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Treaty

Apache, Cheyenne, and Arapaho at Little Arkansas River, Kansas (1865)

A supplement signed on October 17, 1865 united the Apache with the Cheyenne and Arapaho and extended the Little Arkansas treaty to them.

Signed
October 17, 1865
Senate
Ratified

What happened

This short agreement was signed on the Little Arkansas River in Kansas on October 17, 1865. It supplements a treaty with the Cheyenne and Arapaho made three days earlier, on October 14, 1865, at the same council ground. Commissioners for the United States included John B. Sanborn, William S. Harney, Kit Carson and William W. Bent.

The preamble explains that the Apache, who had been "confederated with the Kiowa and Comanche tribes," wanted to dissolve that confederation and join the Cheyenne and Arapaho. Those two tribes were willing to receive the Apache "on an equal footing," and the United States commissioners gave their assent.

Article 1 unites the three and says the United States "will hereafter recognize" them as the confederated bands or tribes of Cheyenne, Arrapahoe and Apache. Article 2 says everything the October 14 treaty required of the United States or of the Cheyenne and Arapaho would now apply to the three confederated tribes, as if the treaty had been made with all of them.

The page does not repeat the terms of the October 14 treaty, and they are not described here. This agreement was ratified May 22, 1866, and proclaimed May 26, 1866. Chiefs of each tribe signed with marks, including Black Kettle and Little Raven.

Good to know. The text says "Apache" without stating which Apache people.

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. the Apache Indians, who have been heretofore confederated with the Kiowa and Comanche tribes of Indians, are desirous of dissolving said confederationTribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Apache, Cheyenne, and Arapaho at Little Arkansas River, Kansas (1865)
  2. the United States will hereafter recognize said tribes as the confederated bands or tribes of Cheyenne, Arrapahoe, and Apache IndiansTribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Apache, Cheyenne, and Arapaho at Little Arkansas River, Kansas (1865)
  3. shall be done and performed by the United States for and on behalf of the said confederated tribesTribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Apache, Cheyenne, and Arapaho at Little Arkansas River, Kansas (1865)

Research notes. This agreement does not repeat the terms of the October 14, 1865 treaty it supplements, so those terms are not described here. The text calls the group 'Apache' without saying which Apache people.

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.

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.

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Sources

  1. treaties.okstate.edu/treaties/treaty-with-the-apache-cheyenne-and-arapaho-1865-0891reference work
    Treaty with the Apache, Cheyenne, and Arapaho, 1865 Oct. 17, 1865. | 14 Stat., 713.

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