The California Gold Rush

 

“Under the protection of the US Army, beginning in 1848, gold seekers from all over the world brought death, torture, rape, starvation, and disease to the Indigenous peoples whose ancestral territories included the sought-after goldfields north and east of San Francisco. As Alejandro Murguia describes it, unlike the Native peoples for whom gold was irrelevant, the forty-niners ‘hungered for gold with a sickness.’

            “They would do anything for it. They left families, homes, everything behind; they sailed for eight months aboard leaky, smelly ships to reach California. Captains and sailors jumped ship at San Francisco, leaving a fleet of abandoned brigs, barks, and schooners to rot by the piers. They slaughtered all the game they could find and so muddied the rivers and creeks with silt that the once plentiful salmon couldn’t survive. The herds of elk and deer, the food source for Native Americans, were practically wiped out in one summer. The miners cheated and killed each other in the goldfields.

            “In a true reign of terror, US occupation and settlement exterminated more than one hundred thousand California Native people in twenty-five years, reducing the population to thirty thousand by 1870 – quite possibly the most extreme demographic disaster of all time” (DunBar-Ortiz, 2014, pg. 129).

            The California Gold Rush made a long-lasting economic impact on much of the world and changed the mindset to full blown capitalism. People traveled from places as far as China to seek the precious metal in hopes of getting rich beyond their wildest dreams. They traveled on foot, on horses, covered wagons, boats and ships. Some of the prospectors lost their lives fighting over land claims, while traveling they faced disease and other maladies. When a valuable resource, such as land claims during the gold rush, were held as exclusive rights, these contracts implied no violence. However, the use of violence to punish any interloper who went against the rules and to maintain the rights of land ownership was expected. If an individual or group was not willing or able to use violence to protect their land rights, they were set up to lose their resources. Native Americans served as sitting ducks concerning the lethal attacks when they interfered with the greedy gold prospectors (Umbeck, 1981). California did not become a state until 1850 after the Americans took over the territory following the Mexican/American War. When the gold rush started it was uncharted territory under no form of govern-ment. The people who suffered the most were the indi genous. Many Native Americans met their demise as a result of murder, disease and starvation.

            The California gold rush can lend its beginnings to the entrepreneurial plans of John Sutter. Sutter traveled from Switzerland to the U.S., leaving behind his wife and children to escape the debt he incurred. He settled in different areas until he reached the San Francisco area. He worked out a deal with the Mexicans to be granted land and became a Mexican citizen. Nueva Helvertia, the community and fort John Sutter constructed and managed, was nestled between the streams of the Sacramento and the American. He convinced the Mexican government to grant him a large expanse of land in an effort to thwart settlement of possible encroaching Americans. After the Americans won the Mexican/ American War, Sutter did not know where he stood. California was not a part of Mexico and he was not an American citizen. He decided to continue business as usual. (Brands, 2002)

            James Marshall ended up at Sutter’s fort looking for work after a streak of bad luck. During his travels to California, he fell in love with a woman and settled in Platte City. He contracted malaria and after being sick for a while, the woman asked him to leave. His illness wore on her patience because he was not holding up his end of the bargain concerning earning an income. Marshall was forced to seek other accommodations. Sutter was happy to have Marshall at his fort. He proved handy with small tools. Sutter was impressed with Marshall so he gave him a plot of land and some cattle. After he settled at his own settlement, Marshall joined John Fremont’s regime to fight in the Mexican/American War for the Americans since that was his country of birth. Marshall returned to his plot of land to discover his cattle either ran off or were stolen during his absence. He ended up at Sutter’s fort and asked for work again.

            Sutter wanted to have a sawmill built and Marshall was hired to be the foreman overseeing the project. Sutter enslaved Indian people mostly from the Nisenan tribe, a non-warring tribe who did not like strange interlopers invading their territory. Militia were hired to oversee the slaves and protect the fort. Sutter felt the Indians required stern guidance and they were not treated with dignity and respect. They worked at digging irrigation ditches, and planting fields, vineyards and orchards (Brands, 2002).

            Some of the Indian men converted their loyalties and became part of the militia. He outfitted them with uniforms and weapons and taught them how to defend his land. Under the guidelines set forth by the land grant, he was supposed to treat the Native Americans with respect. He ignored those sanctions and took things to a new level. Sutter began interfering in their traditional customs such as their marriage customs. Sutter created “harem” situations. Observers reported that Sutter had a room situated next to his office in which Indian women were waiting for men who sought their services. Sutter was also accused of molesting Native American girls.

            Sexual coercion and military force were ways Sutter exerted control over the Native Americans and they were eventually enslaved under complete domination of Sutter. The Indians who did not want to work for Sutter were considered enemies. Their lives usually ended in a gruesome manner. Fear instilled a desire to flee or submit to Sutter’s ultimate domination. 600 to 800 Indians were enslaved. The Native Americans under his command, treated like animals, ate offal and wheat bran from wooden troughs without utensils and bowls while he ate off china plates. The slaves slept in locked rooms without beds or any other furniture and were beaten, whipped and sometimes murdered when they did not comply to his wishes (history.com, 2018).

            Native Americans joined Marshall in his search of the land perfect for the building of the sawmill that Sutter ordered to be built. They discovered an area with enough of a gradient that water ran fast and the area contained lots of pine and oak trees. The indigenous people told him the land was called Coloma.   A Mormon group of soldiers provided assistance with the construction of the sawmill. They only committed to helping with the construction until the following spring when they planned on returning to their home. Indian men also worked for Marshall concerning the mill project. The work was tedious and back breaking.

            On January 24, 1848, early in the morning, Marshall walked through the channel to see what the flow of water did overnight. The gate was left open so the water could flow through the night and closed during the day when the men were working. A few sparkling rocks caught his attention. He decided to inspect a little further. He picked up two pieces and looked at them closely. It resembled gold. He squeezed one of the rocks between two other rocks and discovered it was malleable.

            Wimmer, the camp’s cook, threw one of the gold pieces in a soap solution. She was making soap for the camp. It came out of the solution shinier, which meant it was probably gold.

            Marshall traveled to Sutter’s fort to show him the pieces of gold. Before leaving he told the workers they could dig for gold after hours and on their day off.

            Sutter was surprised to see Marshall. Sutter and Marshall seemed more concerned about the completion of the sawmill than the prospects of gold so they decided to keep it a secret.  However, too many knew about the discovery. Word traveled fast to all parts of the world. The east coast of the U.S. appeared to be the last to find out (Brands, 2002).

            On August 19, 1848, the New York Herald front page news covered the discovery of gold in California. It didn’t take long for gold fever to set in. “Two California gold miners made $17,000. in seven days. That’s a fortune!” (Lassieur, 2016, pg. 7).

            The gold rush drastically changed California’s demographics. Before gold was discovered, the population was approximately 160,000, mostly Native Americans. Soon after word got out, 4,000 prospectors were in the area where the gold was discovered. In approximately a year 80,000 miners referred to as “forty-niners” arrived at the California gold fields. By 1853, the population grew to 250,000. About $2 billion in gold was mined, but only a few prospectors struck it rich. Mining gold was hard, living expenses were high and living conditions were crude (Brand, 2002).

