Done at Ottawa, Kansas, this first day of September, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight. JOHN WILSON, his x mark. [SEAL.] J. T. JONES, [SEAL.] For the Ottawas of Blanchard's Fork and Roche de Bœuf. Done near Wyandotte, Kansas, this fifteenth day of September, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight. Now, therefore, be it known that I, ANDREW JOHNSON, President of Proclaimed the United States of America, do, in pursuance of the advice and consent of the Senate, as expressed in its resolution of the eighteenth of June, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, accept, ratify, and confirm the said treaty, with the amendments, as aforesaid. In testimony whereof, I have hereto signed my name, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this fourteenth day of October, in the of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, [SEAL.] year and of the Independence of the United States of America the ANDREW JOHNSON. ninety-third. By the President: WILLIAM H. SEward, VOL. XV. TREAT. - 34 Treaty between the United States of America and the Pottawatomie Tribe ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, TO ALL AND SINGULAR TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, GREETING: WHEREAS a treaty was made and concluded at the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, on the twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, by and between Lewis V. Bogy, W. H. Watson, Thomas Murphy, and L. R. Palmer, commissioners on the part of the United States, and Mazhee, Mianco, Shawgwe, B. H. Bertrand, J. N. Bourassa, M. B. Beaubien, L. H. Ogee, and George L. Young, of the Pottawatomie tribe of Indians, and duly authorized thereto by them, which treaty is in the words and figures following, to wit: Feb. 27, 1867. Proclamation. Articles of agreement concluded at Washington, D. C., on the twenty- Contracting seventh day of February, 1867, between the United States, repre- parties. sented by Lewis V. Bogy, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, W. H. Watson, Special Commissioner, Thos. Murphy, Sup't of Indian Affairs for Kansas, and Luther R. Palmer, U. S. Indian Agent, duly authorized, and the Pottawatomie tribe of Indians, represented by their chiefs, braves, and headmen, to wit: Mazhee, Mianco, Shawgwe, B. H. Bertrand, J. N. Bourassa, M. B. Beaubien, L. H. Ogee, and G. L. Young. Whereas the Pottawatomies believe that it is for the interest of their tribe that a home should be secured for them in the "Indian country south of Kansas, while there is yet an opportunity for the selection of a suitable reservation; and whereas the tribe has the means of purchasing such reservation from funds due and to become due under the provisions of previous treaties, without interfering with the exclusive rights of those of their people who hold their lands in common: Now, therefore, it is agreed See post, p. 535. vation. ARTICLE I. It being the intention of the government that a commis- Commission sion shall visit the Indian country as soon as practicable after the ratifi- to select a reset cation of the treaties contemplating the removal of certain tribes from Kansas, accompanied by delegates from the several tribes proposing to remove, it is agreed that a delegation of the Pottawatomies may accompany said commission in order to select, if possible, a suitable location for their people without interfering with the locations made for other Indians; and if such location shall be found satisfactory to the Pottawatomies, Extent of res and approved by the Secretary of the Interior, such tract of land, not ervation. exceeding thirty miles square, shall be set apart as a reservation for the exclusive use and occupancy of that tribe; and upon the survey of its lines and boundaries, and ascertaining of its area, and payment to the United States for the same, as hereinafter mentioned and set forth, the said tract shall be patented to the Pottawatomie nation: Provided, That if the said Pottawatomies shall prefer to select a new home among the Cherokees, by agreement with the said Cherokees for a price within the Proviso. •Price to be ervation. means of the Pottawatomies, the government will confirm such agree ment. ARTICLE II. In case the new reservation shall be selected upon the paid for the res- lands purchased by the government from the Creeks, Seminoles, or ChocSee post, p. 535. taws, the price to be paid for the said reservation shall not exceed the cost of the same to the government of the United States; and the sum to be paid by the tribe for said reservation shall be taken from the amount provided to be paid by the Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western Railroad Company for the lands sold to them under the treaty of eighteen hundred and sixty-one, which amount is the common property of the tribe: Provided, That if the United States shall advance the amount necessary to purchase the new reservation, the interest due upon the deferred payments for the land sold to the Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western Railroad Company shall, when received, be retained by the United States, and credited to the tribe in payment for said reservation. Proviso. Reservation not to be includ ed in any State, &c. Vol. xiv. pp. 758, 772, 802. Register to be made of members of tribe who desire to remove or remain. Sale, &c. of lands. &c. Moneys to be ARTICLE III. After such reservation shall have been selected and set apart for the Pottawatomies, it shall never be included within the jurisdiction of any State or Territory, unless an Indian territory shall be organized, as provided for in certain treaties made in eighteen hundred and sixty-six with the Choctaws and other tribes occupying the "Indian country"; in which case, or in case of the organization of a legislative council or other body, for the regulation of matters affecting the relations of the tribes to each other, the Pottawatomies resident thereon shall have the right to representation, according to their numbers, on equal terms with the other tribes. ARTICLE IV. A register shall be made, under the direction of the agent and the business committee of the tribe, within two years after the ratification of this treaty, which shall show the names of all members of the tribe who declare their desire to remove to the new reservation, and of all who desire to remain and to become citizens of the United States; and after the filing of such register in the office of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, all