Yankton Treaty
Encyclopedia
In 1858 the United States government and the Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...

 and Yankton Indian tribes
Indian tribes
The India's tribal belts refer to contiguous areas of indigenous settlement of tribal people of India.-Northwest India:The Tribal Belt of Northwest India includes the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. The tribal people of this region have origins which precede the Vedic...

 reached an agreement, ceding most of eastern South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

 to the U.S. The agreement immediately opened this territory up for settlement by whites, resulting in the establishment of an unofficial local government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...

 not recognized by Washington.

Smutty Bear, head of the Sioux tribe, opposed the measure because he thought it would only bring further white aggression as they assumed an authority over the land. Strike-the-Ree
Struck by the Ree
Struck by the Ree, also known as Strikes the Ree, was a chief of the Native American Yankton Sioux tribe.-Birth:In 1804, a great pow-wow was held for the Lewis and Clark Expedition at Calumet Bluff/Gavins Point that included the "Shunka" sacred dog feast ceremony...

, the Yankton chief, also felt that too many whites were settling there, but decided that opposing them was futile, and he signed the treaty. Charles Picotte, a speculator, business venturist, and translator for these meetings was rewarded by the illegitimate government with a heavy portion of land in the newly incorporated territory
Incorporated territory
Territories of the United States are one of the four types of political division of the United States, overseen directly by the federal government of the United States and not any part of a U.S. state. These territories were created to govern newly acquired land while the borders of the United...

.
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