            By 1852, John Sutter lost everything, his property ransacked, his livestock and goods stolen or destroyed (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020). Karma seen in action.

            Miners traveled from Mexico, Peru, Chili, Argentina, Oregon, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, China, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Russia, American North and American South. At first, they came in hundreds and thousands and later they traveled by the tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands. They trekked over mountains, plains, desserts, and oceans. Some journeyed by horse, mule or ox and wagon while others voyaged to California by sailing ships and steamships. The prospectors came alone and in large groups with money or no money, knowing what to expect to being completely ignorant. They left comfortable homes and made promises to return. A multitude of vocations from farmers, sailors, soldiers, slaves, abolitionists and merchants to ladies of the night headed to California. Some served as honorable men and women, while others were dregs of the communities they left behind (Brands, 2002).

            Prospecting for gold involved moving rock, digging dirt, and wading in cold water. Many suffered from malnu-trition, accidents and illness and lots of them ended up dying while fighting over goldfield claims. The life of a prospector was usually laced with hardship.

            Gold fever and the large quantity of immigrants in the area led to the complete takeover of the land in which Native Americans previously resided, some of the land was granted to them through prior treaties with the U.S. government and land reservations. The prospectors continue to push the indigenous from their land. Thousands were killed in the process (Brands, 2002).

            The various races did not recognize the Native Americans as being human and referred to them as “worthless diggers.” Because they knew the land very well, they were used to locate gold and serve as slaves for the prospectors, fully taken advantage of by the miners. Many white miners despised the indigenous and formed vigilante groups to get rid of them. Miners drove the Native Americans from their homes where their families lived for generations. Their villages were burned, they were harassed and killed by the miners. The malicious efforts for handling the Native Americans have proven successful by many races such as the Spanish, English, French, Russian, and other European invaders (Umbeck, 1977). A group of misunderstood people who lived a life of self-reliance relying on hunting, gathering and agriculture became individuals who fought for their lives against unwelcomed cruel intruders.

            Gold prospecting camp sites and other establish-ments constructed to meet the demands of the prospectors and merchants caused a great loss of animals and land for agriculture for the Native Americans. The use of hydraulic mining developed in 1853 permanently altered the landscape of California. This type of mining devastated the land, and plugged the rivers with sediment. Farmlands were flooded as a result of the sediment, destroying crops (PBS, N.D.)

            The Indian people had no interest in the gold they were forced to mine even though they knew the gold existed. Many of these unfortunate people joined in the craze of extracting gold as a method of their survival. As time went on during the gold rush insanity, they lost more and more: their land, their people, and their livelihood. Their population diminished exponentially as a result of murder, disease and starvation. Approximately, 100,000 lost their lives. People like Sutter enslaved many Native Americans. The gold rush proved difficult for most involved in the gold fever but the Native Americans suffered the most devastating impact.

 

Daily -  Alta California: January 15, 1851

“…The wild game, which gave them food we have driven from the valleys, the very graves of their sires have been dug down for the glittering gold which lay beneath. The reckless of our people have not stopped at the inevitable results. They have abused and outraged the confidence and friendship of the trusting Indians, robbed and murdered them without compunction, and, in short, perpetrated all those outrages against humanity; and decency and justice, which have entailed upon the American public nearly every war which has turned red with Indian blood the green vallies [sic] from the Pequod and Narragansett nations, all the way through the continent, which we have taken from them, to the sand-bordered homes of the Yumas, and the oaten hills of the Clear Lake tribes” (Encyclopeida.com, 1999, para. 13).

 

California Gold Rush Trivia

1. The California Gold Rush was the most famous gold rush. The first gold rush in North America occurred in 1799 in North Carolina. Many traveled to northern Canada for the Yukon Gold Rush from 1896 to 1899.
2. Death Valley got its name in 1849 when 13 gold prospectors traveled across eastern California to reach the gold fields and died.
3. In 1850, the government charged a monthly fee of $20. to non-citizens which would be equivalent to $500. today. The law was repealed and a tax was charged to Chinese miners of $2. per month which was equivalent to $80. Today.
4. In 1852, 92% of the prospectors were men. Only a few women ventured to California to work in saloons, restaurants and hotels.
5. The high ratio of men to women in the boomtowns during the gold rush era led many men  to try homosexuality and caused a gay culture to flourish. San Francisco was referred to as a “City of Bachelors” where men would pay for sex with men as well as “female impersonators.”
6. Levi Strauss patented blue jeans as durable work pants during the gold rush. Stauss, a Bavarian-born tailor, discovered the prospectors needed sturdy work pants so he made them from canvas. He soon began making the jeans out of twilled cotton. He opened a supply shop during the gold rush.
7. In 1851, California’s first psychiatric hospital opened to serve clients who suffered from health and emotional conditions because of the gold rush.
8. California’s government, bankrupt because of inflated costs of goods and wages during the gold rush, ordered a militia of 142 men to attack the Quechan Native American tribe because they were operating a ferry service for prospectors who crossed the Colorado River to and from California. The government took their business from them.
9. Merchants such as Samuel Brannan usually made more money than the prospectors.
10. Many of the prospectors traveled by boat around the southernmost tip of South America. Some of the ships’ owners did not want to waste money on the way back. They filled the ship’s holds with thousands of pounds of quano which was bird poop extracted from the islands scattered on the Pacific Ocean. They sold the quano as fertilizer to Eastern United States farmers and made a large profit.
11. The term “kangaroo court” made its first appearance during the California gold rush when courts had to deal with claim- jumping miners. Miners who staked claims that were already owned by other prospectors.
12. Price-gouging merchants charged $25. for an egg, $100. for a pound of coffee and up to $2,500. for a pair of work boots.
13. The discovery of gold in California occurred in 1848, but many of the migrants from the east coast did not hear about the discovery for a few months. It took a long time to travel west via land or sea. That’s why they were referred to as the “forty-niners.”
14. James Marshall discovered the gold while constructing the saw mill for John Sutter in 1848 which started the gold rush, he never profited from it.
15. During the gold rush, women had the opportunity to make more money than the men. One woman was paid $18,000. to bake pies.
16. The subway in San Francisco runs through a hull of a huge ship that was abandoned,  sunk, buried in a landfill and then built over. The ship, discovered when the subway was being constructed, had to remain where it was because it was too difficult to excavate the entire ship.
17. The California gold rush led to the largest mass migration in the U.S. history. California was primarily populated by Native Americans before the gold rush.
18. The term “to pan out” came about during the gold rush. A prospector spun a metal pan filled with river sediment to find possible gold that sunk to the bottom of the pan. If gold was discovered, then the prospector said it “panned out.”
19. Miners, who went to seek their fortune in California, were often called “Argonauts” after the Greek mythological hero, Jason. He captained the ship Argo and its crew, the Argonauts in search of the golden fleece.
20. People involved in the gold rush had a need for materials such as fuel and wood. California’s vast forests went through a deforestation. They came up with solution to go to Australia and bring back eucalyptus seeds and plant forests of these fast-growing large trees which still pepper the landscape of California.
21. The Golden Gate Bridge was not named after the gold rush. It was named as the “golden gate to trade with the Orient.”
22. The largest gold rock discovered by Carson Hill in 1854 weighed 195 pounds.
23. Wells Fargo first dipped their toes in the banking business in 1852 because they were attracted to the possibility of significant profits by financing mining operations and other endeavors associated with the gold rush.
24. John Studebaker began his career of product development by manufacturing wheelbarrows for miners during the gold rush. Considered popular he was knick named “Wheelbarrow Johnny.” He ended up using the money he earned during the rush with his brothers to begin producing gasoline powered cars during the early part of the 20^th century.
25. Karl Marx, after his observations of the gold rush, referred to the major event as major part of global capitalism. He felt forced to re-examine his views on political economy which led him to publish in 1867 his magnum opus, Das Kapital.
26. The gold was discovered in 1848. California was occupied by the United States as a result of the Mexican/American War, but it did not have formal territory status until it became a state in 1850. No governance existed so gold and land was free for the taking in the beginning of the gold rush. There was no system of property rights, land grants, or taxation. It was referred to as the “wild, wild west.”
27. John and Daniel Murphy managed to mine $1.5 million worth of gold ($40 milllion today) shortly after they arrived in California. The town of Murphys, California was named after them.
28. A ship carrying 30,000 pounds of gold mined in California sunk after a hurricane off the coast of the Carolinas in 1857. This unfortunate act added vastly to the world’s first international economic crisis. The gold was worth $2 million ($300 million today) which led to assurance of the world economy which was referred to as the “Panic of 1857” (Bianco, N.D.).

