Winnebago at Washington, DC (1865)
In 1865 the Winnebago ceded their Dakota Territory reservation and received land the Omaha had ceded in Nebraska Territory.
- Signed
- March 8, 1865
- Senate
- Ratified
- Land given up
- about 483,000 acres
- Land set aside for the nations
- about 181,000 acres
- Promises
- 0 of 1 broken or only partly kept
What happened
What happened
On March 8, 1865, in Washington, the Winnebago tribe ceded to the United States their reservation in Dakota Territory, at Usher's Landing on the Missouri River. In return the United States set apart for them, "forever," the tract the Omaha tribe had ceded on March 6, 1865, in the Territory of Nebraska.
The United States agreed to remove the tribe and its property to the new home and to feed the tribe for one year after arrival. It promised a steam sawmill with a gristmill, and 100 acres broken and fenced for each band, with seed to plant them. It also promised $2,000 worth of guns, 400 horses, 100 cows, twenty yoke of oxen, wagons and other goods. It promised an agency building, a school house and a house for each chief.
The treaty says these terms were meant so that the Winnebagos "may be as well situated as they were when they were moved from Minnesota." The text itself therefore records a second relocation, following an earlier one from Minnesota. The treaty text does not describe conditions at either place, and no source cited here gives the tribe's own account, so neither is covered.
What was promised, and what happened
- Not known
Build a steam sawmill with gristmill, and break and fence 100 acres for each band. (Art. 3)
a good steam saw-mill with a grist-mill attached, and to break and fence one hundred acres of land for each band
treaties.okstate.edu
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.
The United States also stipulate and agree to remove the Winnebago tribe of Indians and their property to their new home
Tribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Treaty with the Winnebago, 1865in order that the Winnebagos may be as well situated as they were when they were moved from Minnesota
Tribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Treaty with the Winnebago, 1865their present reservation in the Territory of Dakota, at Usher's Landing, on the Missouri River
Tribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Treaty with the Winnebago, 1865
Research notes. The treaty does not name the Dakota Territory reservation beyond its location at Usher's Landing on the Missouri River. No source cited here describes conditions there or gives the tribe's own account.
What the treaty did to the land
About 483,000 acres given up. about 181,000 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 483,000 acres
Land of the Winnebago in South Dakota, ceded 1865 (area 468)
Set up for the Winnebago at Crow Creek, Dakota, under an 1863 act and a July 1863 executive order, then ceded back in the March 1865 treaty.
set aside as a reservationabout 181,000 acres
Reservation of the Winnebago in Nebraska (area 469)
Given to the Winnebago in 1865 as a home in Nebraska, on land the Omaha had ceded that month; a reservation, not a cession by them.
Linked to this treaty
Land of the Winnebago in Nebraska, recorded 1865 (area 470)
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.
- 1863
Land kept
About 483,000 acres recognized as land of the Winnebago
The 1899 record: “President authorized to set apart reserve for Winnebago”
- 1863
Land kept
About 483,000 acres set aside as a reservation for the Winnebago
The 1899 record: “This reserve was established by Executive order of July 1, 1863, at Crow creek, Dakota”
- 1865
This treaty
About 483,000 acres ceded to the United States by the Winnebago. About 181,000 acres set aside as a reservation for the Winnebago
In 1865 the Winnebago ceded their Dakota Territory reservation and received land the Omaha had ceded in Nebraska Territory.
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:
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
- treaties.okstate.edu/treaties/treaty-with-the-winnebago-1865-0874reference work
Treaty with the Winnebago, 1865 Mar. 8, 1865. | 14 Stats., 671.
Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.