Kawlija
Shared on Tue, 03/20/2007 - 10:50In this modern day and age, people don’t hear much about treaties unless you’re talking about nuclear disarmament. Actually, the State Department constantly deals with treaties of various concerns and our country has a long history when it comes to treaties. What a lot of people have no idea about are the treaties signed between the U.S. government and the various tribal nations of this country.
There were a few things that Natives had a problem with when it came to treaties. One of them was the fact that when the colonists arrived, Indians had no concept of land ownership. They were familiar with territories and hunting and grazing areas, but no one owned the land. Another big problem was that sometimes, multiple tribal groups had these hunting and grazing areas in common. The colonists used this to their advantage by signing treaties with tribes that didn’t actually live in the area they were negotiating over. They would then evidence to the tribes that actually lived in that area that their land had already been ceded to the white man and they had no recourse but to move. (That famous New York treaty for $24 worth of beads and blankets was one of those.)
What’s happening with treaties with the Indians these days? Well, I can tell you that in this modern day and age, there’s Indian judges and lawyers and our people are pouring over these things and looking for how to use them to our advantage. People complain all the time in the news that 200 year old treaties shouldn’t be worth the paper they’re printed on when it comes to land claims. The problem for the U.S. government though, as you might have guessed, a lot of short cuts were taken with the government’s unscrupulous dealings with the Indians and legal loopholes abound in them.
Consider that you read everyday in the business section of the newspaper that a multi-million dollar land deal was held up or negated by a certain clause in the contract. Well, in a lot of cases in the days of Indian treaties, that clause was the hubris of the colonists and their haste to quash any claims by the ignorant savages of the day. So here’s some background on those Indian treaties and then a few choice comments from some ignorant savages of the day:
Between 1778 and 1871, over 370 treaties between Indian nations and the U.S. Government were signed. By the end of the 1860’s, numerous federal, military, and church people called for the end of treaty making. An Appropriations Act of March 3, 1871, stated: “No Indian nation or tribe...shall be acknowledged or recognized as an independent nation, tribe, or power with whom the United States may contract by treaty.” The law did not in any way repeal or change treaties signed and ratified prior to that date. The following list states other important information about treaties.
1. A treaty is a contract between two or more sovereign nations that is as binding today on the government that signed it as when agreed to more than 100 years ago.
2. The U.S. Constitution in Article 6, Section 2, states that treaties are the supreme law of the land.
3. Indian treaties have as much force as treaties made with any other nation. U.S. courts repeatedly uphold the validity of Indian treaties and the continued sovereignty of Indian nations.
4. Treaties are not simply old historical documents nor are they outdated. Their age does not invalidate them any more than age invalidates the U.S. Constitution.
5. Treaties as “supreme law of the land” are superior to the law of any states. As the U.S. Constitution points out, “the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.
6. At different points in history, states and individual citizens have challenged the legal force of Indian treaties, but the Supreme Court has upheld their validity.
7. Violations of treaties do not nullify them any more than committing a crime nullifies the law that forbids the crime.
8. The fact that the United States has broken treaties reflects on the integrity of the United States, not on the integrity of treaties.
9. Some treaties contain the right to use off-reservation land for Indians’ traditional subsistence activities of hunting, fishing, and gathering, which do not necessarily require that the tribes have title to the land.
10. Although a statute ended Indian treaty making in 1871, all treaties are still in full force to this day and “no obligation or any treaty lawfully made and ratified with any such Indian nation or tribe prior to March 3, 1871, shall be thereby invalidated or impaired.
Observations by the Natives on dealing with the government:
"...I am poor and naked, but I am the chief of the nation. We do not want riches but we do want to train our children right. Riches would do us no good. We could not take them with us to the other world. We do not want riches. We want peace and love."
Red Cloud [Marpiya-Luta]
(late 19th century)
Sioux
"The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it. You might as well expect the rivers to run backwards as that any man who was born a free man should be contented when penned up and denied liberty to go where he pleases."
