The
Treaty of St. Louis is one of many treaties signed between the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and various
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
tribes.
The
Treaty of St. Louis of 1804 was
treatyA treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as: agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, exchange of letters, etc...
signed by
William Henry HarrisonWilliam Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States, an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office...
for the United States and representatives of the Sauk and
Meskwaki-History:According to archeologists, about ten thousand years ago, peoples from the Eurasian landmass migrated to modern-day North America via the Bering Strait land bridge. Approximately seven thosand years ago, groups of these earlier migrants reached and settled in what is now know as Ontario,...
tribes led by
QuashquameQuashquame was a Sauk chief who maintained two large villages of Sauk and Meskwaki in the early 19th century near the modern towns of Nauvoo, Illinois and Montrose, Iowa. He was the principal signer of the 1804 treaty that ceded Sauk land to the United States government.-1804 Treaty of St...
, signed on November 3, 1804 and proclaimed on February 21, 1805. Despite the name, the treaty was conducted at
Portage des Sioux, MissouriPortage Des Sioux is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The town sits on the Mississippi River roughly opposite Elsah, Illinois, and is the home of the riverside shrine of Our Lady of the Rivers. The population was 367 at the 2007 census. The city was founded in 1799 by...
, located immediately north of
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
.
The
Treaty of St. Louis is one of many treaties signed between the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and various
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
tribes.
1804 - Sauk and Fox (Meskwaki)
The
Treaty of St. Louis of 1804 was
treatyA treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as: agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, exchange of letters, etc...
signed by
William Henry HarrisonWilliam Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States, an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office...
for the United States and representatives of the Sauk and
Meskwaki-History:According to archeologists, about ten thousand years ago, peoples from the Eurasian landmass migrated to modern-day North America via the Bering Strait land bridge. Approximately seven thosand years ago, groups of these earlier migrants reached and settled in what is now know as Ontario,...
tribes led by
QuashquameQuashquame was a Sauk chief who maintained two large villages of Sauk and Meskwaki in the early 19th century near the modern towns of Nauvoo, Illinois and Montrose, Iowa. He was the principal signer of the 1804 treaty that ceded Sauk land to the United States government.-1804 Treaty of St...
, signed on November 3, 1804 and proclaimed on February 21, 1805. Despite the name, the treaty was conducted at
Portage des Sioux, MissouriPortage Des Sioux is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The town sits on the Mississippi River roughly opposite Elsah, Illinois, and is the home of the riverside shrine of Our Lady of the Rivers. The population was 367 at the 2007 census. The city was founded in 1799 by...
, located immediately north of
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
. In exchange for an annual payment of $1,000 in goods to be delivered to the tribe in St. Louis ($600 for the Sacs and $400 for the Fox), the tribes gave up a swath of land stretching from northeast Missouri through almost all of
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
north of the
Illinois RiverThe Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . The river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water...
as well as a large section of southern
WisconsinWisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
. This treaty was deeply resented by the Sauk, especially
Black HawkBlack Hawk or Black Sparrow Hawk was a leader and warrior of the Sauk American Indian tribe in what is now the United States...
, who felt that
QuashquameQuashquame was a Sauk chief who maintained two large villages of Sauk and Meskwaki in the early 19th century near the modern towns of Nauvoo, Illinois and Montrose, Iowa. He was the principal signer of the 1804 treaty that ceded Sauk land to the United States government.-1804 Treaty of St...
was not authorized to sign treaties. This treaty led to many Sauk siding with the British during the
War of 1812The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S...
.
The specific terms for the boundary were:
- The general boundary line between the lands of the United States and of the said Indian tribes shall be as follows, to wit: Beginning at a point on the Missouri river
The Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, and is the longest river in the United States of America. The Missouri likely originates at Brower's Spring at the upper reaches of the Jefferson, before joining the confluence of the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin rivers in Montana....
opposite to the mouth of the Gasconade riverThe Gasconade River is a tributary of the Missouri River, about 265 mi long, in south-central and central Missouri in the United States....
