The Sioux Nation
1868:Treaty of Fort Laramie
The various phases of action taken by the
government against the Native Americans served
to increase both its territorial boundaries
and its economic security. The most
poignant examples of this can
be seen through the government’s dealing's
in the negotiation, formation, and implementation of treaties.
The Oglala Lakota Indians and their
struggle with the government over the Black Hills
of South Dakota perhaps best exemplifies
this Native American Experience.
In 1868 the United States government, in
conjunction with numerous Bands of the Lakota
and Dakota Indians, signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie.
This document, considered sacred by
many Lakota, officially granted the Sioux
unrestricted control over sixty million
acres of the Black Hills, government supplies
and provisions, as well as forbidding white
men to enter the area (Carley, 67).
Much of this negotiating, done by Red Cloud,
resulted in perhaps the most well known,
and most often violated, phrase of the treaty:
"and the United States now solemnly agrees that no
person except those herein designated and
authorized so to do…shall ever be permitted to
pass over, settle upon, or reside in the territory
described in this article, or in such territory
as may be added to this reservation for
the use of said Indians." The
U.S. government, knowingly violating the
treaty, ordered the army to "investigate"
in the Black Hills when claims
of gold surfaced there in 1874.
This, combined with the Western idea of land
ownership, was a very confusing process for the Lakota.
It is now apparent that much of the
confusion as to the meaning of treaties and
agreements, often to the governments benefit,
existed when deals were made regarding the land.
It was a completely foreign idea to the
Natives who believed that land could neither
be owned or traded. According to the
Shawnee, Tecumseh, "Sell a country! Why not sell the
air, the great sea, as well as the earth?"
Although the Lakota, like Tecumseh, could not
understand the full ramifications of the treaty,
they did understand they were being cheated.
In a move strikingly similar to Columbus’s,
over 1,000 pony soldiers of the
Seventh Cavalry, headed by General George Armstrong
Custer, rode into the Black Hills.
Although hearing of it to late
to do anything, Crazy Horse expressed:
"We did not ask you white men to come here.
The Great Spirit gave us this country as a
home. You had yours. The Great
spirit gave us plenty…But you have come here…
it is hard for us to live. We did not
interfere with you…We do not
want your civilization! We would live as our
fathers did, and their fathers before them."
He was assured by President Grant that he
would, "Prevent all invasion into this country
as long as by law and treaty it is secured
to the Indians" (Olson, 65). When the
expedition returned, however, with tales of
nuggets "just waiting t o be picked up off the
ground," miners soon began congregating (Jackson,
143). The government, knowing it stood to gab,
outlawed the Sioux religion shortly thereafter in an
effort to get the Indians peacefully off the
land. With no effect, and Crazy Horse
unwilling to renegotiate the treaty, Custer and his
Seventh Cavalry attacked in 1876 on the banks
of the little Big Horn. Even though Crazy
Horse and his band annihilated Custer their
victory was short lived. In 1889 Congress
annexed the Black Hills (Hassrick, 197).
Many Indians would not leave because of the
sacredness of the land. The government would
not rest, however. They wanted the gold of
the Indians as Columbus did 500 years
previously and, like Columbus,
they would kill to get it.
The treaty of Fort Laramies implications go
far beyond the year it was written. Throughout
the years this treaty has come to
symbolize the manner in which the government has
treated the Lakota: unkept promises and broken hope.
This treaty is more than simply a legal
document, it is a rallying cry. In every political
movement organized around the Lakota this treaty has
held special importance. Whether they have
been legal battles, or rallies held by the American
Movement this treaty offers the Lakota
hope. Hope that past promises will be
honored and their land will be returned. Most
interesting, while this treaty is not honored, it is
still considered active; being held in the
State Department, the holder of all active treaties.
Because of this, the treaty holds a
special place in Lakota society; not only helping to
give the movements undertaken meaning,
but also validity.
Although the Treaty of Fort Laramie is
still valid the government has paid little attention
to it. The American Indian Conference
confirmed this in their Declaration of
Purpose, "A treaty…is an eternal word. Events
often make it expedient to depart from the
pledged word, but…the first departure creates
a logic for the second departure, until
there is nothing left of the word" (Josephy, 51).
This statement could not have been proved
more true than on December 29, 1890—the date of the
massacre at Wounded Knee.
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The Treaty can be found in this book:
The American Indian and The United States
A Documentary History-Volume IV
The information above is from the
Pine Ridge: A Cultural Analysis of the Lakota Sioux
The Sioux Nation
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Declaration of the
Lakota Student Alliance
December 2, 1997
The Lakota Student Alliance is an alliance
of grassroots Indigenous peoples and
Students of the Lakota Nation whose mission is to
advocate, sponsor, promote and encourage public
awareness education among grassroots
Indigenous people in the struggle toward
Sovereignty and Independence.
To learn more about the Alliance and join
click on the link below
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Indians cannot rely on the benevolence of
the United States government for the
necessities of life. The answers
are education, political solidarity
and economic independence
"American Indians:Facts of life"
A Profile of Todays Tribes and Reservations.
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