Treaties

This section references primary sources that contain direct transcripts of treaties and discuss the diplomatic relations and conditions which generated them, as well as secondary sources discussing the process of treaty-making and the results of various agreements. This section is also subdivided into three categories: Land cession treaties to individuals (1780-1797); treaties with the British (1768-1795); and treaties with the Americans (1785-1828).

Entries are separated into three categories: land grants to individuals, treaties with the British, and treaties with the United States. They are further separated into General Documents, which are secondary sources and are listed alphabetically by author, and Primary Documents, which are listed chronologically.

Land Grants to Individuals

General Documents

"Indian Deeds of Real Estate." Vol. 10, (1888): 129-130.

Describes the totemic symbols that Indians often used when signing such documents, the nature of the land deed (narrow strips), and the collaboration of the US and Canadian governments.

Primary Documents

Williams, J. "Deed of Gift." 1780. Vol. 12, (1888): 623-626.

Two documents by which lands are given to James Abbott of Detroit by Potawatomi and Ojibwe Indians.

"An Indian Deed." September 22, 1780. Vol. 5, (1884): 551-552.

A complete copy of a deed of land from the "Ochipwe nations of Indians at Detroit" to William Tucker. Ten Ojibwe chiefs signed the treaty, each with his own pictograph.

G. Bird to Captain Matthews. October 15, 1783. Vol. 20, (1892): 191-192.

"Indian Deed to Jacob Schieffelin." October 13, 1783. Vol. 20, (1892): 193-195.

Frederick Haldimand to John Johnson. November 15, 1783. Vol. 20, (1892): 199-200.

Alexander McKee to Johnson. November 1783. Vol. 20, (1892): 203.

Haldimand to Jehu Hay. August 14, 1784. Vol. 20, (1892): 246-247.

"Release - Chippewa Chiefs to James May and Others." 1797. Vol. 8, (1886): 498-499.

Complete text of a deed of land sale between six chiefs and various settlers.

Treaties with the British

Bruce, T. "Deed of the Indians." August 1768. Vol. 10, (1888): 235-236.

Agreement between the Odawa and Ojibwe nations and the British government over the possession of Hogg Island. Includes examples of elaborate Indian signing totems or pictographs.

"Indian Deed for the Island of Mackinac." May 12, 1781. Vol. 10, (1886): 633-634.

Ojibwes give Mackinac to the British for £5000. Includes pictographs of five chiefs.

Lord Dorchester to Lord Sydney. 1785. Vol. 12, (1888): 9-10.

Summarizes the boundaries agreed to in the treaty of Fort McIntosh in 1785. He also relates the anger of and the threat posed by those Indians who did not sign the treaty.

"The Merchants of Montreal Concerned in the Michilimackinac Trade." July 1787. Vol. 23, (1893): 605-607.

Pertaining to a peace treaty between the British and the Odawa, Sioux, and Pecants. Includes the text of the treaty.

J. G. Simcoe to Henry Dundas. July 3, 1794. Vol. 24, (1894): 674-678.

Explains the controversy over boundaries set up between the Indians and the US in the Treaty of Paris. He says that the US are violating it, but that British newspaper opinion holds the British government to be responsible.

Alexander McKee to Joseph Chew. October 24, 1795. Vol. 25, (1894): 104.

Letter concerning the purchase of twelve square miles of land near Chenail Ecarte above Lake St. Clair on the Canadian side from the Ojibwe. Includes a copy of the treaty with pictographs of various chiefs.

Treaties with the United States

General Documents

Cannon, George H. "History of the Township of Shelby, Macomb County, Michigan." Vol. 17, (1890): 419-429.

Discusses the treaties of 1814, 1817, and 1819 with the Wyandots, Ojibwe, Potawatomi , Delaware, Odawa, Shawnee, Seneca, and Miami. Also discusses one 1797 attempt to defraud the Ojibwe out of their land.

Felch, Alpheus. "The Indians of Michigan and the Cession of Their Lands to the United States by Treaties." Vol. 26, (1895): 274-297.

Contains a discussion of each treaty from 1784 to 1842. Detailed account of reservations, the cession of land to individuals, annuities, and the personalities who negotiated the treaties.

Webber, William L. "Indian Cession of 1819, Made by the Treaty of Saginaw." Vol. 26, (1895): 517-534.

Recounts an 1860 trial at Saginaw over the identity of one of the Indians named in the treaty, reprinting the testimony of seven chiefs who had been present at the signing. Contains a good discussion of the problems with the spelling of Indian names. Also, a short discussion of the treaties before Saginaw.

Primary Documents

"Articles of Agreement between the United States and the Indians." January 21, 1785. Vol. 25, (1894): 687-689.

Treaty of Fort Macintosh between the US and the Wyandots, Delaware, Ojibwe, and Odawa. Details the return of prisoners, a boundary line, the establishment of posts, and other topics.

"Treaty at the Big Miamis." January 31, 1786. Vol. 24, (1894): 2-24.

Text of treaty between the US and the Shawnee near the Ohio River.

"Land Grant from the Ottawa and Chippewa Nations." May 15, 1786. Vol. 24, (1894): 27-29.

