“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 43rd 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
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