The Traverse Des Sioux Treaty - Paper Example

Introduction

Treaties are agreements between sovereign entities that occur between nations. The agreements are signed between different political groups which can set rules while they determine their membership and take care of their territory. I will be looking at the Traverse des Sioux treaty which was signed between the Dakota and the U.S government over their beautiful lands on the West of Mississippi.

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The Traverse des Sioux treaty was signed in the year 1851 in Minnesota between the four Dakota bands and the United States government. It involved the Dakota ceding their lands in the west of Mississippi. The Dakota surrendered large tracts of land, and they agreed to move to the reservations along the Minnesota River in exchange for cash and goods. On July 23 1851 the treaty was signed and it was instigated by Alexander Ramsey who was an Indian Commissioner. For the Dakota, this treaty had them dismissed from their homeland.

The controversy surrounding this issue was that the Wahpeton of the Upper Dakota were hesitant to surrender the land, but the older members of the tribes believed that they did not have a choice. This left them with no choice but cede their lands in Southern Minnesota together with some lands in the Dakota Territory. The other controversy that surrounded this treaty was that the Dakota were represented with trade papers that paid ninety thousand dollars of the promised annuity. They believed that they were tricked into signing the papers. This trader paper allowed them to take inland currency. The Dakota agreed to sign the treaty after which they asked for a copy. They were made to sign yet another copy yet they did not understand what the document meant. The third copy claimed that the money that had been promised to the Dakota for their lands would instead to the traders as a way or reclaiming their trade debts.(Lucile 77)

After a long struggle, the treaty was signed on July 23. The event was conducted with dignity between the Indians and the Commissioners. The Chiefs signed the treaty and were awarded medals which bore the head of the U.S president. On course of that afternoon, the Indians were presented with a lot of gifts including blankets, powder, cloths, and tobacco. The treaty has been honored since the Indians have continued to receive gifts.

In my assessment, the terms to these treaties were not very fair. The benefits received were not very sustainable. They only received goods that they needed at that particular time. The hunting had become unsustainable for them as the hunting grounds had been depleted after many years of the fur trade. The Dakota chiefs had been reluctant to sell their land, but they didn't have a choice since they would have lost the land anyway due to the debts owed. The terms of the treaty were unfavorable to the Dakota since the traders even looked for ways to reclaim the money that had been promised to the Dakota. The Dakota were denied of their traditional culture which contributed to feelings of discontent and poor living conditions.

Conclusion

The treaty had more disadvantages than advantages. The Sioux people did not have a choice but give out their land because even if they give it out, they ran the risk of losing it with no compensation. The U.S acted as though they were helping the Dakota to transition from hunting to European American settled farming, but in real sense, they were taking the land way.

Works Cited

Lucile, M. The Sioux Treaties and the Traders. Vol. 3, 1951, pp. 65-80. Retrieved from www.treatiesmatter.org.