Medicine Lodge Treaty
Medicine Lodge, Kansas, USA
What happened
The US government wanted to end the wars on the southern Plains and move tribes away from the routes of settlers. At a great council by Medicine Lodge Creek, the tribes agreed to give up large lands in exchange for smaller reservations in Indian Territory (today Oklahoma). Leaders who signed included Ten Bears of the Comanche, Satanta of the Kiowa and Black Kettle of the Cheyenne.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It shaped the reservations of the southern Plains nations. The tribes never approved later land sales by the three-quarters vote the treaty required, which led to long legal disputes.
What came next
Later US laws and court decisions took more tribal land. In the 20th century the tribes won compensation through the Indian Claims Commission.
Did you know?
At the council, the Comanche chief Ten Bears said: 'I want no blood upon my land to stain the grass.'
Timeline
- 21 October 1867Treaty with the Kiowa, Comanche and Plains Apache.
- 28 October 1867Treaty with the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho.
- 1903 CELone Wolf v. Hitchcock court decision.
- 1927 CEFirst Peace Treaty Pageant at Medicine Lodge.