Joseph [Hinmaton Yalatkit]
(1830-1904)
Nez Perce
"Our land is more valuable than your money. It will last forever. It will not even perish by the flames of fire. As long as the sun shines and the waters flow this land will be here to give life to men and animals. We cannot sell the lives of men and animals, therefore we cannot sell this land. You can count your money and burn it within the nod of a buffalo's head, but only the Great Spirit can count the grains of sand and the blades of grass of these plains. As a present to you, we will give you anything we have that you can take with you; but the land, never."
Northern Blackfeet Chief
19th century
"The earth and myself are of one mind. The measure of the land and the measure of our bodies are the same. Do not misunderstand me, but understand me fully with reference to my affection to the land. I never said the land was mine to do with as I chose. The one who has the right to dispose of it is the one who created it. I claim a right to live on my land, and accord you the privilege to live on yours."
Joseph
1875
Nez Perce
"Now I know the government is going to break the Treaty because when it was signed it was understood that it would last as long as the grass grew, the winds blew, the rivers ran, and men walked on two legs--and now they have sent us an Agent who has only one leg."
Flash In The Sky [Piapot]
1895
Cree
"To the Indians, the treaties represent an Indian Magna Carta. The treaties are important to us because we entered into those negotiations with faith, with hope for a better life with honor. We have survived for over a century with little but that hope. Did the white man enter into them with something less in mind?"
Harold Cardinal
1969
Cree
"What treaty that the whites have kept has the Red Man broken? Not one. What treaty that the white man ever made with us have they kept? Not one. When I was a boy the Sioux owned the world; the sun rose and set on their land; they sent ten thousand men to battle. Where are the warriors today? Who slew them? Where are our lands? Who owns them? What white man can ever say I ever stole his land or a penny of his money? Yet, they say I am a thief. What white woman, however lonely, was ever captive or insulted by me? Yet, they say I am a bad Indian. What white man has ever seen me drunk? Who has ever come to me hungry or unfed? Who has ever seen me beat my wives or abuse my children? What law have I broken? Is it wrong for me to love my own? Is it wicked for me because my skin is red? Because I am Sioux; because I was born where my father lived; because I would die for my people and my country?"
Sitting Bull
1885
Hunkpapa Lakota
A select committee from the United States Senate was appointed to make a study on the condition of the Indian tribes in the territories of Montana and Dakota. While they were at the Standing Rock Agency in August, 1883, Sitting Bull was one of the Indians who appeared before the committee. Before Sitting Bull got down to business of telling the committee what he thought about conditions of the Indians, this interesting repartee was entered in the official minutes:
CHAIRMAN: Ask Sitting Bull if he has anything to say to the committee.
SITTING BULL: Of course I will speak to you if you desire me to do so. I suppose it is only such men as you as you desire to speak who must say something.
CHAIRMAN: We supposed the Indians would select men to speak for them, but any man who desires to speak, or any man the Indians may desire shall talk for them. We will be glad to hear if he has anything to say.
SITTING BULL: Do you know who I am, that you speak of me as you do?
CHAIRMAN: I know that you are Sitting Bull, and if you have anything to say we will be glad to hear you.
SITTING BULL: Do you recognize me, do you know who I am?
CHAIRMAN: I know you are Sitting Bull.
SITTING BULL: You say you know I am Sitting Bull, but do you know the position I hold?
CHAIRMAN: I do not know any difference between you and the other Indians at this agency.
SITTING BULL: I am here by the will of the Great Spirit, and by his will I am a chief. My heart is red and sweet, and I know it is sweet, because whatever passes near me puts out its tongue to me; and yet you men have come here to talk with us, and you do not know who I am. I want to tell you that if the Great Spirit has chosen any one to be the chief of this country it is myself.
