Home Sweet Paper Bonded Hell

Since what feels like the beginning of time, at least time as we know it for the birth of the United States Government, that same body of exacting power and control has been the commanding force behind the abuses and maltreatment that Native Americans from shore to shore have been forced to endure. The list of atrocities committed against these people by a government that boasts so many so called freedoms is plentiful and astounding in nature. It goes without saying that the lies and deceptions that are treaties are at the forefront of this list. Many treaties were at their very basis a one sided sales contract for the land. Many promises were made within these treaties and many of them over time were ultimately broken. The treaty made with the Cheyenne Arapaho tribe in 1867 also referred to as the Medicine Lodge Treaty, was no less deplorable than most others. This treaty was for the establishment of the Oklahoma reservation that was to be the permanent residence for all current and succeeding members of the tribe. The fact that this is the location that was designated for these two tribes to settle upon and start their new lives as Christian farmers seems relatively odd considering that the Cheyenne people are originally from the Great Lakes area and the Arapaho are a people from Canada and many north-western states like Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota. Neither tribe were residing in the area where the reservation was established at that time (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes).
When two separate bodies of individuals who speak different languages come together to sign such a document, the question that comes to mind is whether both parties were even able to understand each other. Most of the time when such treaties were made the United States Government had an appointed translator working for them. How much were the Native Americans able to really understand and comprehend with this so blatant of a language barrier? Since the concept of owning the land was in no way a part of Native culture and belief could they really have understood the terms to which they were agreeing upon? In addition, not all of these treaties were made with the best of will or intentions. Often tribes would be bribed with gifts of money and goods and promises for the continuation of receiving these things over time. Even some times the use of alcohol was used as a ploy to make some of the people more agreeable to the rash terms of the contract. In almost all of the articles within the 1867 treaty with the Cheyenne and Arapaho the intentions of the government and viewpoints that these people were in fact to be regarded as some sort of sub human species appears to be evident. The word choices made and the descriptions of the terms of this document are disgusting and demeaning.


In article one of this treaty it states the pledge for peace by both parties involved with stipulations for wrongdoers who are here known as “bad men”. In summation, if a white person commits a crime against a person or property of the Natives, proof must be provided and reimbursement for the loss sustained may be paid. On the other hand if a person of the tribe commits a crime against anyone, with the inclusion of “blacks” as stated by the treaty, this person must be “delivered” to the government by the assigned reservation agent and upon judgment, money may be withheld from the tribe as use for restitution for the crime. In this particular article it seems clear that the United States is far more willing to prosecute a member of the tribe and set forth punishments that effect on a far greater scale for Natives. It would seem to say that for tribal members’ innocence must be proven and guilt for whites in the case of criminal activity.


In article two it goes on to set out the parameters of the reservation. The language, as with most other treaties in determining the boundaries is confusing with the repetitive use of the word “thence”. This determination of boundaries feels much more like a run-on sentence than anything and twice makes mention of “the middle of the main channel” for two separate bodies of water and also gives as a borderline “the place of beginning”. This sort of language is confusing even to a person fluent in the English language. The even more interesting part of this certain article is it goes on to state that this section of designated land “is hereby set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Indians herein named”. To most people the word “absolute” has a tone of certainty, apparently here absolute has a totally separate meaning because the land of the reservation was subjected to allotment in 1892, a mere 25 years later. In the same year 3.5 million acres of the original 4 million acres of reservation land were claimed for allotment and went up for sale to 25,000 buyers in what was called a “run” (Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture).


It is clear as to why this section of land was chosen for the Cheyenne Arapaho. According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture the “Sooners” turned down participation in the run for land because of its desolation and the barren soil of the area. It also described how water had to be hauled in from miles in buckets and food was so scarce that even settlers were often starved out. Living with these sorts of conditions made this area of Oklahoma a hostile place for both parties. “From the beginning, tensions existed between Indians and non-Indians, especially because reservation Indians had received their allotments before the run and had received the best land” (Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture). It is evident with the withstanding opinions on Native and White relations that this Oklahoma wasteland was just another systematic and cruel ploy by the United States for the extermination of the indigenous population.


