California Treaty F: Camp Union, near Yuba River, 1851 (unratified)

What happened

On July 18, 1851, at Camp Union near the Yuba River, Indian agent O. M. Wozencraft made a treaty of peace and friendship with the chiefs, captains and head men of ten tribes. They included the Das-pia, Ya-ma-do, Yol-la-mer and Wai-de-pa-can. In Article 1 the tribes acknowledged the United States "to be the sole and absolute sovereign of all the soil and territory" ceded by Mexico. Article 3 set apart a district "forever" for their sole use and occupancy. It began on Bear River at the western line of Camp Far West, ran up the stream twelve miles, then north to the Yuba River.

Article 4 promised 500 head of beef cattle and 200 sacks of flour within two years. Article 5 promised blankets, clothing, mares, cows, work cattle and ploughs. Article 6 promised a farmer with two assistants, a carpenter, a wheelwright, a blacksmith and teachers, paid for five years and longer if the President saw fit. An addendum would adjust the boundary to include Penn Valley and exclude Rough and Ready.

None of it took effect. It was one of 18 treaties made in California in 1851 and 1852. The National Archives' Prologue magazine says the senators found the commissioners' appointments irregular, were unsure whether Mexico had recognized native land title, and heard strong objections from white Californians. The Senate "rejected the treaties and, following Senate rules, imposed an injunction of secrecy on them." With the treaties rejected, Indian title was left unresolved. Prologue adds that Indians of California later sought compensation for lands taken without payment in a case before the Indian Claims Commission. It reports that "the case was decided in favor of the Indians."

Good to know. Sources give July 2 or July 8, 1852 as the date the Senate rejected it.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error