The federal government entered into treaties with Indian tribes between 1778 and 1871.
Most treaties between the United States and Indian tribes were compiled in volume 7 of United States Statutes at Large; some treaties are in volumes 1-16. (HeinOnline has all of United States Statutes at Large, so if you have a citation to one of the other volumes, you can go there. See the Finding Aids, below.)
Photo: Treaty signing by William T. Sherman and the Sioux at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, photographed by Alexander Gardner, 1868. From National Archives American Indian Select List number 30. For information about the Fort Laramie treaty, see this page by National Museum of the American Indian.
Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations (National Archives). (1:22:59)
Kevin Gover, Director of the National Museum of the American Indian, and Suzan Shown Harjo, guest curator of the “Nation to Nation” exhibit, explore the promises, diplomacy, and betrayals involved in treaties and treaty making between the United States government and Native Nations. One side sought to own the riches of North America and the other struggled to hold on to traditional homelands and ways of life. The book reveals how the ideas of honor, fair dealings, good faith, rule of law, and peaceful relations between nations have been tested and challenged in historical and modern times.
Charles Kappler, the clerk of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, began compiling laws concerning and treaties with Indians in 1903. His compilation is commonly known simply as "Kappler."
For more on Charles Kappler, see 61 Law Libr. J. 314-316, available on Hein Online.
U.S. National Archives, Documents Relating to the Negotiation of Ratified and Unratified Treaties with Various Tribes of Indians 1801-69. Available on HeinOnline (UW Restricted) and at the UW's Suzzallo Library's Microform Collection (Microfilm A8207). Included in this collection are handwritten transcripts of the treaty negotiations/proceedings.
Consists of 10 microfilm reels, containing the following:
Hint: The best way to find the underlying treaty proceeding documents for a particular tribe's treaty is to focus on the date it was signed and whether it was ratified. For instance, Treaty of Neah Bay (the Makah Treaty) was signed on January 31, 1855, and it was ratified, so the underyling treaty proceedings can be found on Reel 5.
The federal government entered into seven treaties with tribes in Washington Territory.
The Governor's Office of Indian Affairs provides the texts of:
The same treaties, with citations to Stat. and links to Kappler:
Image: first page of Treaty of Point Elliott. Washington Secretary of State.