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Violation

Fort Pitt 1778: first U.S.-Indian treaty and the Delaware (Lenape) statehood clause

Not yet reviewed by this nation. What follows comes from public records and research. It does not speak for the nation.

The 1778 Fort Pitt treaty guaranteed Delaware territorial rights; a 1795 cession and an 1866 sale of the Kansas reserve followed.

Treaty
Treaty with the Delawares (Fort Pitt)
Nations
Delaware (Lenape)
When
1778-1866 (serial)
Land affected
Delaware homelands in the Ohio country, then Indiana, then the Kansas reserve; ultimate relocation to Indian Territory.

What happened

On September 17, 1778, at Fort Pitt, commissioners Andrew and Thomas Lewis signed articles of agreement with Delaware leaders White Eyes, John Kill Buck Jr. and Pipe. In Article VI the United States engaged "to guarantee to the aforesaid nation of Delawares, and their heirs, all their territorial rights in the fullest and most ample manner, as it hath been bounded by former treaties." The same article contemplated inviting other friendly tribes "to form a state whereof the Delaware nation shall be the head, and have a representation in Congress." It provided that nothing in the article was "conclusive until it meets with the approbation of Congress."

The clause was a proposal that depended on Congress's approval. The territorial guarantee met a different fate. In 1795 at Greeneville, General Anthony Wayne made a treaty with twelve tribes, the Delawares among them. In Article 3 the tribes ceded "all their claims to the lands lying eastwardly and southwardly" of a boundary line that began at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. Article 5 promised that the United States would protect the tribes in the quiet enjoyment of their lands against all U.S. citizens.

In 1866, at the Delaware Agency in Kansas, another treaty recited that Congress had made it the President's duty to provide for the removal of Kansas tribes. It said the Delawares "have expressed a wish" to move to the Indian country, and it let the Secretary of the Interior sell the remaining reservation to a railroad company or other buyers. The database lists the Delaware Nation and the Delaware Tribe of Indians as successors.

Good to know. The 1778 treaty's idea of a Delaware-led state depended on Congress's approval, so it is not counted as a broken promise.

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

Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.

  1. guarantee to the aforesaid nation of Delawares, and their heirs, all their territorial rights in the fullest and most ample mannerTribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Treaty with the Delawares, 1778 (Fort Pitt)
  2. nothing contained in this article to be considered as conclusive until it meets with the approbation of CongressTribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Treaty with the Delawares, 1778 (Fort Pitt)
  3. do hereby cede and relinquish forever, all their claims to the lands lying eastwardly and southwardly of the general boundary line now describedTribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Treaty with the Wyandot, etc., 1795 (Greenville)
  4. the United States will protect all the said Indian tribes in the quiet enjoyment of their lands against all citizens of the United StatesTribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Treaty with the Wyandot, etc., 1795 (Greenville)
  5. to provide by treaty for the removal of the Indian tribes from the State of KansasTribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Treaty with the Delawares, 1866

Research notes. The statehood clause was conditional on congressional approval, so it is not described as a broken promise. Gnadenhutten (1782) and the 1789 and 1829 Delaware cessions were not checked and are omitted. The Greenville text lists the Delawares among the tribes but this account does not trace Delaware acreage in Ohio. No compensation claim was verified. The Delaware Tribe of Indians and the Delaware Nation hold the Delaware voice.

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Nations named 1

Located in 1

Policy era 1

Concerns the instrument 1

Sources

  1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Greenvillepointer
  2. govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-14/pdf/STATUTE-14-Pg793.pdfprimary record
  3. govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-7/pdf/STATUTE-7-Pg13.pdfprimary record
The record’s fields
What happened
Fort Pitt 1778: first U.S.-Indian treaty and the Delaware (Lenape) statehood clause -- Article VI of the 1778 treaty guaranteed the Delawares their territorial rights within earlier boundaries while friendship held, and contemplated a Delaware-headed state with representation in Congress, but only if Congress approved. Congress never approved the state; the guaranteed boundaries were then given up through successive cessions and removals (Greenville 1795, later Ohio/Indiana cessions, and the 1866 Kansas treaty that arranged sale of the Delaware reserve to railroad interests and removal to Indian Territory). Read the statehood clause as a conditional proposal that lapsed, not as a binding promise that was 'broken'; the territorial guarantee is the stronger breach claim.
Legal aftermath
No general Delaware claim of record verified this session. Later Delaware cessions and the 1866 sale terms are documented in the treaty texts.
Kind
Violation
Confidence
Medium
Nation review
Not yet reviewed by this nation
Notes
  • Some details unverified

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