List of Choctaw Treaties - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

List of Choctaw Treaties is a comprehensive chronological list of historic agreements that directly or indirectly affected the Choctaw

Choctaw

The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...

people, an American Indian

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

tribe, with other nations. Choctaw land was systematically obtained through treaties, legislation, and threats of warfare. Treaties were made with Great Britain, France, and Spain. Nine treaties were signed with the United States. Some treaties, like the Treaty of San Lorenzo, indirectly affected the Choctaws.

The Choctaws considered European laws and diplomacy foreign and puzzling. The most confusing aspect of treaty making was writing which was impressive for a people who have not developed a written system. Choctaw history, as with many Native Americans, was passed orally from generation to generation. Europeans needed treaties to satisfy their cultural laws and ease their consciences. During treaty negotiations the three main Choctaw tribal areas (Upper Towns, Six town, and Lower Towns) had a "Miko" (chief) to represent them. Spain had the earliest claims to Choctaw country which was followed by French claims starting in the late 17th century. The United States, following the Treaty of San Lorenzo, laid claim to Choctaw country starting in 1795.

By the early 19th century pressure from U.S. southern states, like Georgia, encouraged the procurement of Native American lands. The Treaty of Fort Adams was the first in a series of treaties that ceded Choctaw lands. The Choctaws were relocated from their homeland, now known as the Deep South

Deep South

The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...

, to lands west of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

. Approximately 15,000 Choctaws made the move to what would be called Indian Territory

Indian Territory

The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

and then later Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

. About 2,500 died along the trail of tears

Choctaw Trail of Tears

The Choctaw Trail of Tears was the relocation of the Choctaw Nation from their country referred to now as the Deep South to lands west of the Mississippi River in Indian Territory in the 1830s...

. The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek signed away the remaining tradition homeland to the United States. There would be three waves of removals starting in 1831. After the final wave of removal in 1833, nearly 6000 Choctaws chose to stay in the newly formed state of Mississippi. The newly settled European-Americans persistently urged the Mississippi Choctaws to remove, but they refused. Although smaller Choctaw groups can be found throughout the U.S. south, Choctaws are mainly found in Oklahoma

