1868 Treaty Field Area

1868 Treaty at Fort Laramie

NPS

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Across the Laramie River, beyond the trees, is a sweeping field. In 1868, this field was the setting for a solemn ceremony, at an unprecedented moment in Fort Laramie’s history.

 

Led by the Lakota chief Red Cloud, delegates from several tribes me there with United States representatives to negotiate a peace settlement: the second Treaty of Fort Laramie. The terms required Indians to live on “agencies,” or reservations, ending their traditional, nomadic way of life. In return, the United States would keep settlers out of Indian lands, particularly the Dakota Territory’s Black Hills – sacred to the Lakota.

 

The hard-won peace ended in 1874, when gold was discovered in the Black Hills. Each time the army removed miners, more simply took their place. When the United States government tried to purchase the territory, Lakota war chief Little Big Man denounced the offer.

 

Actor’s Voice: Little Big Man –

“I will kill the first Indian who speaks favorably to the selling of the Black Hills!”

 

Now turn away from the river, and face the fort. As Indians left the reservations, President Ulysses S. Grand issued them an ultimatum: return, or face military action. This set the stage for the Great Sioux War. Fort Laramie prepared for combat.

 

Actor’s Voice: Elizabeth Burt –

“In the spring of 1876, a startling order was received directing that every available man be prepared for field service; the post was to be stripped of every soldier not absolutely necessary for its protection. Other commands were to combine with this one, … to make a summer campaign against Chief Sitting Bull. …With aching hearts we watched the soldiers march away while the band played, ‘The Girl I left Behind Me.’ So many times have I listened to that mournful tune played when a command marches out of garrison to take the field. This time we knew so well there was to be fighting to the death.” - Elizabeth Burt

 

Most of the Indians associated with Fort Laramie belonged to the Great Plains nations. The dominant tribe was the Lakota, sometimes called the Sioux. Two other tribes also frequented the area: the Cheyenne and Arapaho.

 

By the 1850’s emigrants, crossing the plains threatened the buffalo population. Hostility between Indians and emigrants sometimes ended in bloodshed. The U.S. Army came to Fort Laramie to protect its citizens, and negotiate their safe passage with local tribes. The first Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1851 controlled contact between Indians and whites, and paid the tribes annually in food and manufactured goods.

 

This peace collapsed when the army built forts in Indian Territory, along the Bozeman Trail to the north. Lakota war chief Red Cloud forced the army to negotiate peace terms – making him the only Indian leader recognized as winning a war against the United States. In 1868, the second Treaty of Fort Laramie closed the Bozeman Trail, and made other concessions. In return, the Indians agreed to confine themselves to large reservations. But in 1876, continued friction over territory and the loss of the Black Hills sparked the Great Sioux War.

 

Fort Laramie became a staging area for campaigns to end Indian resistance on the Northern Plains. The war was costly for both sides. Eventually, most tribes returned to their reservations, or were starved into surrender. The war was over. The buffalo were gone. This was no longer Indian territory.

 

Actor’s Voice: Red Cloud –

“They made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they kept just one. They promised to take our land – and they took it.” – Red Cloud, Lakota