; thence in a direct course so as to strike the river Jeffreon at the distance of thirty miles from its mouth, and down the said Jeffreon to the MississippiThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
, thence up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Ouisconsing riverThe Wisconsin River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At approximately 430 miles long, it is the state's longest river. The river's name, first recorded in 1673 by Jacques Marquette as "Meskousing," is rooted in the Algonquian languages used by the area's...
and up the same to a point which shall be thirty-six miles in a direct line from the mouth of the said river, thence by a direct line to the point where the Fox riverThe Fox River is a tributary of the Illinois River in the states of Wisconsin and Illinois in the United States. There are two other "Fox Rivers" in Southern Illinois: the Fox River and a smaller "Fox River" that joins the Wabash River near New Harmony, Indiana.-Wisconsin:The Fox River rises near...
(a branch of the IllinoisThe Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . The river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water...
) leaves the small lake called Sakaegan, thence down the Fox river to the Illinois river, and down the same to the Mississippi. And the said tribes, for and in consideration of the friendship and protection of the United States which is now extended to them, of the goods (to the value of two thousand two hundred and thirty-four dollars and fifty cents) which are now delivered, and of the annuity hereinafter stipulated to be paid, do hereby cede and relinquish forever to the United States, all the lands included within the above-described boundary.
Included in this cessation were the historic villages along the
Rock River (Illinois)The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 285 miles long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois. However, it is not the Mississippi River, as some readers of this entry have concluded from the heading...
, particularly Saukenuk.
William Henry HarrisonWilliam Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States, an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office...
, the representative for the United States, was governor of the
Indiana territoryThe Territory of Indiana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1800, until November 7, 1816, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Indiana....
and of the
District of LouisianaThe District of Louisiana or Louisiana District was an official United States government designation for the portion of the Louisiana Purchase that had not been organized into the Territory of Orleans. The area north of present-day Arkansas was also known as Upper Louisiana...
, superintendent of
Indian AffairsThe Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior charged with the administration and management of 55.7 million acres of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native...
for the said territory and district. The party of Sauk who signed the treaty, led by
QuashquameQuashquame was a Sauk chief who maintained two large villages of Sauk and Meskwaki in the early 19th century near the modern towns of Nauvoo, Illinois and Montrose, Iowa. He was the principal signer of the 1804 treaty that ceded Sauk land to the United States government.-1804 Treaty of St...
, were not expecting to negotiate land and did not include important tribal leaders who would ordinarily have been in such negotiations.
Black Hawk-People:* Black Hawk , a Sauk and Fox leader of the 19th century** The Black Hawk War, named after him.* Black Hawk , a Sans Arc Lakota artist of the 19th century* Antonga Black Hawk, a Ute leader known to whites as "Black Hawk"...
never recognized the treaty as valid and this led him to side with the British against settlers in the area during the
War of 1812The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S...
. The treaty was upheld again in the
Treaties of Portage des SiouxThe Treaties of Portage des Sioux were a series of treaties at Portage des Sioux, Missouri in 1815 that officially were supposed to mark the end of conflicts between the United States and Native Americans at the conclusion of the War of 1812....
in 1815 at the end of the war. Black Hawk eventually led the
Black Hawk WarThe Black Hawk War was fought in 1832 in the Midwestern United States. The war was named for Black Hawk, a war chief of the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo Native Americans, whose British Band fought against the United States Army and militia from Illinois and the Michigan Territory for possession of...
to fight its terms.
In his autobiography,
Black Hawk-People:* Black Hawk , a Sauk and Fox leader of the 19th century** The Black Hawk War, named after him.* Black Hawk , a Sans Arc Lakota artist of the 19th century* Antonga Black Hawk, a Ute leader known to whites as "Black Hawk"...
recalled:
- Quashquame, Pashepaho, Ouchequaka and Hashequarhiqua were sent by the Sacs to St. Louis to try and free a prisoner who had killed an American. The Sac tradition was to see if the Americans would release their friend. They were willing to pay for the person killed, thus covering the blood and satisfying the relations of the murdered man.
