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Violation

Dancing Rabbit Creek 1830: first removal treaty under the Indian Removal Act

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

In the 1830 Dancing Rabbit Creek treaty the Choctaw ceded Mississippi, after the President said he could not stop state laws.

Treaty
Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek
Nations
Choctaw
When
1831-1833
Land affected
About 11 million acres in Mississippi.
Acreage
about 11 million acres ceded; about 15 million received in the West

What happened

The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek (September 27, 1830; 7 Stat. 333; proclaimed February 24, 1831) opens by explaining why it was made. It says Mississippi had extended its laws over "persons and property within the chartered limits" of the Choctaw Nation, "and the President of the United States has said that he cannot protect the Choctaw people from the operation of these laws."

In Article 3 the Choctaw ceded "the entire country they own and possess, east of the Mississippi River." In Article 2 the United States promised land west of the river, "in fee simple," for as long as the Choctaw lived on it as a nation. Article 14 let a Choctaw head of family who wanted to stay and become a citizen claim a 640-acre section, but he had to tell the agent within six months of ratification.

The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History says Choctaw leaders signed after President Jackson "pushed his Indian Removal Act through Congress in 1830." It says more than six thousand Choctaw reached Indian Territory in the winter of 1831-32, and that the removal "had been costly in terms of loss of life."

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians' own history says some 4,000 Choctaw chose not to leave, "despite a great deal of coercion." It says that by 1850 "virtually none of the Choctaw who had received land in Mississippi still retained it." This is context, not a court-decided violation.

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.

  1. the President of the United States has said that he cannot protect the Choctaw people from the operation of these lawsTreaty with the Choctaw, 1830 (Dancing Rabbit Creek), 7 Stat. 333, Tribal Treaties Database
  2. In that year Choctaw leaders signed the Dancing Rabbit Creek, ceding their remaining territory in Mississippi and agreeing to move west.Choctaw, Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
  3. By 1850, virtually none of the Choctaw who had received land in Mississippi still retained it.Tribal History, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

Research notes. Acreage, the 2,500 death toll and the numbers who stayed or were moved appeared only on Wikipedia in the old record and were removed. The Mississippi Band's page says some 4,000 stayed; the Oklahoma encyclopedia gives arrivals but no death count. Whether individual Article 14 claims were honored case by case was not checked. Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma's own account was not consulted.

Removal treatyShapes from the 1899 federal record: approximate, not legal boundaries.

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Connections

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Carried out through 1

Nations named 1

Located in 1

Policy era 1

Concerns the instrument 1

Sources

  1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Dancing_Rabbit_Creekpointer
  2. govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-4/pdf/STATUTE-4-Pg411.pdfprimary record
The record’s fields
What happened
Dancing Rabbit Creek 1830: first removal treaty under the Indian Removal Act -- Concluded Sept. 27, 1830 (7 Stat. 333), proclaimed Feb. 24, 1831. The Choctaw ceded about 11 million acres of Mississippi for about 15 million acres in Indian Territory. Article 14 offered 640-acre allotments (and smaller amounts for children) to heads of family who stayed and accepted U.S. citizenship. About 15,000 Choctaw plus roughly 1,000 enslaved people were moved in three migrations (1831-33); about 2,500 died. Those who stayed (5,000-6,000) faced years of legal conflict, harassment and intimidation; the Article 14 promise did not protect their land in practice.
Legal aftermath
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians reorganized and gained federal recognition in 1945. The Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma lost its government under the Curtis Act (1898); see V044.
Kind
Violation
Confidence
Medium
Nation review
Not yet reviewed by this nation
Notes
  • Some details not yet checked against a source

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