Odawa and Ojibwe ceding land from the Detroit River to the Canard River, including Bois Blanc Island. Includes the pictographs or totems of five chiefs.

"Abstract of Treat at Fort Harmar." January 9, 1789. Vol. 24, (1894): 41-42.

Treaty between the US and the Wyandot, Delaware, Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi , and Iroquois. Confirms the 1785 Treaty of Fort Macintosh and fixes boundaries. An attached memorandum states that the Indians have no intention of holding to this treaty because their principal chiefs were absent at the signing.

Lindley, Jacob, et. al. "Expedition to Detroit, 1793." Vol. 17, (1890): 565-671.

Account of three Quakers' attendance at the 1793 treaty of Sandusky.

"Reply of the Six Nations to the Secretary of War." May 3, 1794. Vol. 12, (1888): 112-114.

An Onondaga chief named Clear Sky expresses his people's dissatisfaction with past treaties made with the US. He also proposes a new boundary line.

"Articles of Peace between Gen. Anthony Wayne and the Indians." February 11, 1795. Vol. 20, (1892): 393-394.

Basic peace treaty ending hostilities, but no land changing hands yet. Signed by Anthony Wayne and Blue Jacket, among others. Followed by the Treaty of Greenville.

Treaty of Greenville. August 3, 1795. Vol. 20, (1892): 410-419.

Full text of treaty that ended the hostilities between the US and the Indian confederacy after the Battle of Fallen Timbers.

"Report of the Governor and Judges of Michigan Territory to Congress." October 10, 1805. Vol. 36, (1908): 103-111.

Discusses the extinguishment of Indian title to land by the governments of Canada and the United States.

William Hull to Henry Dearborn. February 20, 1807. Vol. 40, (1929): 100-103.

Hull received orders to make a treaty with the Indians near Detroit ceding their lands and forming reservations. This eventually became the Treaty of Detroit signed later that year.

Obiwaois to Hull. November 8, 1806. Vol. 40, (1929): 113-114.

Hull to Dearborn. May 6, 1807. Vol. 40, (1929): 112-113.

Hull to Obiwaois. May 6, 1807. Vol. 40, (1929): 114-115.

Hull to Wyandot Chiefs. May 6, 1807. Vol. 40, (1929): 115-117.

Ojibwe and Wyandot chiefs are angry that their annuities are not being paid. Hull blames mistakes by New York banks and the chiefs themselves, saying that they should have come to Detroit and gotten their annuities at an earlier date.

Hull to Dearborn. July 11, 1807. Vol. 40, (1929): 153-154.

Receipt of annuities, a report on the progress of a council with the Odawa, Ojibwe, Wyandots, and Potawatomi , and the assurance that the Saginaw chiefs are on their way to the council.

Hull to Dearborn. July 23, 1807. Vol. 40, (1929): 157-159.

Hull has delivered the annuities to the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Wyandots. The Indians seem happy, but the Saginaw chiefs refuse this money on orders from the Shawnee Prophet.

Hull to Dearborn. October 6, 1807. Vol. 40, (1929): 205-206.

Includes a list of the goods and money the Wyandots want for their annuity.

Hull to Dearborn. November 4, 1807. Vol. 40, (1929): 212-214.

Progress report on the treaty negotiations at Detroit with the Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi , and Wyandots. Includes the terms of the proposed treaty, a description of the land, and a short discussion of Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Prophet.

Hull to Dearborn. November 18, 1807. Vol. 40, (1929): 219-221.

Includes text of the Treaty of Detroit and an estimate of the landmass given up by the Indians. Aulieauney, a chief of the Odawa, wants a scarf imprinted with the guarantee of annuity. The Indian nations want their reservations run quickly, and the Odawa request goods instead of money for their annuity.

"John R. Williams to Messrs. Boyd and Storm. Burton Library, Gen. John R. Williams Papers, Vol. 19, p. 63. Detroit, 12 Aug 1808." Vol. 37, (1910): 75-76.

Discusses Indians assembling at Detroit to receive annuities and a short battle that took place following the capture of an Indian fugitive.

Hull to Dearborn. November 15, 1808. Vol. 40, (1929): 271-274.

Deals with annuities from the Treaties of Greenville and Detroit owed to the Odawa, Ojibwe, Wyandot, and Potawatomi. Includes a list of goods requested by the Ojibwe and the Wyandots.

Williams, Ephraim S. "A Certificate or Statement Made by Chippewa Chiefs, Signers of the Treaty of 1819, Fully Recognizing the Rights and Claims of the Children of Jacob Smith." Vol. 8, (1886): 140-144.

Title is self-explanatory.

"Ratification of Treaty." Detroit Gazette, February 19, 1819. Vol. 16, (1890): 665-681.

Report of the Treaty of the Foot of the Rapids between the US and the Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, Shawnee, Potawatomi , Odawa, and Ojibwe. It was signed on September 29, 1817 and ratified on January 4, 1819. Includes the text of the treaty.

Lewis Cass to Thomas McKenney. September 22, 1828. Vol. 36, (1908): 565-566.

Discusses the Treaty of Carey Mission with the Potawatomi for the cession of lands in Michigan.