 

 

 

 

 

Trail of Death

 

“When we quitted this camp later, we left behind six graves in the shadow of the cross. We soon found ourselves on the grand prairies of Illinois, under a burning sun and without shade from one camp to another. They are as vast as the ocean, and the eye seeks in vain for a tree. Not a drop of water can be found there – it was a veritable torture for our poor sick, some of whom died each day from weakness and fatigue.” -Father Benjamin Petit

 

In September of 1838, 859 Potawatomi Indians, forced from their homeland near Plymouth, Indiana, marched at gunpoint 660 miles to present-day Osawatomie, Kansas. During the arduous journey, their tribe lost 42 of its members, mostly children, of typhoid fever coupled with the stress of the removal. Approximately the same amount escaped during the journey. When they arrived at their final destination, only 756 remained. The removal resulted from the Indian Removal Act passed by U.S. Congress and signed by Andrew Jackson in 1830. The Five Civilized Tribes, who resided in the Southeast part of the country, were the original targets for removal.

Some of the Potawatomi tribes moved earlier without being forced. The Pokagon Potawatomi managed to stay at their homeland in southern Michigan due to the efforts of their leader Leopold Pokagon, and partially because of their participation in Catholicism. Menominee’s tribe did not want to leave their homeland in Indiana. The Potawatomi consisted of nine distinct groups, seven residing in the United States and two ended up residing in Mexico and Canada to escape removal to the western portion of the country. Many tribal groups signed treaties which enforced their removal from their homelands. The Potawatomi bands signed more treaties than any other tribes, 40 in all, which added a lot of confusion about where they were supposed to live.

 

We are like birds in a windstorm. The tree boughs keep

moving, and we don’t know which one to land on.

-Quito, a Potawatomi Elder

 

            All tribal nations have had their own creation story. Some Potawatomi stories portray how they have always been in existence. Other stories tell about a migration from the Eastern coast with the Ojibwe and Odawa nations. The three tribes formed the Three Fires Confederacy, with each nation having served a vital role. The Ojibwe were keepers of Tradition; the Odawa were keepers of the Trade; and the Potawatomi served as keepers of the Fire. Originally, the Potawatomi migrated north of Lakes Huron and Superior, to Wisconsin, southern Michigan, northern Indiana, and northern Illinois (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, ND).

            Potawatomi warriors participated in the siege of Fort Dearborn (Chicago) and Fort Wayne in 1812. Over 20 years after the battles, they resided peacefully in northern Indiana and southern Michigan. They made an attempt to be farmers and live amongst the white men. Many were baptized by the Catholic and Baptist missionaries. Some of the old warriors from the aforementioned battles were part of the removal in the 1830s (Willard and Campbell., 2003).

 

The first Potawatomi band, who were removed from their homeland, lived near the Iroquois River by the Illinois-Indiana border. Thousands were removed from northeastern Illinois in 1835. Large and smaller groups traveled together. The 1833 Treaty of Chicago enforced the conditions for the removal of the Potawatomi from the Great Lakes Area when Michigan became a state in 1837. The journey involved approximately 500 Potawatomi and it was a hazardous trip in which one in every ten people died during the excursion. News traveled fast and as a result small groups of families fled to northern Michigan and Canada to avoid removal to the western part of the country (Weiser, 2017). 

Leopold Pokagon’s village was located at what is now Niles, Michigan. In 1838, Leopold and a small group of Potawatomi visited the Odawa at L’Arbre Croche (Petoskey, Michigan area) to find out if they could relocate to their area. The 1833 Treaty allowed them to remain in Michigan. Their future plan involved moving near the Odawa within five years. The 1836 Treaty of Washington signed between the Odawa, Chippewa and the U.S. government ceded most of their land. There was no room for the Potawatomi to reside on the Odawa land.

Leopold purchased land at Silver Creek Township by utilizing the tribe’s annuity monies accumulated from pre-vious treaty negotiations. The Pokagon band and other groups moved to the Silver Creek area which is currently Dowagiac, Michigan. The Pokagon band built a log cabin Catholic Church at the Silver Creek area and donated $2,000. to the Catholic diocese. Leopold Pokagon was adopted by the Potawatomi and the Catholics provided him with an education when he was a child. His plans were to remain in Michigan with his tribe.

Brigadier General Hugh Brady made an attempt to force Pokagon’s Band out of Michigan. Pokagon, an elder man in bad health, traveled to Detroit to obtain a written judgment from Epaphroditus Ransom of the Michigan Supreme Court. He was granted the judgment and as a result the Pokagon group could remain on their land. Other Potawatomi groups were not so lucky.

 

“Unknown to the Potawatomi, white leaders in the Michigan Territory were anxious to lure settlers into the area, which would reduce the Indian domain and change their life styles forever. Land ownership would become the tax basis by which the new government was financed. The desire for statehood required settlement and an increased population which would reduce hunting grounds. Plans for development demanded votes, willing workers, and an infrastructure that was foreign to the Indians. The Potawatomi of Southwestern Michigan, without understanding the consequences, were facing an influx of Easter Americans and European Immigrants seeking the wealth of rich land. Eastern loggers envied the timber of Michigan’s mighty virgin forests, and would reduce natural woodland habitats to farm lands. The abundant water supply was a great temptation, that would lead to conflict over water rights. Rivers and sylvan thickets teaming with wild life beckoned white hunters and settlers, that would force competition for food sources” (Watson, 2001, para. 5).

