Treaty of Fort Wise (Arapaho and Cheyenne of the Upper Arkansas), 1861
The 1861 Fort Wise treaty, signed by ten chiefs, ceded most Cheyenne and Arapaho land for a small Arkansas River reservation.
- Signed
- February 18, 1861
- Senate
- Ratified August 6, 1861
- Land given up
- about 48 million acres
- Land set aside for the nations
- about 3.8 million acres
- Promises
- 1 of 1 broken or only partly kept
What happened
What happened
On February 18, 1861, at Fort Wise, commissioners Albert G. Boone and F. B. Culver signed an agreement with ten named Arapaho and Cheyenne chiefs, including Black Kettle and Little Raven. The chiefs ceded all land the tribes claimed except a reserve along the Arkansas River, bounded by Sandy Fork and the Purgatory River. Each member was to receive forty acres. The United States promised $30,000 a year for fifteen years, a total of $450,000.
A National Archives article says gold discoveries in 1858 and 1859 brought a tide of settlers, and that trader and agent William Bent asked the government to define the Indians' territorial rights. The result was this treaty, which swapped most of their land for a much smaller triangular tract.
Not all Cheyennes and Arapahos accepted it. The National Archives states that many refused to abide by it. The National Park Service says promised farming instructors were never sent, and that Cheyenne and Arapaho who moved to the reservation depended on once-yearly annuities. On November 29, 1864, about seven hundred Colorado soldiers under Col. John Chivington attacked Black Kettle's camp of about five hundred Cheyenne and Arapaho people at Sand Creek, on the reservation's northern boundary, in what is known as the Sand Creek Massacre. The people there believed they were at peace with the United States and under its protection. The OSU treaty database lists ratification on August 6, 1861.
What was promised, and what happened
- Broken
Government help teaching the Cheyenne and Arapaho to farm. (Annuities and aid provisions)
The Treaty of Fort Wise promised government assistance with teaching the Cheyenne and Arapaho how to farm; however, instructors were never sent.
nps.gov
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.
making four hundred and fifty thousand dollars in annuities in the period of fifteen years
Tribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Treaty with the Arapaho and Cheyenne, 1861not all Cheyennes and Arapahos recognized the Treaty of Fort Wise, and many refused to abide by it
The Search for the Site of the Sand Creek Massacre (National Archives, Prologue)The Treaty of Fort Wise promised government assistance with teaching the Cheyenne and Arapaho how to farm; however, instructors were never sent.
Wayside: Fort Lyon Reservation (National Park Service)
Research notes. The cited sources say many Cheyennes and Arapahos did not recognize the treaty, but they do not say what share of the tribes' leaders signed. The treaty was ratified August 6, 1861, and proclaimed December 5, 1861. Casualty figures for Sand Creek are not given here.
What the treaty did to the land
About 48 million acres given up. about 3.8 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.
ceded to the United Statesabout 48 million acres
Land of the Arapaho of Upper Arkansas and Cheyenne of Upper Arkansas in several states, ceded 1861 (area 426)
Defined as Cheyenne and Arapaho territory by the 1851 Fort Laramie treaty (noted in the 1899 federal record as never ratified), ceded except a reserve at Fort Wise in 1861, with more claims given up in 1865.
set aside as a reservationabout 3.8 million acres
Land of the Arapaho and Cheyenne in Colorado, ceded 1865 (area 477)
Recognized as Cheyenne and Arapaho territory in 1851, made their reserve at Fort Wise in 1861, and ceded in the 1865 Little Arkansas treaty.
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.
- 1851
Land kept
About 51 million acres recognized as land of the Arapaho of Upper Arkansas, Cheyenne of Upper Arkansas and others
By Treaty of Fort Laramie (Horse Creek), 1851
- 1861
This treaty
About 48 million acres ceded to the United States by the Arapaho of Upper Arkansas and Cheyenne of Upper Arkansas. About 3.8 million acres set aside as a reservation for the Arapaho and Cheyenne
The 1861 Fort Wise treaty, signed by ten chiefs, ceded most Cheyenne and Arapaho land for a small Arkansas River reservation.
- 1861
This treaty
Ratified by the Senate
- 1864
Promise broken
Fort Wise (1861), Sand Creek (1864) and the Little Arkansas reparations (1865)
Fort Wise (1861) shrank Cheyenne and Arapaho land; the Sand Creek Massacre (1864) killed over 230, NPS says; the 1865 reparations were never paid.
- 1865
Land lost
Part of the land ceded by the Arapaho of Upper Arkansas and Cheyenne of Upper Arkansas
By Treaty of Little Arkansas (Cheyenne and Arapaho), 1865
- 1865
Land lost
About 3.8 million acres ceded to the United States by the Arapaho and Cheyenne
By Treaty of Little Arkansas (Cheyenne and Arapaho), 1865
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:
- Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
- Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming
- Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana
Working with these nations
- Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Nation government Seeking return of about 6,700 acres at Fort Reno
- Right Relationship Boulder (Land Group) Native-led Funds tribal youth camps and gatherings, plant-gathering access, trail content with tribes, pushes for tribal… 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/74799191reference work
- treaties.okstate.edu/treaties/treaty-with-the-arapaho-and-cheyenne-1861-0807reference work
Ratified. Aug. 6, 1861. | Proclaimed Dec. 5, 1861.
Corrections to this record
- date ratified was listed as “”; corrected from treaties.okstate.edu
Ratified. Aug. 6, 1861. | Proclaimed Dec. 5, 1861.
Research notes
Stat. page (Stat. vol. 12 OCR index prints 1168); Kappler page. Precedes the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre; legitimacy contested by Cheyenne chiefs not present.
Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.