Treaty of Fort Laramie 1851
The Treaty of Fort Laramie 1851 "Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851)", also called "Horse Creek Treaty" or English "Horse Creek Treaty", is a treaty concluded on September 17, 1851 between the United States of America and the Indian tribes of the Cheyenne , Sioux , Arapaho , Crow , Assiniboine , Mandan , Hidatsa , and Arikara . The United States confirmed the tribal territory without ceding land. In return, the representatives of various Indian tribes allowed the USA to build roads and military posts on their land, for example for the passage of settlers to Oregon , the so-called Oregon Trail . It was an annual payment of 50,000 for dollars agreed for a period of 50 years.
Since there was not enough space in Fort Laramie for the approximately 10,000 participating Indians and their horses, the negotiations did not take place in the fort, but about 30 miles south on Horse Creek. The United States Senate ratified the treaty but changed Section 5 by reducing the period of payments from 50 to 10 years. The contract and the signing of the contract was problematic for several reasons. The United States insisted on negotiating with a few chiefs . That was not in keeping with the Indian tradition. Because of their understanding of democracy, they demanded the participation of the largest possible number of participants and decision-makers. There were far too few translators for the large number of people involved, as the contract was only written in English . Finally, a few chiefs were appointed as representatives, but these did not necessarily have the support of the Indians present and could not control them. The biggest problem, however, was that none of the parties involved kept to the contract. With the passage of more and more settlers on the trails, there were also minor skirmishes with the Indians, which in 1854 turned into a military conflict. The settlers who passed through there brought diseases with them and drove away the bison . The contractually agreed peace between the different tribes was also not observed.
In 1868 another treaty was signed with various Indian tribes, the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868 , which led to the establishment of the Great Sioux Reservation .