 

By August 1838 most of the Potawatomi bands migrated from their homelands in Indiana and Michigan to Kansas. Menominee and his band refused to sign treaties and relocate to Kansas. Hundreds who did not want to move out west, joined Menominee’s band. The band grew from 4 wigwams in 1821 to 100 wigwams by 1838. Indiana Governor David Wallace was infuriated and ordered General John Tipton to remove the tribe.

On August 30^th, General Tipton, along with 100 troops, burned crops and the homes of the Potawatomi to discourage them from returning to the area. They ordered at gunpoint 859 Indians to begin their march on September 4^th. Chief Menominee and two other chiefs, No-taw-kah and Pee-pin-oh-waw were transported in a horse-drawn jail wagon. The rest of the band traveled by foot or rode horseback behind the jail wagon. The group made the trek each day which started at 8:00a.m. each morning until 4:00p.m., when they received their first meal of the day.

Father Benjamin M. Petit accompanied the group of travelers and provided ministry to the tribe to aid them spiritually, emotionally, and physically. He took care of the sick. During that fall a drought occurred and there was little water available for the travelers, what they found was stagnant. Many became sick with probably thyroid disease. More and more died along the way and Father Petit became sick. While sick he conducted ministry to the sick. On November 13, 1838, he sent a letter to Bishop Simon Brute in Vincennes, Indiana, to describe the march (Wiemer, 2017).

“The order of march was as follows: the United States flag, carried by a dragoon; then one of the principal officers, next the staff baggage carts, then the carriage, which during the whole trip was kept for the use of the Indian chiefs, then one or two chiefs on horseback led a line of 250 to 300 horses ridden by men, women, children in single file, after the manner of savages.

On the flanks of the line at equal distance from each other were the dragoons and volunteers, hastening the stragglers, often with severe gestures and bitter words. After this cavalry came a file of forty baggage wagons filled with luggage and Indians. The sick were lying in them, rudely jolted, under a canvas which, far from protecting them from the dust and heat, only deprived them of air, for they were as if buried under this burning canopy – several died” (Wiemer, 2017, paras. 8 and 9).

They marched across the prairies of Illinois and crossed the Mississippi River at Quincy, Missouri and continued until they reached the Kansas territory and Osawatomie, Kansas, the final destination. The tired group reached their final destination on November 4, 1838. Forty-three Potawatomi people died, twenty-eight were children (Bowes, 2016). Winter was quickly approaching and there were no houses for the Native Americans which the government promised would be available to them upon their arrival. The Potawatomi and a very sick Father Petit stayed at a mission in Quincy for a few weeks until Jesuit Father Christian Hoecken agreed to provide them with a place to stay at the St. Mary’s Sugar Creek Mission, 20 miles away from Osawatomie.

Father Petit traveled back to Indiana accompanied by Nan-wesh-mah Burnett. He had to be held on the horse and had sores all over his body. He ended up traveling by wagon because he was so sick. He died at the seminary in St. Louis, Missouri on February 10, 1839 at the age of 27. The Potawa-tomi thought he was a saint.

Three years after their arrival, Mother Rose Phillippine Duchesne arrived at the mission in 1841. She taught school to the Potawatomi children and was known to have established the first Indian school for girls west of the Mississippi River. When she turned 72, her health was failing so she dedicated her life to prayer and prayed day and night. The Indians called her Quah-kah-ka-num-ad (woman who prays always).

The Potawatomi remained at the mission for ten years. In 1848 they moved further west to reside close to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Reservation at Mayetta, Kansas. While at the first mission, 600 of the Potawatomi died, many shortly after their arrival. Chief Menominee died on April 15, 1841 when he was 50. All of the dead Potawatomi were buried at the site (Weiser, 2017).

Today, seven distinct Potawatomi bands reside in the United States: Citizen Potawatomi, Forest County Potawatomi, Hannahville Indian Community, Match-e-he-nash-whi-wish Potawatomi, Nottawaseppi Huron Potawatomi, Pokagon Potawatomi and Prairie Band Potawatomi. The Coahuila Potawatomi reside in Mexico and the Walpole Island First Nation people live in Canada. The group that resides in Mexico, fled to Mexico to avoid the “white man’s war” (the Civil War) in December 1864 (Godfrey, 2015).

The Potawatomi have had history of fighting in battles during the 1700 and 1800s. They decided to settle down to a life of farming and tried to live in harmony next to the white settlers. Leopold Pokagon managed to remain in Michigan because of the band’s willingness to embrace Catholicism and Pokagon’s ability to negotiate with a member of the supreme court. Some traveled west to settle in Kansas voluntarily. Michigan became a state in 1837 and the fertile land was needed for the onslaught of white settlers. Many died during the march westward and shortly after they arrived at their final destination. Various groups of Native Americans ended up leaving their homelands and moving west of the Mississippi. Self-sufficient tribal people reduced to relying on the federal government. The overall plan to convert a powerful group of people to people living in abject poverty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft and the 1836 Treaty of Washington

 

“No person among us desires any other reward

for performing a brave and worthy action, but

the consciousness of having served his nation.”

-Joseph Brant (Thuyendanegea)

Mohawk

 

A storm brewed between the Odawa, Chippewa (formally referred to as Ojibwe until renamed by governmental officials) and U.S. government authorities. The ever-increasing number of white settlers and future entrepreneurs, had their eyes on the land that was occupied by Odawa and Chippewa Indians. To top things off, the Indian’s way of life was viewed as being of a heathen nature so it would had been in their best interest to pick up a hoe and become farmers. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was a part of this campaign to convert them. He was instrumental in organizing a meeting between the Odawa and Chippewa leaders and the U.S. governmental officials to discuss the establishment and implementation of the 1836 Treaty of Washington. Treaties were mechanisms put into place as a formalized way of securing land holdings for Americans, land that was taken from the Indian people. These legal documents included provisions for the implementation of reservations, procurement of supplies, and payment for the homelands of the Indian people. The first treaty was established in 1778 and the last was enacted in 1871, 371 treaties were established between Indian tribes and the United States government (Utter, 1993). Schoolcraft, his family and the traders profited from the implementation of the 1836 treaty. William Henry Harrison and other lawmakers strived to convert territories into states and Michigan became a state as the result of the treaties and the need for land for the onslaught of white settlers.

            Treaties with the Indian people were negotiated by the President of the United States and were binding when approved by the Indian leaders and two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. “A treaty is a contract, a binding and legal agreement, between two or more sovereign nations. By signing treaties with Indian tribes, the United States acknowledged tribal sovereign status. When the architects of the American government created the Constitution, they explicitly recognized that treaties are the supreme law of the land, along with the Constitution itself,” (Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, N.D., para. 5,)

Many tribal people felt they had no choice but to give in to the U. S. government. The greatest number of treaties were arranged between 1815 and 1860s, during the prominent westward expansion, 260 treaties to be exact. Almost 100 treaties specifically addressed boundaries between a tribe and the United States government. Two tribes, the Potawatomi and Chippewa, negotiated 42 treaties, which was more than any other tribes (Oswalt, 1978). Not all of the 550 federally recognized tribes established treaties with the federal government (Ellis, 2007).