Oklahoma

and Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

Treaties

Treaty	Year	Signed with	Location	Purpose	Ceded Land
Charleston	1738	Great Britain	Charleston, SC	Trade and Alliance	n/a
Mobile	1749	France	Mobile, AL	Trade and Alliance	n/a
Grandpre	1750	France	Choctaw Nation	Ended Choctaw Civil War	n/a
Augusta	1763	Georgia	Augusta, GA	Established "Indian/White" boundaries	n/a
Mobile	1783	Great Britain	Mobile, AL	Land Cession, Boundaries defined	n/a
Mobile	1783	Spain	Mobile, AL	Trade and Alliance	n/a
Charleston	1783	Great Britain	Charleston, SC	Trade and Amity	n/a
Pensacola	1784	Spain	Pensacola, FL	Trade and Alliance	n/a
Hopewell Treaty of Hopewell The Treaty of Hopewell is any of three different treaties signed at Hopewell Plantation. The plantation was owned by Andrew Pickens, and was located on the Seneca River in northwestern South Carolina. The treaties were signed between the Confederation Congress of the United States of America and...	1786	United States	Hopwell, SC	U.S. to serve as protectorate, Choctaw Nation boundaries defined	n/a
San Lorenzo Pinckney's Treaty Pinckney's Treaty, also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo or the Treaty of Madrid, was signed in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on October 27, 1795 and established intentions of friendship between the United States and Spain. It also defined the boundaries of the United States with the Spanish...	1795	Between Spain and United States	San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain	The treaty, without Choctaw participation, put Choctaw country under U.S. control	n/a
Fort Adams Treaty of Fort Adams The Treaty of Fort Adams was signed on December 17, 1801 between the Choctaw and the United States Government. The treaty ceded about of Choctaw land...	1801	United States	Mississippi Territory	Re-defined Choctaw cession to England and permission for Natchez Trace	2641920 acres (10,691.5 km²)
Fort Confederation Treaty of Fort Confederation The Treaty of Fort Confederation was signed on October 17, 1802 between the Choctaw and the United States Government. The treaty ceded about of Choctaw land, including the site of Fort Tombecbe, also known as Fort Confederation....	1802	United States	Mississippi Territory	Boundary re-defined, and lands ceded	10000 acres (40.5 km²)
Hoe Buckintoopa Treaty of Hoe Buckintoopa The Treaty of Hoe Buckintoopa was signed on August 31, 1803 between the Choctaw and the United States Government. The treaty ceded about of Choctaw land.-Terms:The preamble begins with,1...	1803	United States	Choctaw Nation	Small cession of Tombigbee River and redefined English treaty of 1765	853760 acres (3,455 km²)
Mount Dexter Treaty of Mount Dexter The Treaty of Mount Dexter was signed between the United States and the Choctaws. The treaty was signed November 16, 1805. The area ceded was from the Natchez District to the Tombigbee Alabama River watershed, mostly in present-day Mississippi.-Terms:...	1805	United States	Choctaw Nation (Mississippi)	Large cession from Natchez District to the Tombigbee Alabama River watershed	4142720 acres (16,765 km²)
Fort St. Stephens Treaty of Fort St. Stephens The Treaty of Fort St. Stephens or Treaty of Choctaw Trading House was signed between the United States and the Choctaws. The treaty was signed at the Choctaw trading house on October 24, 1816. It ceded of Choctaw land east of the Tombigbee River. The land was exchanged for 6,000 US dollars...	1816	United States	Fort St. Stephens (Alabama)	Ceded all Choctaw land east of Tombigbee River	10000 acres (40.5 km²)
Doak's Stand Treaty of Doak's Stand The Treaty of Doak's Stand was signed on October 18, 1820 between the United States and the Choctaw Indian tribe. Based on the terms of the accord, the Choctaw agreed to give up approximately one-half of their remaining Choctaw homeland...	1820	United States	Natchez Trace, Choctaw Nation (Mississippi)	Exchanged cession in Mississippi for parcel in Arkansas and prepare the Choctaws to become citizens of the United States	5169788 acres (20,921.4 km²)
Washington City Treaty of Washington City The Treaty of Washington City was a treaty signed on January 20, 1825 between the Choctaw and the United States Government.-Overview:...	1825	United States	Washington, D.C.	Exchanged Arkansas land for Oklahoma parcel	2000000 acres (8,093.7 km²)
Dancing Rabbit Creek Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was a treaty signed on September 27, 1830 between the Choctaw and the United States Government. This was the first removal treaty carried into effect under the Indian Removal Act...	1830	United States	Choctaw Nation (Mississippi)	Removal and granting U.S. citizenship	10523130 acres (42,585.6 km²)
Comanche	1835	United States	Muscogee Nation (Indian Territory)	Peace and friendship among various tribes	n/a
Bowles Village	1836	Republic of Texas	Texas Cherokees and Twelve Associated Bands-Yowani Choctaw (Texas)	Acquisition of Title for east Texas lands based upon previous 1822 Mexican grant	1500000 acres (6,070.3 km²)
Choctaws and Chickasaws Treaty with Choctaws and Chickasaws The Treaty with Choctaws and Chickasaws was a treaty signed on July 12, 1861 between the Choctaw and Chickasaw and the Confederate States of America. At the beginning of the American Civil War, Albert Pike was appointed as Confederate envoy to Native Americans...	1861	Confederate States of America Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...	Creek Nation (Indian Territory)	Serve as protectorate, admit Indian Nations as Confederate states	n/a
Choctaw and Chickasaws	1866	United States	Washington, D.C	Besides granting amnesty for past crimes against the U.S. Government, this treaty also encourages the Choctaws and Chickasaws to seek cooperation from the plains Indians to the west.	n/a

Indian Appropriations Act of 1871

In 1871 Congress added a rider to the Indian Appropriations Act to end the United States' recognizing additional Indian tribes or nations, and prohibiting additional treaties.

Treaties

Indian Appropriations Act of 1871

See also