Violation
Seminole removal: Payne's Landing (1832), Fort Gibson (1833) and the Second Seminole War
Not yet reviewed by this nation. What follows comes from public records and research. It does not speak for the nation.
Seminole chiefs agreed at Payne's Landing in 1832 to move west if the land suited them; an 1833 acceptance was later disputed.
- Treaty
- Treaty of Payne's Landing (7 Stat. 368); Moultrie Creek (1823)
- Nations
- Seminole
- When
- 1832-1858
- Land affected
- Florida reservation lands; population divided between Indian Territory and Florida.
What happened
The Treaty of Payne's Landing (May 9, 1832; 7 Stat. 368; proclaimed April 12, 1834) had the Seminole agree to give up their claim to lands in Florida and move west to the Creek country. The preamble made the deal depend on a trip. A delegation of chiefs would examine the western land, and the agreement would bind only "should they be satisfied" with it. Article 7 said the Seminole "will remove within three (3) years after the ratification of this agreement."
On March 28, 1833, at Fort Gibson, the delegation signed a statement. The treaty records that they "have expressed themselves satisfied" with the land in a letter of March 1833. The United States treated that letter as meeting the condition.
The National Park Service says that "Many Seminole chiefs refused to sign the treaty, leading to the outbreak of the Second Seminole War." The NPS puts that war at 1835 to 1842. The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History says the Seminole removal resulted from wars "and several questionable treaties," and that about 3,612 Seminole were in Indian Territory by 1842.
This is context rather than a court finding.
Good to know. Whether the 1833 statement accepting the western land was freely given is disputed; no court has ruled on 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
What the sources say, and how this was checked
Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.
The Seminole Indians will remove within three (3) years after the ratification of this agreement
Treaty with the Seminole, 1832 (Payne's Landing), 7 Stat. 368, Tribal Treaties Databasehave expressed themselves satisfied with the same, in and by their letter dated, March 1833
Treaty with the Seminole, 1833 (Fort Gibson), 7 Stat. 423, Tribal Treaties DatabaseMany Seminole chiefs refused to sign the treaty, leading to the outbreak of the Second Seminole War and Osceola
Osceola, National Park ServiceMost removed as a result of the Treaty of Payne's Landing (1832).
Seminole (tribe), Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
Research notes. Wikipedia (cited in the old record) was dropped, along with the Hitchcock 'fraud' remark and the claim that chiefs said they were forced, which were not found in an allowed source. NPS says many chiefs refused to sign but does not say which treaty text; whether the Fort Gibson delegation was coerced is disputed in the literature but not confirmed here. Seminole Tribe of Florida, Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and Miccosukee have separate histories. Seminole Nation v. United States (1942) is in V043.
Who is doing the work
This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:
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.
Connections
These links were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Concerns the instrument 3
Taken to court in 1
Carried out through 1
Nations named 1
Located in 1
Policy era 1
- Removal1830
Sources
The record’s fields
- What happened
- Seminole removal: Payne's Landing (1832), Fort Gibson (1833) and the Second Seminole War -- Moultrie Creek (1823) gave the Seminole a central Florida reservation with guaranteed U.S. services for 20 years. Payne's Landing (May 9, 1832) said the Seminole would move west if the land proved suitable, within three years; the Senate ratified in April 1834. In March 1833 seven inspecting chiefs signed a statement at Fort Gibson accepting western land; most chiefs later repudiated it as unauthorized or coerced, and five leading chiefs including Micanopy had refused removal. The Second Seminole War (1835-42) followed; by 1842, 3,612 Seminole had relocated; 350-500 remained in Florida, and a Third Seminole War (1855-58) pressed most of the rest west. No peace treaty ended the Second War.
- Legal aftermath
- Seminole Nation v. United States (1942) imposed strict fiduciary standards on payments to the Nation (see V043). Seminole Tribe of Florida regards the wars as one continuous conflict (secondary).
- Kind
- Violation
- Confidence
- Medium
- Nation review
- Not yet reviewed by this nation
- Notes
- Some details unverified