           

Michigan history had also been influenced greatly by the political actions of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, from the naming of communities to his involvement with the Native Americans. Schoolcraft named many of Michigan’s counties and locations when he was residing in the Michigan territory. He named Leelanau County after his wife’s pen name “Leelinau” and also came up with names for Algoma, Allegan, Alpena, Arenac, Iosco, Kalkaska, Oscoda and Tuscola. He used faux Indian names and combined words and syllables from Native American languages with words and syllables from Latin and Arabic languages. Many loca-tions were named after him such as Schoolcraft County in Michigan, Schoolcraft River in northern Minnesota, Schoolcraft Lake in Minnesota, and Schoolcraft Township in Houghton County, Michigan (Bremer, 1987).

            Schoolcraft led a life filled with ambition and curiosity and he obtained additional notoriety through his written efforts. He was driven to tell the country about his findings through his published works. He studied with great interest topics such as Native Americans, mineralogy, education, and the Ozark area. Through extensive travels he believed he discovered the source of the Mississippi, examined the lives of Native Americans, and explored 2,000 miles of Lake Huron and Lake Superior shoreline. After he was commissioned by Congress, Schoolcraft worked for years on the history of Indian tribes of the United States. His compilation of Indian studies was published in six volumes from 1851-1857 (Schoolcraft, 1978).

Schoolcraft strived to convert the Indian people into what he considered to be a more respectable people, who farmed instead of hunted to provide sustenance for their villages. Schoolcraft portrayed himself as having the best interests of the Indian people in Michigan in mind when he pursued the 1836 Treaty of Washington. His justification behind this treaty was stated when he wrote to his wife, Jane Schoolcraft:

“…All that could be worked in by the way of schools, mission, agriculture, mechanics… is granted. Much money will be annually distributed, their debts paid, their half-breed relations provided for, every man, woman & child of them, &large presents given out. Rejoice with me. The day of their prosperity has been long delayed, but has finally reached them, in their lowest state of poverty, when their game is almost gone, and the county is shorn of all its advantages for the hunter state,” (Bremer, 1987, pg. 169-170).

            Many people referred to Schoolcraft as undeserving of respect and admiration, but like many people who sought notoriety, he also had a soft side. He cared deeply about his own children, especially his son Willy who died at an early age. Schoolcraft fought stridently to stop others from providing alcoholic beverages to the Native Americans. He was against the substance and thought the Indian people could do without the evils of alcohol. Schoolcraft met with many people to accomplish his goal of changing the lives of Indian people for what he thought was for the better.

 

The 1836 Treaty of Washington was a part of the Indian Removal faction started by President Andrew Jackson. Schoolcraft was instrumental in organizing gather-ings of Chippewa and Odawa leaders to discuss the impen-ding treaty negotiations. He prepared these individuals for what he presumed was for the good of the general population as well as for the Native Americans.      

            John Tanner met with Schoolcraft to plan a meeting with the Odawas concerning land acquisitions in September of 1835. He served as a useful interpreter for people such as Schoolcraft. Tanner led a troubled life when he was abducted from his father’s ranch in Kentucky by Shawnee Indians when he was 9 years of age. He was taken to their village in Saginaw which was part of the Michigan territory in 1789. He was traded to the Odawa tribe two years later and then finally ended up with an Ojibwe tribe in Manitoba, Canada at age 13. Abused at first by the tribal people until he had proven his superior hunting skills. He completely assimilated into the American Indian culture and became feared and respected by many.

Tanner traveled to Mackinac Island for a meeting with Odawa leaders which included Augustin Hamelin, an educated mixed-blood Odawa chief who served as a teacher on occasion at some of the mission schools. He was appointed as head chief of the tribe and spokesperson for the Odawas, which was considered a high honor. His grandfather held the same position as head chief (Daudert, 2011).

Hamelin and other leaders of the Odawa tribe were encouraged to meet with the Great Father, the president of the United States, to discuss land acquisitions. Hamelin was accompanied by eight other Odawas when they traveled to Washington. They arrived at the beginning of December of 1835. The Odawas met with Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, to sell to the United States government specific islands located near Lake Michigan, along with land north of the Straits which actually belonged to the Chippewas. The Odawas wanted to remain on their lands. They also requested the government to provide them with additional funding for Indian education associated with the Catholic mission schools in the Michigan territory. Cass refused their offer and he set into motion a full-scale treaty council in Washington to gain control a lot of the Indian territories in Michigan. 

            A lot of support for this venture came from the Michigan Delegate Lucius Lyon and the Detroit Acting Governor Stevens T. Mason. In part of his opening address to the legislature Mason mentioned ceasing the Indian title to lands in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Part of the land not suitable for agriculture would be ceded to the Indians for their use. If the Indian people agreed to cede the lands in question the United States might offer payment of their debts as well as other future financial allowances. Schoolcraft  learned that he was given the responsibility to gather a full-treaty council of Chippewa and Odawa chiefs in the capital as soon as possible to negotiate a finalized treaty (Bremer, 1987).

 

Many traders decided to attend the treaty council in Washington including John Drew of the Mackinac trading firm of Biddle and Drew along with Samuel Abbott from the American Fur Trading Company. These companies wanted to ensure the debts owed to them by the Indians would be paid and they also wanted to encourage the Indian people to sell their land. 

            Before the treaty negotiations began, Schoolcraft was busy setting the groundwork for such discussions. He wanted to reinforce his claims as an Indian expert and their spokesperson by sending two lengthy letters to the president. He informed the president about the policy associated with the Indian people residing in the Columbia River Basin. Schoolcraft warned the president that the Hudson Bay Company existed under strong British influence and the purpose of this company was to suppress American interests. He recommended a special agent be assigned to that region to explain the ill-intended goals of the British-run company.

            The communication with the president did not secure the title of governor of Wisconsin for Schoolcraft. His interests in rising in rank were thwarted by familial connections with others in higher places of authority. For example, the newly elected territorial delegate George W. Jones was a close friend of Henry Dodge, hero of the Black Hawk War. Dodge was also a half-brother of Missouri Senator Henry Linn. Dodge received the appointment as Governor late in April, 1836. 

Schoolcraft also had his eyes on Michigan’s statehood and the formation of the Wisconsin Territory. He was concerned about the organization of the Indian Department. Schoolcraft sent a letter to Delegate Lyon and Delegate Jones in which he suggested the creation of a new Superintendent position for the Great Lakes region which would combine the Green Bay Agency in Wisconsin with the agencies included in the Michigan territory. Comprised in the proposal was the assignment to William Clark over the remaining agencies in Wisconsin. Under this proposal Clark, the new governor, would be relieved of any responsibility for the administration of Indian affairs. The areas included in this proposal were the sub-agencies at Detroit, Green Bay, and  Sault Ste. Marie as well as an office clerk at Detroit. This reorganization would enable Schoolcraft to retain the Mackinac Agency as Superintendent while he spent his winters in Detroit. The Secretary of War had to approve these changes.

