"We Will Talk of Nothing Else": Dakota Interpretations of the Treaty of 1837

Authors

Linda M. Clemmons, Illinois State University

Date of this Version

2005

Document Type

Article

Comments

Published in GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY 25:3 (Summer 2005). Copyright © 2005 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Abstract

During treaty negotiations with federal Indian agents in 1851, Taoyateduta (Little Crow), a Dakota representative, warned that the council members would "talk of nothing else" until conflicts related to the previous Treaty of 1837 had been resolved. His statement is surprising, given that government officials at the time, as well as subsequent historians, have interpreted the Treaty of 1837 as an uncontroversial, even positive, event for both the Dakota and the federal government. However, Taoyateduta and the other Dakota did not view the Treaty of 1837 in the same way. Instead, Taoyateduta's words illustrate the continued Dakota disillusionment and anger with the document, close to fifteen years after the Treaty of 1837 went into effect.