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Great BasinTreaty

Treaty of Box Elder (Northwestern Shoshone), 1863

The 1863 Box Elder treaty brought peace with the Northwestern Shoshone; in 1945 the Supreme Court rejected a land claim based on it.

Signed
July 30, 1863
Senate
Ratified March 7, 1864

What happened

On July 30, 1863, at Box Elder in Utah Territory, Brigadier General P. Edward Connor and Governor James Duane Doty signed an agreement with chiefs of the northwestern bands of the Shoshone. It re-established peace and adopted the terms of the Fort Bridger treaty, including free travel routes. It raised annuities by $5,000 and recorded that Pokatello's country was bounded by Raft River and the Portneuf Mountains.

The text says the bands had been "reduced by the war to a state of utter destitution," and the United States gave $2,000 in provisions and goods at signing. Article 5 adds that nothing in the treaty admitted any "other or greater title or interest" than existed under Mexican law.

In Northwestern Bands of Shoshone Indians v. United States (1945), the bands sued for about $15 million for roughly 15 million acres, arguing the treaty recognized their title. The Supreme Court held that suit was allowed only for rights the treaty acknowledged, found the claim did not arise under the treaty, and affirmed. The OSU treaty database lists ratification on March 7, 1864.

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. the said bands having been reduced by the war to a state of utter destitutionTribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Treaty with the Shoshoni-Northwestern Bands, 1863
  2. Nothing herein contained shall be construed or taken to admit any other or greater title or interestTribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Treaty with the Shoshoni-Northwestern Bands, 1863
  3. suit is authorized only for rights acknowledged by the treatyNorthwestern Bands of Shoshone Indians v. United States, 324 U.S. 335 (1945) (Cornell LII)

Research notes. The treaty is mainly a peace and right-of-way agreement. It says the bands had been reduced \"by the war\" to destitution but does not describe that war. The 1945 Supreme Court decision affirmed the lower court; this account summarizes the majority holding only.

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. 1863

    This treaty

    Signed

    The 1863 Box Elder treaty brought peace with the Northwestern Shoshone; in 1945 the Supreme Court rejected a land claim based on it.

  2. 1863

    Promise broken

    Box Elder (Fort Bridger) 1863: no recognized title, no compensation (Northwestern Shoshone)

    Box Elder's 1863 treaty promised peace and an annuity; in 1945 the Court held it recognized no Shoshone title, so the claim failed.

  3. 1864

    This treaty

    Ratified by the Senate

  4. 1945

    In court

    Northwestern Bands of Shoshone Indians v. United States

    The 1863 Treaty of Box Elder did not recognize Shoshone title to the land, so the Court denied compensation for its taking.

  5. 1955

    In court

    Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States

    In 1955 the Court held that Alaska Natives' unrecognized land occupancy could be taken without Fifth Amendment compensation.

The law behind it

The legal ideas behind the decisions, and related records without a date. Court cases and laws with a date are in what happened next, above.

  • Legal doctrine

    aboriginal title

    Aboriginal title is Native nations' right to land held before European arrival; unrecognized title can be ended without payment.

  • Legal doctrine

    claims

    The 1946 Indian Claims Commission let tribes press land and treaty claims against the United States for money, as in the Sioux case.

  • Legal doctrine

    recognized title

    Where Congress by treaty or statute recognized that Indians would hold land permanently, taking it requires compensation, as in the Sioux Nation case.

  • Legal doctrine

    discovery

    Johnson v. M'Intosh (1823) said discovery gave Europeans, then the United States, title subject to Native occupancy; the Vatican repudiated the doctrine in 2023.

  • Legal doctrine

    plenary power

    Congress claims 'plenary' power over Indian affairs, upheld since Kagama and Lone Wolf; Justice Thomas has questioned it, and the Brackeen Court said it has borders.

  • Legal doctrine

    takings

    Native land held by treaty must be paid for if taken (Sioux Nation, 1980), but unrecognized 'Indian title' is not compensable (Tee-Hit-Ton, 1955).

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. digitreaties.org/treaties/treaty/74859412reference work
Research notes

Stat. page per Stat. vol. 13 OCR index; Kappler page. Ratification detail: 1864-03-07 (Senate consent (with amendment); read from the Stat. margin by V2).

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