SOURCES:
Indian Oratory, University of Oklahoma Press, 1971
Native American Almanac, Prentice Hall, 1993
Native American Wisdom, Running Press, 1994
Words of Power: Voices From Indian America, Fulcrum Publishing, 1994
There were a few things that Natives had a problem with when it came to treaties. One of them was the fact that when the colonists arrived, Indians had no concept of land ownership. They were familiar with territories and hunting and grazing areas, but no one owned the land. Another big problem was that sometimes, multiple tribal groups had these hunting and grazing areas in common. The colonists used this to their advantage by signing treaties with tribes that didn’t actually live in the area they were negotiating over. They would then evidence to the tribes that actually lived in that area that their land had already been ceded to the white man and they had no recourse but to move. (That famous New York treaty for $24 worth of beads and blankets was one of those.)
What’s happening with treaties with the Indians these days? Well, I can tell you that in this modern day and age, there’s Indian judges and lawyers and our people are pouring over these things and looking for how to use them to our advantage. People complain all the time in the news that 200 year old treaties shouldn’t be worth the paper they’re printed on when it comes to land claims. The problem for the U.S. government though, as you might have guessed, a lot of short cuts were taken with the government’s unscrupulous dealings with the Indians and legal loopholes abound in them.
Consider that you read everyday in the business section of the newspaper that a multi-million dollar land deal was held up or negated by a certain clause in the contract. Well, in a lot of cases in the days of Indian treaties, that clause was the hubris of the colonists and their haste to quash any claims by the ignorant savages of the day. So here’s some background on those Indian treaties and then a few choice comments from some ignorant savages of the day:
Between 1778 and 1871, over 370 treaties between Indian nations and the U.S. Government were signed. By the end of the 1860’s, numerous federal, military, and church people called for the end of treaty making. An Appropriations Act of March 3, 1871, stated: “No Indian nation or tribe...shall be acknowledged or recognized as an independent nation, tribe, or power with whom the United States may contract by treaty.” The law did not in any way repeal or change treaties signed and ratified prior to that date. The following list states other important information about treaties.
1. A treaty is a contract between two or more sovereign nations that is as binding today on the government that signed it as when agreed to more than 100 years ago.
2. The U.S. Constitution in Article 6, Section 2, states that treaties are the supreme law of the land.
3. Indian treaties have as much force as treaties made with any other nation. U.S. courts repeatedly uphold the validity of Indian treaties and the continued sovereignty of Indian nations.
4. Treaties are not simply old historical documents nor are they outdated. Their age does not invalidate them any more than age invalidates the U.S. Constitution.
5. Treaties as “supreme law of the land” are superior to the law of any states. As the U.S. Constitution points out, “the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.
6. At different points in history, states and individual citizens have challenged the legal force of Indian treaties, but the Supreme Court has upheld their validity.
7. Violations of treaties do not nullify them any more than committing a crime nullifies the law that forbids the crime.
8. The fact that the United States has broken treaties reflects on the integrity of the United States, not on the integrity of treaties.
9. Some treaties contain the right to use off-reservation land for Indians’ traditional subsistence activities of hunting, fishing, and gathering, which do not necessarily require that the tribes have title to the land.
10. Although a statute ended Indian treaty making in 1871, all treaties are still in full force to this day and “no obligation or any treaty lawfully made and ratified with any such Indian nation or tribe prior to March 3, 1871, shall be thereby invalidated or impaired.
Observations by the Natives on dealing with the government:
"...I am poor and naked, but I am the chief of the nation. We do not want riches but we do want to train our children right. Riches would do us no good. We could not take them with us to the other world. We do not want riches. We want peace and love."
Red Cloud [Marpiya-Luta]
(late 19th century)
Sioux
"The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it. You might as well expect the rivers to run backwards as that any man who was born a free man should be contented when penned up and denied liberty to go where he pleases."
Joseph [Hinmaton Yalatkit]
(1830-1904)
Nez Perce
"Our land is more valuable than your money. It will last forever. It will not even perish by the flames of fire. As long as the sun shines and the waters flow this land will be here to give life to men and animals. We cannot sell the lives of men and animals, therefore we cannot sell this land. You can count your money and burn it within the nod of a buffalo's head, but only the Great Spirit can count the grains of sand and the blades of grass of these plains. As a present to you, we will give you anything we have that you can take with you; but the land, never."
