Indian Treaties and Congresses
Indian Treaties and Congresses.Treaties, although often broken and usually seen as expeditious and economical methods of relieving Native Americans of their lands, nevertheless have historically served as the foundations of tribal relations with the federal government. Hundreds of treaties were signed, but scholars disagree on the exact number and, significantly, on what an Indian treaty really means. There were probably more than 200 treaties concluded during the colonial period alone. The U.S. Senate ratified at least 367 treaties and perhaps, according to some scholars, as many as 5 to 8 more. Treaties negotiated but never ratified numbered over 150. States and citizens worked out treatylike agreements with several tribes, and individual communities also reached contractual agreements with Native American groups. The Confederate government made twelve treaties with Indian nations during the Civil War, and by the early 1870s...
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