Treaty of Cession of Alaska (US-Russia), 1867
The 1867 Treaty of Cession sold Alaska from Russia to the United States for $7.2 million; Alaska Native peoples were not parties.
- Signed
- March 30, 1867
- Senate
- Ratified
What happened
What happened
On March 30, 1867, in Washington, the United States and the Emperor of Russia signed a treaty by which Russia ceded Alaska. The price was $7.2 million in gold. The Statutes at Large record that it was ratified on May 28, 1867, and proclaimed on June 20, 1867. The parties were the two governments; no Alaska Native nation signed.
Article III let inhabitants of the ceded territory return to Russia or stay. Those who stayed would be admitted to the rights of U.S. citizens "with the exception of uncivilized native tribes." The treaty said those tribes would be subject to such laws and regulations as the United States might adopt for aboriginal tribes of that country.
In Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States (1955), a group of 60 to 70 Alaska Indians, a clan of the Tlingit, claimed compensation for timber taken from land in the Tongass National Forest. The Court of Claims held the group's interest was an Indian right of occupancy that Congress had never recognized. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that "the taking by the United States of unrecognized Indian title is not compensable under the Fifth Amendment."
In 1971 Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. It declared that all aboriginal titles and claims based on use and occupancy in Alaska, including hunting or fishing rights, "are hereby extinguished."
Summarized with AI assistance from 5 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.
Ratified by the United States May 28, 1867 ; Exchanged June 20, 1867 ; Proclaimed by the United States June 20, 1867.
Statutes at Large, vol. 15, p. 539: Treaty with Russia (Cession of Alaska), March 30, 1867the same, seven million two hundred
Statutes at Large, vol. 15, p. 539: Treaty with Russia (Cession of Alaska), March 30, 1867exception of uncivilized native tribes
Statutes at Large, vol. 15, p. 539: Treaty with Russia (Cession of Alaska), March 30, 1867the taking by the United States of unrecognized Indian title is not compensable under the Fifth Amendment
Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States, 348 U.S. 272 (1955)including any aboriginal hunting or fishing rights that may exist, are hereby extinguished
43 U.S. Code § 1603 (Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act)
Research notes. The Statutes at Large printing (15 Stat. 539) interleaves English and French columns, so part of the Article III sentence on aboriginal tribes is paraphrased rather than quoted. The Tee-Hit-Ton plaintiffs are described in the opinion as a clan of the Tlingit Tribe. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act is Pub. L. 92-203, Dec. 18, 1971.
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.
- 1867
This treaty
Signed
The 1867 Treaty of Cession sold Alaska from Russia to the United States for $7.2 million; Alaska Native peoples were not parties.
- 1955
Related history
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.
- 1971
Related history
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA)
ANCSA, signed in 1971, gave Native corporations about 45 million acres and $962.5 million and extinguished claims to over 360 million acres.
- 1971
Related history
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA)
ANCSA in 1971 extinguished Alaska Native aboriginal land claims in exchange for corporation-held land and money, not reservations.
- 1971
Related history
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (1971): extinguishment of aboriginal title by statute
Alaska's 1867 cession treaty did not recognize Native title; Congress extinguished aboriginal claims in 1971 in exchange for land and money.
- 1998
Related history
Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government
Land the Venetie tribe held under the 1971 Alaska settlement act is not 'Indian country,' so the tribe could not tax a contractor there.
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
indian country
Federal law defines 'Indian country' as reservations, dependent Indian communities and Indian allotments; the definition decides which government's laws apply.
Legal doctrine
inherent sovereignty
Tribes' powers of self-government predate the Constitution and are not delegated by Congress, though the Supreme Court says Congress can limit or end them.
Legal doctrine
taxation
States cannot tax reservation Indians' reservation income, but tribes and states can both tax non-Indian oil producers on a reservation.
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
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.
Who is doing the work
Working with these nations
- United Tribes of Bristol Bay (UTBB) Nation government Long-term guardianship of lands, air and waters, Tribal self-determination Give on their site Website
- Native Conservancy (Cordova, Alaska) Native-led LandBack, OceanBack and PeopleBack programs: Native-led conservation trusts, regenerative mariculture, return of… Give on their site Website
- Native Movement (Alaska) Native-led Indigenous rights, environmental justice, food sovereignty and grassroots organizing (not a land buyer) Give on their site Website
- Spruce Root (Seacoast Trust / Sustainable Southeast Partnership) Native-led Indigenous-led conservation funding: Indigenous Guardians, community forest partnerships, food sovereignty in… 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
Research notes
Stat. vol. 15 index lists '1867 Mar 30 Russia, 539'. Art. III distinguishing 'uncivilized native tribes'. Not a treaty with Native nations; Alaska had no US treaties with Native nations.
Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.