            He continued to work with the Catholic Odawas of L’Arbre Croche who were adamant about not selling their lands. Schoolcraft was not successful with obtaining the signatures authorizing the sale of the Odawa lands from the tribal non-Catholic leaders. William Johnston, Schoolcraft’s brother-in-law, informed him that if the tribal leaders were approached alone in Washington they would probably sign the treaty.  Some of the Odawa leaders finally agreed to travel to Washington.

            William Johnston used the opportunity of the treaty negotiations to persuade his uncle Waiskey, a chief at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to sign a document acknowledging a debt of $20,000 to Mrs. Johnston. He went further to thank his brother-in-law, Schoolcraft, for not letting any opportunity pass unnoticed concerning the family’s interests (Bremer, 1987).

           

            On March 3, 1836, three of the Odawa chiefs from Grand River in Michigan arrived in Washington and other designates from other Michigan Chippewa and Odawa tribes followed suit. Cass appointed Schoolcraft as the sole treaty commissioner. Schoolcraft’s duties were described in an outline about the burden resting upon those chosen to negotiate with the Indians:

           

“An Indian negotiator is placed by the execution of his duty in a peculiar situation. He is required by his instructions to procure a cession upon the best terms for the United States. On the other hand, neither the feelings of the age, the opinions of the Country, nor the principles of the government permit, that he should extort from the wanderers of the forest the inheritance of their forefathers for the merest pittance, which they may be induced to take. There are more considerations, connected with this subject, which no honorable man will disregard. The execution of the duty is a best irksome and unpleasant. A part of the community see in every land of the Indians is acquired with the merest shadow of a compensation. Another can discern nothing but an useless and lavish expenditure of the public money. Between these discordant opinions, it is difficult to pursue any course, which shall render general satisfaction” (Bremer, 1987,pg. 165).

           

            By March 14, the representatives of Chippewa and Odawa chiefs requested the presence of the Secretary of War, Cass, and President Jackson. Schoolcraft recommended the Indian people cede their lands north of Grand River of the Lower Peninsula to as far west as the Chocolay River of the Upper Peninsula. (The Chocolay River was located near Marquette, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Grand River stretches from Grand Rapids, to Ionia, Grand Haven, Eaton Rapids, and Jackson (near Detroit). Grand River is the longest river in Michigan, 252 miles long.). The vast amount of land requested by the Americans angered the Native Americans in attendance.

 

            Treaty negotiations went awry. Many traders had their hands in the pot trying to stir things up. Many of the Indian people broke away from their trader alliances. Since things were such a mess, the claims would have to go before the commissioner which was not what they wanted to happen. The sum set aside to pay off the Indian debts, in which some of the debts were real or imagined, would even things out Schoolcraft believed. 

At the conclusion of the treaty council, the Odawas decided to sell their lands located in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan with the exception of specific reservations. This condition was readily accepted by the government. The Chippewas decided to sell their lands with the agreement that they could settle on certain reservation locations. During these council meetings it was suggested by the Chippewas that their mixed-blood relatives receive land grants. On Schoolcraft’s 43^rd birthday, March 28, 1836, the U.S. treaty commissioner and the Indian delegates signed the final treaty document.

Government officials established a subsidy system through which the Indian people were given supplies during the transition period for farming. The United States Senate decided these provisions were too lofty and revised treaty terms. The Native Americans were given only five years to reside on their land holdings (Bremer, 1987).

Under the terms of the treaty, the Chippewa and Odawa tribal leaders ceded approximately 16 million acres, or about three eighths of the entire state of Michigan. Some of the key players involved in the implementation of the 1836 Treaty of Washington were Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, and previous governor of Michigan, Henry Schoolcraft, Treaty Commissioner, and President Jackson with a number of Chippewa and Odawa leaders.

Rix Robinson and John Drew escorted a group of Odawa from the Grand Traverse Band to Washington for treaty negotiations. Both Robinson and Drew were traders from the American Fur Trading Company. Robinson claimed the Indians owed him $48,000, which was a huge sum. Robinson collected $23,000. under the 1836 Treaty terms. Other traders made additional claims about Native American debt which were either real or imagined.

Schoolcraft knew he could easily acquire signatures from the Upper Peninsula Chippewa Indians. According to the Senate, an Indian mark was an Indian mark. The Great Lakes Native Americans usually brought their entire village to major treaty negotiations. It was extremely rare for treaties to be negotiated at the U.S. capital. Only twenty-four attended the treaty council, out of the one hundred Native Americans who were in the treaty council area. They were far from their homelands.

Historians viewed the limited amount in attendance in two different ways: the American treaty negotiators wanted to limit the number of tribal leaders to lessen the number of people who could influence the Indian people and/or the American treaty negotiators sought to intimidate the small number of tribal leaders.

Schoolcraft sought monetary awards for half-breeds and full-blooded Indian people. Payments were distributed to full-blooded Indian people and half-blood people, with the half-blood people given a much higher amount. Schoolcraft and his family members received $56,000 out of the $221,000 allotted by the treaty. The treaty proved to be a lucrative exchange for many of the people involved in its implementation except for the full-blooded Native American people  (Fletcher, 2012). 

Although Schoolcraft married a woman of Chippewa descent, he had a hand in taking away a lot of their land holdings as a result of the treaty he helped establish. Land meant life for the Native Americans, it meant they could provide for their communities by hunting, gathering and it gave them a place to raise their families.

“Land concepts of Indian people differed markedly from the views motivating the British and American officials with who they were dealing. In the belief system of Indian people, land, like air and water, was available to all on the basis of need. Personal ownership was limited to things individually crafted, crops raised, or proceeds of hunting and fishing activities. Tribal groups exercised stewardship over particular activities under their control” (Fletcher, 2012, pg. 17).

Stranded on much smaller portions of land hindered their ability to provide for their families. The Senate’s change of the treaty terms which only permitted them to reside on the land ceded to them for only five years did not set well for the Odawa and Chippewa people. Schoolcraft wanted to prepare the Algonquin tribes (the Odawa and Chippewa) to reside on their reservations while they learned how to be farmers, raising cattle and growing crops. He envisioned them being given large territory funds for education, missions and annual supplies of salt to enable them to maintain fisheries. They would not have to be reliant on the government to provide for their basic needs. Schoolcraft did nothing to help the Native Americans maintain their rights to fishing and hunting during the late 1830s. Additional treaties such as the 1842 Treaty helped the Algonquin Indians to remain in Michigan. A multitude of Native Americans became educated and learned how to speak the English language so they could fight for their rights. The American political aspirations involved the desired increased number of white settlers needed to convert a territory to a state which led to disenfranchised Native Americans who got in the way. They did not count toward the population needed to move towards statehood mainly because of the color of their skin.

