland.

The newspaper calls the treaty a loss of millions of acres that also recognized certain rights and created a reservation. The OSU treaty database lists ratification on March 8, 1859.

Good to know. The treaty was made in what was then Washington Territory; the lands are in present Montana.

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.

  1. hereby cede, relinquish, and convey to the United States all their right, title, and interest in and to the country occupied or claimed by themTreaty with the Flatheads, etc., 1855 (Oklahoma State University Tribal Treaties Database)
  2. even amid pressure from U.S. officialsHistory: The Hellgate Treaty of 1855, Char-Koosta News
  3. cultural and language differences led to misunderstandings about the treaty's meaningHistory: The Hellgate Treaty of 1855, Char-Koosta News
  4. It marked the loss of millions of acres of traditional territory, yet it also recognized certain rights and created a reservation.History: The Hellgate Treaty of 1855, Char-Koosta News

Research notes. The Char-Koosta article is a short overview by a contributor, not a formal history; its phrase about 'pressure from U.S. officials' is general. The treaty was made in what was then Washington Territory, though the lands are in present Montana. It was ratified March 8, 1859, and proclaimed April 18, 1859. This account does not cover the later removal of the Salish from the Bitterroot Valley.

What the treaty did to the land

About 17 million acres given up. about 1.5 million 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.

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. 1855

    This treaty

    About 17 million acres ceded to the United States by the Flathead, Kootenay and others. About 1.5 million acres set aside as a reservation for the Flathead, Kootenay and others

    The 1855 Hellgate Treaty ceded most of western Montana from the Flathead, Kootenay and Pend d'Oreille and created the Flathead Reservation.

  2. 1859

    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/178331294reference work
Research notes

Wikipedia (pointer) for ratification/proclamation. Stat./Kappler pages. Region assigned Pacific NW per treaty-making jurisdiction (Washington Territory), though lands are in present Montana; map as Northern Rockies. Ratification detail: 1859-03-08 (Senate); proclaimed 1859-04-18

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