Living Law,
Living LandSupport land rights

Violation

Potawatomi Trail of Death (1838) and the disputed Yellow River treaty (1836)

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

A disputed 1836 Potawatomi land cession in Indiana preceded the 1838 forced march of about 859 people to Kansas, in which 41 died.

Treaty
Treaty of Yellow River (1836); Treaty of Tippecanoe (1832)
Nations
Potawatomi (Menominee band, Twin Lakes)
When
1836-1838
Land affected
Reserve of 14,080 acres in Indiana and the Twin Lakes village.
Acreage
14,080 acres (reserve)
Legal aftermath
No remedy located. Potawatomi nations (Citizen Potawatomi, Prairie Band, Forest County, Pokagon, Hannahville, Match-e-be-nash-she-wish) hold the remembrance.

What happened

On October 26, 1832, a treaty on the Tippecanoe River reserved twenty-two sections of land in Indiana for Potawatomi bands. On August 5, 1836, near the Yellow River, United States commissioner Abel C. Pepper and three Potawatomi "chiefs and headmen," Pe-pin-a-waw, No-taw-kah and Mac-kah-tah-mo-ah, signed a new treaty (7 Stat. 505). In Article 1 they "cede to the United States twenty two sections of land reserved for them." The United States agreed to pay $14,080 in specie. In Article 3 the bands agreed to move west of the Mississippi within two years.

An Indiana Historical Society document quotes historian James H. Madison. He wrote that some Potawatomi resisted removal in 1838. Led by Menominee, they "claimed that they had not agreed to removal," and an armed militia company rounded up Menominee and his band.

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation says that from Sept. 4 to Nov. 4, 1838, "the United States forcibly removed a band of 859 Potawatomi" from northern Indiana to present-day Kansas. It says this was to make way for squatters who wanted Potawatomi lands. It gives the trip as 660 miles and says 41 Potawatomi died. Madison's account counts forty-two dead, most of them children. An Indiana Historical Bureau marker says some 800 people were collected near Twin Lakes in August 1838.

The treaty was proclaimed on February 18, 1837, so this is context for a contested cession and removal, not a court-found violation. The Citizen Potawatomi Nation says a remembrance is held every five years.

Good to know. Sources differ: 859 or some 800 people removed, and 41 or 42 deaths.

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.

  1. hereby cede to the United States twenty two sections of land reserved for them by the second article of the treatyTreaty with the Potawatomi, 1836 (Yellow River), 7 Stat. 505, Tribal Treaties Database
  2. the United States forcibly removed a band of 859 Potawatomi and marched them from northern Indiana to present-day KansasTrail of Death caravan readies for next observance, Citizen Potawatomi Nation
  3. Led by Menominee, they claimed that they had not agreed to removal.Potawatomi Indian Trail resolution (1994), Indiana Historical Society, quoting James H. Madison
  4. some 800 Potawatomi Indians were collected in August 1838 and forced to begin their long march to new homes in the WestTrail of Death, Indiana Historical Bureau marker

Research notes. Death toll differs by source: 41 (Citizen Potawatomi Nation) vs forty-two (Madison, quoted by the Indiana Historical Society). The marker says 'some 800' and the Nation says 859. Menominee's role comes from Madison's secondary account; the Yellow River treaty text names three other signers, not Menominee. The 'squatters' motive is the Citizen Potawatomi Nation's statement. The Tipton militia, Gov. Wallace's order and the Aug. 30 date came from Wikipedia and were removed. Ratification of the 1836 treaty is shown by the database's 'Proclamation, Feb. 18, 1837' line.

Treaty or agreementRemoval treatyNot statedShapes from the 1899 federal record: approximate, not legal boundaries.

Who is doing the work

This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:

Working with these nations

Native legal and land defense, nationally

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

Located in 2

Nations named 1

Policy era 1

Sources

  1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potawatomi_Trail_of_Deathpointer
The record’s fields
What happened
Potawatomi Trail of Death (1838) and the disputed Yellow River treaty (1836) -- The 1832 Tippecanoe treaty reserved 22 sections (14,080 acres) for Chief Menominee and associated bands. The Aug. 5, 1836 Yellow River treaty ceded the reserve and required removal within two years; Menominee and 17 band members refused to recognize it and protested forged signatures. On Aug. 30, 1838, Gen. John Tipton's volunteer militia surrounded the Twin Lakes village after a council call. The march began Sept. 4 with 859 people and ran about 660 miles in 61 days to near Osawatomie, Kansas; 42 died, 28 of them children.
Kind
Violation
Confidence
Medium
Nation review
Not yet reviewed by this nation
Notes
  • Some details unverified

Correct this record