- Upon return Quashquame and party came up and gave us the following account of their mission:
- On our arrival at St. Louis we met our American father and explained to him our business, urging the release of our friend. The American chief told us he wanted land. We agreed to give him some on the west side of the Mississippi, likewise more on the Illinois side opposite Jeffreon. When the business was all arranged we expected to have our friend released to come home with us. About the time we were ready to start our brother was let out of the prison. He started and ran a short distance when he was SHOT DEAD!
- This was all they could remember of what had been said and done. It subsequently appeared that they had been drunk the greater part of the time while at St. Louis.
- This was all myself and nation knew of the treaty of 1804. It has since been explained to me. I found by that treaty, that all of the country east of the Mississippi, and south of Jeffreon was ceded to the United States for one thousand dollars a year. I will leave it to the people of the United States to say whether our nation was properly represented in this treaty? Or whether we received a fair compensation for the extent of country ceded by these four individuals?
1816 - Ottawa, etc.
The
Treaty of St. Louis of 1816 was
treatyA treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as: agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, exchange of letters, etc...
signed by
Ninian EdwardsNinian Edwards was a U.S. political figure.Born in 1775 in Montgomery County, Maryland, Edwards served as the only governor of Illinois Territory between 1809 and 1818 and again as governor of Illinois from 1826 until 1830. He served as a U.S...
, William Clark, and Auguste Chouteau for the United States and representatives of the
Council of Three FiresThe Council of Three Fires, also known as the People of the Three Fires, the Three Fires Confederacy, the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Indians, or Niswi-mishkodewin in the Anishinaabe language, is a long-standing Anishinaabe alliance of the Ojibwe , Ottawa , and Potawatomi...
(united tribes of
OttawaThe Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwa nation...
,
OjibwaThe Ojibwe or Chippewa is the largest group of Native Americans-First Nations north of Mexico, including Métis. They are the third-largest in the United States, surpassed only by Cherokee and Navajo. They're equally divided between the United States and Canada...
, and
PotawatomiThe Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family...
) residing on the
IllinoisThe Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . The river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water...
and
MilwaukeeThe Milwaukee River is a river in the state of Wisconsin. It is about 75 miles long.- Description :The river begins in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin and flows south past Grafton to downtown Milwaukee, where it empties into Lake Michigan...
rivers, signed on August 24, 1816 and proclaimed on December 30, 1816. Despite the name, the treaty was conducted at
Portage des Sioux, MissouriPortage Des Sioux is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The town sits on the Mississippi River roughly opposite Elsah, Illinois, and is the home of the riverside shrine of Our Lady of the Rivers. The population was 367 at the 2007 census. The city was founded in 1799 by...
, located immediately north of
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
.
By signing the treaty, the tribes, their chiefs, and their warriors relinquished all right, claim, and title to land previously ceded to the United States by the
SacThe Sauks or Sacs from where their French and English names are derived) are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture group.-Clan system:...
and Fox tribes on November 3, 1804. By signing, the united tribes also ceded a 20 mile strip of land to the United States, which connected Chicago and
Lake MichiganLake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. The second largest of the Great Lakes by volume The third largest of the Great Lakes by surface area , it is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S. states of Wisconsin,...
with the
Illinois RiverThe Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . The river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water...
. In 1848, the
Illinois and Michigan CanalThe Illinois and Michigan Canal ran 96 miles from the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago on the Chicago River to LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, on the Illinois River. It was finished in 1848 when Chicago Mayor James Hutchinson Woodworth presided over its opening; and it allowed boat transportation from...
was built on the ceded land and, in 1900, the
Chicago Sanitary and Ship CanalThe Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, historically known as the Chicago Drainage Canal, is the only shipping link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River system, by way of the Illinois and Des Plaines Rivers. The canal also carries Chicago's treated sewage into the Des Plaines River...
.