Washington, District of Columbia
Treaty with the Ottawa, etc., 1836

Articles of a treaty made and concluded at the city of Washington in the District of Columbia, between Henry R. Schoolcraft, commissioner on the part of the United States, and the Ottawa and Chippewa nations of Indians, by their chiefs and delegates.

ARTICLE FIRST. The Ottawa and Chippewa nations of Indians cede to the United States all the tract of country within the following boundaries: Beginning at the mouth of Grand river of Lake Michigan on the north bank thereof, and following up the same to the line called for, in the first article of the treaty of Chicago of the 29th of August 1821, thence, in a direct line, to the head of Thunder-bay river, thence with the line established by the treaty of Saginaw of the 24th of September 1819, to the mouth of said river, thence northeast to the boundary line in Lake Huron between the United States and the British province of Upper Canada, thence northwestwardly, following the same line, as established by the commissioners acting under the treaty of Ghent, through the straits, and river St. Mary's, to a point in Lake Superior north of the mouth of Gitchy Seebing, or Chocolate river, thence south to the mouth of said river and up its channel to the source thereof, thence, in a direct line to the head of the Skonawba river of Green bay, thence down the south bank of said river to its mouth, thence, in direct line, through the ship channel into Green bay, to the outer part thereof, thence south to a point in Lake Michigan west of the north cape, or entrance of Grand river, and thence east to the place of beginning, at the cape aforesaid, comprehending all the lands and islands, within these limits, not hereinafter reserved.

ARTICLE SECOND. From the cession aforesaid the tribes reserve for their own use, to be held in common the following tracts for the term of five years from the date of the ratification of this treaty, and no longer; unless the United States shall grant them permission to remain on said lands for a longer period, namely: One tract of fifty thousand acres to be located on Little Traverse bay: one tract of twenty thousand acres to be located on the north shore of Grand Traverse bay, one tract of seventy thousand acres to be located on or, north of the Pieire Marquetta river, one tract of one thousand acres to be located by Chingassanoo,-or the Big Sail, on the Cheboigan. One tract of one thousand acres, to be located by Mujeekewis, on Thunder-bay river.

ARTICLE THIRD. There shall also be reserved for the use of the Chippewas living north of the straits of Michilimackinac, the following tracts for the term of five years from the date of the ratification of this treaty, and no longer, unless the United States shall grant them permission to remain on said lands for a longer period, that is to say: Two tracts of three miles square each, on the north shores of the said straits, between Point-au-Barbe and Mille Coquin river, including the fishing grounds in front of such reservations, to be located by a council of the chiefs. The Beaver islands of Lake Michigan for the use of the Beaver-island Indians.  Round island, opposite Michilimackinac, as a place of encampment for the Indians, to be under the charge of the Indian department. The islands of the Chenos, with a part of the adjacent north coast of Lake Huron, corresponding in lngth, and one mile in depth. Sugar island, with its islets, in the river of St. Marys. Six hundred and forty acres, at the mision of the Little Rapids. A tract commencing at the mouth of the Pississowining river, south of Point Iroquois, thence running up said stream to its forks, thence westward, in a direct line to the Red water lakes, thence across the portage to the Tacquimenon river, and down the same to its mouth, including the small islands and fishing grounds, in front of this reservation. Six hundred and forty acres, on Grand Island, and two thousand acres, on the main land south of it. Two sections, on the northern extremity of Green bay, to be located by a council of the chiefs All the locations, left indefinite by this, and the preceding articles, shall be made by the proper chiefs, under the direction of the President. It is understood that the reservation for a place of fishing and encampment, made under the treaty of St. Mary's of the 16th of June 1820, remains unaffected by this treaty.

ARTICLE FOURTH. In consideration of the foregoing cessions, the United States engage to pay to the Ottawa and Chippewa nations, the following sums, namely.

1st. An annuity of thirty thousand dollars per annum, in specie, for twenty years; eighteen thousand dollars, to be paid to the Indians between Grand River and the Cheboigun; three thousand six hundred dollars, to the Indians on the Huron shore, between the Cheboigan and Thunder-bay river; and seven thousand four hundred dollars, to the Chippewas north of the straits, as far as the cession extends; the remaining one thousand dollars, to be invested in stock by the Treasury Department and to remain incapable of being sold, without the consent of the President and the Senate, which may, however, be given, after the expiration of twenty-one years.

2nd. Five thousand dollars per annum, for the purpose of education, teachers, school-houses, and books in their own language, to be continued twenty years, and as long thereafter as Congress may appropriate for the object.

3rd. Three thousand dollars for missions, subject to the conditions mentioned in the second clause of this article.

4th. Ten thousand dollars for agricultural implements, cattle, mechanics' tools, and such other objects as the President may deem proper.

5th. Three hundred dollars per annum for vaccine matter, medicines, and the services of physicians, to be continued while the Indians remain on their reservations.

6th. Provisions to the amount of two thousand dollars; six thousand five hundred pounds of tobacco; one hundred barrels of salt, and five hundred fish barrels, annually, for twenty years.

7th. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars, in goods and provisions, on the ratification of this treaty, to be delivered at Michilimackinac, and also the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, in consideration of changing the permanent reservations in article two and three to reservations for five years only, to be paid whenever their reservations shall be surrendered, and until that time the interest on said two hundred thousand dollars shall be annually paid to the said Indians.

ARTICLE FIFTH. The sum of three hundred thousand dollars shall be paid to said Indians to enable them, with the aid and assistance of their agent, to adjust and pay such debts as they may justly owe, and the overplus, if any, to apply to such other use as they may think proper.

ARTICLE SIXTH. The said Indians being desirous of making provision for their half-breed relatives, and the President having determined, that individual reservations shall not be granted, it is agreed, that in lieu thereof, the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars shall be set apart as a fund for said half-breeds. No person shall be entitled to any part of said fund, unless he is of Indian descent and actually resident within the boundaries described in the first article of this treaty, nor shall anything be allowed to any such person, who may have received no allowance at any previous Indian treaty. The following principles, shall regulate the distribution. A census shall be taken of all the men, women, and children, coming within this article. As the Indians hold in higher consideration, some of their half-breeds than others, and as there is much difference in their capacity to use and take care of property, and, consequently, in their power to aid their Indian connections, which furnishes a strong ground for this claim, it is, therefore, agreed, that at the council to be held upon this subject, the commissioner shall call upon the Indian chiefs to designate, if they require it, three classes of these claimants, the first of which, shall receive one-half more than the second, and the second, double the third. Each man woman and child shall be enumerated, and an equal share, in the respective classes, shall be allowed to each. If the father is living with the family, he shall receive the shares of himself, his wife and children. If the father is dead, or separated from the family, and the mother is living with the family, she shall have her own share, and that of the children. If the father and mother are neither living with the family, or if the children are orphans, their share shall be retained till they are twenty-one years of age; provided, that such portions of it as may be necessary may, under the direction of the President, be from time to time applied for their support.  All other persons at the age of twenty-one years, shall receive their portions agreeably to the proper class. Out of the said fund of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, the sum of five thousand dollars shall be reserved to be applied, under the direction of the President, to the support of such of the poor half breeds, as may require assistance, to be expended in annual instalments for the term of ten years, commencing with the second year. Such of the half-breeds, as may be judged incapable of making a proper use of the money, allowed them by the commissioner, shall receive the same in instalments, as the President may direct.

