Act of March 2, 1889: the Great Sioux Reservation divided and about 9 million acres opened

What happened

The 1868 Fort Laramie treaty set aside the Great Sioux Reservation, which the Supreme Court describes as some 25 million acres. Article 12 said no later cession was valid unless signed by "at least three-fourths of all the adult male Indians occupying or interested in the same."

In 1877 Congress had already removed the Black Hills, about 7.5 million acres by the Court's count (the Act of February 28, 1877). The Act of March 2, 1889 then divided what remained into six smaller reservations. According to the Court, approximately one-half of the remaining reservation was "restored to the public domain." The Act set the price homesteaders would pay the United States for opened land at $1.25 per acre in the first three years, falling to 75 cents and then 50 cents. Section 28 said the Act would take effect only on the Sioux bands' acceptance in the manner required by Article 12 of the 1868 treaty.

In a 1977 footnote, the Supreme Court stated that this change in reservation status "was agreed to by three-fourths of the adult male Indians on the Great Sioux Reservation." So, unlike the 1877 Act, the 1889 Act is described by the Court as meeting the treaty's consent rule. This is context for a statutory division of the reservation. The Court cited a Senate document for that count.

Good to know. Unlike the 1877 taking of the Black Hills, the Supreme Court says the 1889 Act had the three-fourths consent the treaty required.

Summarized with AI assistance from 3 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error