The specific land given up included:
- The said chiefs and warriors, for themselves and the tribes they represent, agree to relinquish, and hereby do relinquish, to the United States, all their right, claim, and title, to all the land contained in the before-mentioned cession of the Sacs and Foxes, which lies south of a due west line from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river. And they moreover cede to the United States all the land contained within the following bounds, to wit: beginning on the left bank of the Fox river of Illinois, ten miles above the mouth of said Fox river; thence running so as to cross Sandy creek, ten miles above its mouth; thence, in a direct line, to a point ten miles north of the west end of the Portage, between Chicago creek, which empties into Lake Michigan, and the river Depleines, a fork of the Illinois; thence, in a direct line, to a point on Lake Michigan, ten miles northward of the mouth of Chicago creek; thence, along the lake, to a point ten miles southward of the mouth of the said Chicago creek; thence, in a direct line, to a point on the Kankakee, ten miles above its mouth; thence, with the said Kankakee and the Illinois river, to the mouth of Fox river, and thence to the beginning: Provided, nevertheless, That the said tribes shall be permitted to hunt and fish within the limits of the land hereby relinquished and ceded, so long as it may continue to be the property of the United States.
In exchange the tribes were to be paid $1,000 in merchandise over 12 years. The land was surveyed by
John C. SullivanJohn C. Sullivan was a surveyor who established the Indian Boundary Line and the Sullivan Line which were to form the boundary between Native Americans and white settlers in Indian Territory from Iowa to Texas....
and its land was originally intended as land grant rewards for volunteers in the
War of 1812The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S...
. Many of the streets in the survey run at a diagonal that is counter to the Chicago street grid.
1818 - Osage
The
Treaty of St. Louis (also known as the
Treaty with the Osage or the
Osage Treaty) was signed on September 25, 1818 in St. Louis between William Clark of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and members of the
Osage NationThe Osage Nation is a Native American tribe in the United States that originated about 1200 CE in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. Ancestors lived in the area for thousands of years. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their...
. Based on the terms of the accord, the Osage ceded all territories to the United States beginning at the
Arkansas RiverThe Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast and traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas....
and ending at the
Verdigris RiverThe Verdigris River is a tributary of the Arkansas River in southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma in the United States. It is about 280 miles long...
. The specifications of the lands ceded to the United States are found in Article 1 of the accord:
- Whereas, the Osage nations have been embarrassed by the frequent demands for property taken from citizens of the United States, by war parties, and other thoughtless men of their several bands, (both before and since their war with the Cherokees) and as the exertions of their chiefs have been ineffectual in recovering and delivering such property, conformably with the condition of the ninth article of a treaty, entered into with the United States at Fort Clark, the tenth of November, one thousand eight hundred and eight; and as the deductions from their annuities, in conformity to the said article, would deprive them of any for several years, and being destitute of funds to do that justice to the citizens of the United States, which is calculated to prompt a friendly intercourse, they have agreed, and do hereby agree, to cede to the United States, and forever quit claim to the tract of country included within the following bounds, to-wit: Beginning at the Arkansaw River, at where the present Osage boundary line strikes the river at Frog Bayou; then up the Arkansaw and Verdigris to the fall of Verdigris river; thence, eastwardly, to the said Osage boundary line at a point twenty leagues north from the Arkansaw river; and, with that line, to the place of beginning.
1825 - Shawnee
The
Treaty of St. Louis was signed on November 7, 1825 (proclaimed on December 30, 1825) between William Clark on behalf of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and delegates from the Shawnee Nation. In this treaty, the
ShawneeThe Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are a people native to North America. They originally inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
ceded lands to the United States near Cape Geredeau. In return for Cape Geredeau, the United States government gave the Shawnee a sum of 11,000 dollars and leased to them a blacksmith shop for five years providing all tools and 300 pounds of iron annually. Moreover, peace and friendship between the two nations were renewed and perpetuated.
External links
- The Osage: A Historical Sketch
- Kappler Project - Text of the 1804 Treaty
- Kappler Project - Text of the 1816 Treaty
- Kappler Project - Text of the 1825 Treaty
- Dr. David A. Baerreis - The Geographic Location of Potawatomi Bands: 1795 to 1846
- Indian Boundary from Bolingbrook, Illinois
Bolingbrook is a large village in Will and DuPage Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2008 special census, the population is 70,834.-Geography:Bolingbrook is located at ....
- Indian Boundary Park in Frankfort, Illinois
Frankfort is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,391 at the 2000 census. The population according to Forbes.com was 16,928 in 2006. Also, according to Forbes.com, the village ranks as the 36th fastest growing suburb in the United States...