ARTICLE SEVENTH. In consideration of the cessions above made, and as a further earnest of the disposition felt to do full justice to the Indians, and to further their well- being, the United States engage to keep two additional blacksmith-shops, one of which, shall be located on the reservation north of Grand river, and the other at Sault Ste. Marie. A permanent interpreter will be provided at each of these locations. It is stipulated to renew the present dilapidated shop at Michilimackinac, and to maintain a gunsmith, in addition to the present smith's establishment, and to build a dormitory for the Indians visiting the post, and appoint a person to keep it, and supply it with fire-wood. It is also agreed, to support two farmers and assistants, and two mechanics, as the President may designate, to teach and aid the Indians, in agriculture, and in the mechanic arts. The farmers and mechanics, and the dormitory, will be continued for ten years, and as long thereafter, as the President may deem this arrangement useful and necessary; but the benefits of the other stipulations of this article, shall be continued beyond the expiration of the annuities, and it is understood that the whole of this article shall stand in force, and insure to the benefit of the Indians, as long after the expiration of the twenty years as Congress may appropriate for the objects.

ARTICLE EIGHTH. It is agreed, that as soon as the said Indians desire it, a deputation shall be sent to the southwest of the Missouri River, there to select a suitable place for the final settlement of said Indians, which country, so selected and of reasonable extent, the United States will forever guaranty and secure to said Indians. Such improvements as add value to the land, hereby ceded, shall be appaised, and the amount paid to the proper Indian. But such payment shall, in no case, be assigned to, or paid to, a white man. If the church on the Cheboigan, shall fall within this cession, the value shall be paid to the band owning it. The net proceeds of the sale of the one hundred and sixty acres of land, upon the Grand River upon which the missionary society have erected their buildings, shall be paid to the said society, in lieu of the value of their said improvements. When the Indians wish it, the United States will remove them, at their expence, provide them a year's subsistence in the country to which they go, and furnish the same articles and equipments to each person as are stipulated to be given to the Pottowatomies in the final treaty of cession concluded at Chicago.

ARTICLE NINTH. Whereas the Ottawas and Chippewas, feeling a strong consideration for aid rendered by certain of their half-breeds on Grand river, and other parts of the country ceded, and wishing to testify their gratitude on the present occasion, have assigned such individuals certain locations of land, and united in a strong appeal for the allowance of the same in this treaty; and whereas no such reservations can be permitted in carrying out the special directions of the President on this subject, it is agreed, that, in addition to the general fund set apart for half-breed claims, in the sixth article, the sum of forty-eight thousand one hundred and forty-eight dollars shall be paid for the extinguishment of this class of claims, to be divided in the following manner: To Rix Robinson, in lieu of a section of land, granted to his Indian family, on the Grand river rapids, (estimated by good judges to be worth half a million) at the rate of thirty-six dollars an acre: To Leonard Slater, in trust for Chiminonoquat, for a section of land above said rapids, at the rate of ten dollars an acre: To John A. Drew, for a tract of one section and three quarters, to his Indian famiy, at Ceboigan rapids, at the rate of four dollars; to Edward Biddle, for one section to his Indian family at the fishing grounds, at the rate of three dollars: to John Holiday, for five sections of land to five persons of his Indian family, at the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents; to Eliza Cook, Sophia Biddle, and Mary Holiday, one section of land each, at two dollars and fifty cents: To Augustin Hamelin junr, being of Indian descent, two sections, at one dollar and twenty-five cents; to William Lasley, Joseph Daily, Joseph Trotier, Henry A. Levake, for two sections each, for their Indian families, at one dollar and twenty-five cents:  To Luther Rice, Joseph Lafrombois, Charles Butterfield, being of Indian descent, and to George Moran, Louis Moran, G. D. Williams, for half-breed children under their care, and to Daniel Marsac, for his Indian child, one section each, at one dollar and twenty-five cents.

ARTICLE TENTH. The sum of thirty thousand dollars shall be paid to the chiefs, on the ratification of this treaty, to be divided agreeably to a schedule hereunto annexed. [Schedule deleted]

ARTICLE ELEVENTH. The Ottawas having consideration for one of their aged chiefs, who is reduced to poverty, and it being known that he was a firm friend of the American Government, in that quarter, during the late war, and suffered much in consequence of his sentiments, it is agreed, that an annuity of one hundred dollars per annum shall be paid to Ningweegon or the Wing, during his natural life, in money or goods, as he may choose. Another of the chiefs of said nation, who attended the treaty of Greenville in [1795], and is now, at a very advanced age, reduced to extreme want, together with his wife, and the Government being apprized that he has pleaded a promise of Gen. Wayne, in his behalf, it is agreed that Chusco of Michilimackinac shall receive an annuity of fifty dollars per annum during his natural life.

ARTICLE TWELFTH. All expenses attending the journey of the Indians from, and to their homes, and their visit at the seat of Government, together with the expenses of the treaty, including a proper quantity of clothing to be given them, will be paid by the United States.

ARTICLE THIRTEENTH. The Indians stipulate for the right of hunting on the lands ceded, with the other usual privileges of occupancy, until the land is required for settlement.

In testimony whereof, the said Henry R. Schoolcraft, commissioner on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and delegates of the Ottawa and Chippewa nation of Indians, have hereunto set their hands, at Washington the seat of Government this twenty-eighth day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.

SUPPLEMENTAL ARTICLE. To guard against misconstruction in some of the foregoing provisions, and to secure, by further limitations, the just rights of the Indians, it is hereby agreed: that no claims under the fifth article shall be allowed for any debts contracted previous to the late war with Great Britain, or for goods supplied by foreigners to said Indians, or by citizens, who did not withdraw from the country, during its temporary occupancy by foreign troops, for any trade carried on by such persons during the said period. And it is also agreed: that no person receiving any commutation for a reservation, or any portion of the fund provided by the sixth article of this treaty, shall be entitled to the benefit of any part of the annuities herein stipulated. Nor shall any of the half-breeds, or blood relatives of the said tribes, commuted with, under the provisions of the ninth article, have any further claim on the general commutation fund, set apart to satisfy reservation claims, in the said sixth article. It is also understood, that the personal annuities, stipulated in the eleventh article, shall be paid in specie in the same manner that other annuities are paid. Any excess of the funds set apart in the fifth and sixth articles, shall, in lieu of being paid to the Indians, be retained and vested by the Government in stock under the conditions mentioned in the fourth article of this treaty.

In testimony whereof, the parties above recited, have hereunto set their hands, at Washington the seat of Government this thirty-first day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.

Source: https://www.cmich.edu/library/clarke/ResearchResources/Native_American_Material/Treaty_Rights/Text_of_Michigan_Related_Treaties/Pages/Washington,-1836.aspx