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Treaty

Sauk and Fox at Sauk and Fox Agency, Kansas Territory (1859)

In 1859 the Sac and Fox of the Mississippi gave up most of their Kansas reservation, keeping about 153,600 acres for allotment.

Signed
October 1, 1859
Senate
Ratified
Land given up
about 239,000 acres
Land set aside for the nations
about 48,000 acres
The land in this treaty’s record. Open on the map

What happened

On October 1, 1859, at the Sac and Fox agency in Kansas Territory, commissioner Alfred B. Greenwood signed a treaty with Keokuk and other chiefs of the confederated Sacs and Foxes of the Mississippi. The treaty says the tribe had "more lands than are necessary for their occupancy and use" and wished to abolish tenure in common. A rectangular part of the reservation "to contain about one hundred and fifty-three thousand and six hundred acres" would be retained, with 80 acres assigned to each member. The rest would be sold in parcels of up to 160 acres to the highest bidder, and the proceeds used for houses, tools and stock. Article 5 provided for paying the Indians' debts.

The Franklin County Kansas History Portal says the negotiations were initiated by the U.S. government "to decrease the size of the Sac and Fox reservation." It records a Sac and Fox leader, Shaw-Paw-Kaw-Kah, saying: "I sign under protest, knowing in my own heart that there is no good in it for the Indians."

The same portal's account has him warning that "We will eventually have to surrender this diminished reservation." The treaty was ratified on June 27, 1860 and proclaimed on July 9, 1860, according to the OSU page.

Good to know. The speech quoted comes from an older translation recorded by a local county history site.

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

Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.

  1. to contain about one hundred and fifty-three thousand and six hundred acresTreaty with the Sauk and Foxes, 1859 (Oklahoma State University Tribal Treaties Database)
  2. initiated by the US Government to decrease the size of the Sac and Fox reservationNative Americans in Franklin County area: Emigrants, Franklin County Kansas History Portal
  3. I sign under protest, knowing in my own heart that there is no good in it for the Indians.Native Americans in Franklin County area: Emigrants, Franklin County Kansas History Portal

Research notes. The speech is recorded by a local county history portal, which says it was translated by John Goodell; the portal does not name an original published source. The treaty estimates the retained part at about 153,600 acres.

What the treaty did to the land

About 239,000 acres given up. about 48,000 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.

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. 1842

    Land kept

    About 287,000 acres set aside as a reservation for the Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi

    By Sauk and Fox at Sauk and Fox Agency, Iowa Territory (1842)

    area 419 area 494

  2. 1859

    This treaty

    About 239,000 acres ceded to the United States by the Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi. About 48,000 acres set aside as a reservation for the Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi

    In 1859 the Sac and Fox of the Mississippi gave up most of their Kansas reservation, keeping about 153,600 acres for allotment.

  3. 1867

    Land record

    About 239,000 acres named in the record

    By Sauk and Fox of the Mississippi at Washington, DC (1867)

    area 419

  4. 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)

    area 494

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:

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. treaties.okstate.edu/treaties/treaty-with-the-sauk-and-foxes-1859-0796reference work
    Treaty with the Sauk and Foxes, 1859 Oct. 1, 1859. | 15 Stats., 467.

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