Northern Blackfeet Chief
19th century
"The earth and myself are of one mind. The measure of the land and the measure of our bodies are the same. Do not misunderstand me, but understand me fully with reference to my affection to the land. I never said the land was mine to do with as I chose. The one who has the right to dispose of it is the one who created it. I claim a right to live on my land, and accord you the privilege to live on yours."
Joseph
1875
Nez Perce
"Now I know the government is going to break the Treaty because when it was signed it was understood that it would last as long as the grass grew, the winds blew, the rivers ran, and men walked on two legs--and now they have sent us an Agent who has only one leg."
Flash In The Sky [Piapot]
1895
Cree
"To the Indians, the treaties represent an Indian Magna Carta. The treaties are important to us because we entered into those negotiations with faith, with hope for a better life with honor. We have survived for over a century with little but that hope. Did the white man enter into them with something less in mind?"
Harold Cardinal
1969
Cree
"What treaty that the whites have kept has the Red Man broken? Not one. What treaty that the white man ever made with us have they kept? Not one. When I was a boy the Sioux owned the world; the sun rose and set on their land; they sent ten thousand men to battle. Where are the warriors today? Who slew them? Where are our lands? Who owns them? What white man can ever say I ever stole his land or a penny of his money? Yet, they say I am a thief. What white woman, however lonely, was ever captive or insulted by me? Yet, they say I am a bad Indian. What white man has ever seen me drunk? Who has ever come to me hungry or unfed? Who has ever seen me beat my wives or abuse my children? What law have I broken? Is it wrong for me to love my own? Is it wicked for me because my skin is red? Because I am Sioux; because I was born where my father lived; because I would die for my people and my country?"
Sitting Bull
1885
Hunkpapa Lakota
A select committee from the United States Senate was appointed to make a study on the condition of the Indian tribes in the territories of Montana and Dakota. While they were at the Standing Rock Agency in August, 1883, Sitting Bull was one of the Indians who appeared before the committee. Before Sitting Bull got down to business of telling the committee what he thought about conditions of the Indians, this interesting repartee was entered in the official minutes:
CHAIRMAN: Ask Sitting Bull if he has anything to say to the committee.
SITTING BULL: Of course I will speak to you if you desire me to do so. I suppose it is only such men as you as you desire to speak who must say something.
CHAIRMAN: We supposed the Indians would select men to speak for them, but any man who desires to speak, or any man the Indians may desire shall talk for them. We will be glad to hear if he has anything to say.
SITTING BULL: Do you know who I am, that you speak of me as you do?
CHAIRMAN: I know that you are Sitting Bull, and if you have anything to say we will be glad to hear you.
SITTING BULL: Do you recognize me, do you know who I am?
CHAIRMAN: I know you are Sitting Bull.
SITTING BULL: You say you know I am Sitting Bull, but do you know the position I hold?
CHAIRMAN: I do not know any difference between you and the other Indians at this agency.
SITTING BULL: I am here by the will of the Great Spirit, and by his will I am a chief. My heart is red and sweet, and I know it is sweet, because whatever passes near me puts out its tongue to me; and yet you men have come here to talk with us, and you do not know who I am. I want to tell you that if the Great Spirit has chosen any one to be the chief of this country it is myself.
SOURCES:
Indian Oratory, University of Oklahoma Press, 1971
Native American Almanac, Prentice Hall, 1993
Native American Wisdom, Running Press, 1994
Words of Power: Voices From Indian America, Fulcrum Publishing, 1994
- Kawlija's blog
- Log in or register to post comments
Comments
Submitted by hilskie on Tue, 03/20/2007 - 11:26
Submitted by thebrigade on Tue, 03/20/2007 - 13:23