In article four of the treaty a detailed description of a funds distribution plan is laid out. One of the items listed is a “warehouse or store-room for the use of the agent in storing goods belonging to the Indians, to cost not exceeding fifteen hundred dollars” (Indian Affairs). This warehouse which is described to be “for” the storage of goods for the tribe of 4,000 members approximates out to a mere .26 cents of storage space per person. On the other hand many other buildings were described in the treaty and funds were to be allocated, such as the personal residence of the agent himself at which the modest cost could not exceed 3,000 dollars. There are many other buildings that are for similar usage at this same cost, or to state more appropriately singular usage. The government so generously promised for the use of the tribe to be determined by the agent one physician, one carpenter, one farmer, one blacksmith, one miller, one engineer and if the children can be “induced” to attend school, one teacher to aid the 4,000 members of the tribe (Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture). Jumping to article nine, the United States has the right to remove the aid and services provided by these valuable employees at any time after the minimum of ten years after the drafting of this treaty (Indian Affairs).


In article 6 of this treaty are the instructions for the use of the land. Before allotment this land was held communally. Allotment was the process of dividing the great single land holding into far smaller parcels and given to individual members of the tribe at a maximum acreage with the excess lands sold off to non-native or white settlers. Before allotment individuals were bestowed with the right to claim a section of land for their own and willfully give up their cultural identity by becoming a Christian farmer and agriculturist. The tract of land that was selected for an individual with these goals and intentions could then be given a form of title to the land by having their name written down in what the treaty calls a “land book” with a description of the land they were to farm. The individual or head of household could continue to lay claim to their section of land “so long as he or they may continue to cultivate it” (Indian Affairs). As mentioned previously, this land was deemed barren and fruitless by the encroaching white settlers making it so that anyone entering into this agreement would ultimately fail and have their selected lands revoked. Another stipulation of this article is that “the president may at any time order a survey of the reservation, and, when so surveyed, Congress shall provide for protecting the rights of settlers in their improvements, and may fix the character of the title held by each”, simply stating in another way that this land may be revoked at any moment for a multitude of reasons (Indian Affairs).


Article eleven lays out hunting rights and a detailed description of “don’ts” for the tribe. Through the generosity of the United States government the members of the tribe will retain the right to hunt buffalo and even outside of the borders of the reservation. This right will remain to be upheld only as long as the buffalo continue to range in a specified area as well as retain the numbers of the heard. Because of the “benefits and advantages” offered to tribal members through this “advantageous” treaty the tribe should feel compelled to observe a simple list of “don’ts”. Most of this list is comprised of the withdrawing of any oppositions to the United States for the endeavors of manifest destiny such as railroads and their construction. The fourth and fifth items on the list seem to be by far the most interesting. “They will never capture or carry off from the settlements white women or children” and “They will never kill or scalp white men, nor attempt to do them harm” (Indian Affairs). The inclusion of these statements is just vulgar.


After reading through just this one treaty and thoroughly examining the language and statements made by the United States government I find that it is clear that the government does not hold high regard for the indigenous peoples of this continent. The obvious clues to this statement is that they moved these two separate tribes together to a land that is barren and no good for farming as also stated by other settlers, provided 4,000 people with the aid of only 8 people to prevail them to become Christian farmers and ultimately took back the land that was supposed to be set aside for the tribe under the term “absolute”. This treaty is just one of many but still holds as a shining example of the degradations that Native Americans and their culture have been forced to endure since the moment of contact and onward.





Works Cited:


"Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheyenne_and_Arapaho_Tribes>.






"Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture." Oklahoma State University - Library - Home. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. <http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CH031.html>.






"INDIAN AFFAIRS: LAWS AND TREATIES. Vol. 2, Treaties." Oklahoma State University - Library - Home. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. <http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/che0984.htm>.