existing restrictions shall be removed from the sale and alienation of lands by adults who shall have declared their intention to remove to the new reservation: But, provided, That no person shall be allowed to receive to his own use the avails of the sale of his land, unless he shall have received the certificate of the agent and business committee that he is fully competent to manage his own affairs; nor shall any person also be allowed to sell and receive the proceeds of the sale of the lands belonging to his family, unless the certificate of the agent and business committee shall declare him competent to take the charge of their property; but such persons may negotiate for the sales of their property and that of their families, and any contracts for sales so made, if certified by the agent and business committee to be at reasonable rates, shall be confirmed by the Secretary of the Interior, and patents shall issue to the purchaser upon full payment; and all payments for such land shall be made to the agent, and the funds by him deposited on the first of each month in some government depository to be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury, and triplicate certificates of deposit taken therefor, one to be forwarded to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, one to be retained at the agency, and the third to be sent to the Superintendent of Indian affairs for Kansas; after which deposit the United States will be responsible for said funds until drawn out for use as hereinafter provided, and the bonds of the agent shall be increased to a sufficient amount to cover his increased liabilities under this section. ARTICLE V. The moneys received and deposited as provided in the retained until, preceding article shall be retained until the party on whose behalf it is held shall be ready to remove to the new reservation, and shall then, or such part thereof as may from time to time be necessary, be drawn out, under the direction of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, by the agent, and expended for the benefit of the owner in providing for his removal and that of his family to the new reservation, and in such articles and for such uses as may, with the advice of the business committee, be deemed for his best interest at his new home. former treaty to Patents not to ARTICLE VI. The provisions of article third of the treaty of April Provisions of nineteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, relative to Pottawatomies Article III. of who desire to become citizens, shall continue in force, with the additional be in force. provision that, before patents shall issue and full payments be made to such persons, a certificate shall be necessary from the agent and business committee that the applicant is competent to manage his own affairs; and when computation is made to ascertain the amount of the funds to the tribe to which such applicants are entitled, the amounts invested in the issue until, &c. new reservation provided for in the treaty shall not be taken into account; and where any member of the tribe shall become a citizen under the provisions of the said treaty of eighteen hundred and sixty-two, the families of said parties shall also be con-idered as citizens, and the head of the family shall be entitled to patents and the proportional share of funds belonging to his family; and women who are also heads of families, and single women of adult age, may become citizens in the same manner as males. Lands of certain Indians to ARTICLE VII. If at the end of five years from the ratification of this treaty there shall remain any of the Pottawatomies in Kansas who, hav- be sold, if in five ing been registered as desiring to become citizens and remain in Kansas, years they have shall not have obtained the certificate herein provided for and perfected not obtained citizenship, &c. their citizenship, the land still held by them shall be sold, under the diSee post, p. 536. rection of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, with the improvements, if any, thereon; and such persons shall be required to remove to the new reservation of their tribe, and the proceeds of the sale of their land and improvements shall be used for the expense of removing such Indians to their new home, and for their benefit after their arrival thereat. ARTICLE VIII. Where allottees under the treaty of eighteen hundred and sixty-two shall have died, or shall hereafter decease, if any dispute shall arise in regard to heirship to their property, it shall be competent for the business committee to decide such question, taking for their rule of action the laws of inheritance of the State of Kansas; and in cases where there are children of allottees left orphans, guardians for such orphans may be appointed by the business committee of the tribe, who shall give bonds, to be approved by the agent or superintendent, for the faithful management of the property of such orphans until their arrival at their majority. Rights of inheritance, and disputes concerning, how to be settled. See post, p. 536. Amounts due the Pottowatto mies to be as ARTICLE IX. It is agreed that an examination shall be made of the books of the Indian Office in order to ascertain what amount is justly due to the Pottawatomies under the provisions of their treaties of eighteen certained. hundred and eighteen and eighteen hundred and twenty-nine, providing for the payment of their annuities in coin, whereas they have been paid for several years in currency; and the result of such examination shall be reported to Congress, and the difference in amount due to said Indians shall be paid to them. ARTICLE X. It is further agreed that upon the presentation to the Department of the Interior of the claims of said tribe for depredations committed by others upon their stock, timber, or other property, accompanied by evidence thereof, examination and report shall be made to Congress of the amount found to be equitably due, in order that such action may be taken as shall be just in the premises; and it is further agreed that the sum of one hundred and sixty-four thousand five hundred and eighty-four dollars, reported by the Secretary of the Interior on the nineteenth day of December, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, in pursuance of an act of Congress approved March second, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and recommended to be paid, shall be paid to said tribe, Claims for depredations on the property of the Indians. See post, p. 536. |