Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
5-2010
Abstract
The Treaty of Fort Laramie with Sioux, etc., 1851 was one of the most important contracts formed between the federal government and the Indian tribes of the Great Plains. It served as more than just a continuation of federal Indian policy, initiated by the Lewis and Clark Expedition at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Rather, it was an attempt to protect those involved in the ever-increasing American expansion into the West by eliminating intertribal animosities and by setting rigid territorial boundaries for the tribes. Unfortunately, this critical document was never published in a correct final state. A Web site – http://treatyoffortlaramie1851. unl.edu – has been created to describe and present a proposed text to fill that void, based on various earlier such federal materials, but especially upon the original 1851 treaty now kept at the National Archives.
Comments
Issued May 26, 2010. Copyright © 2010 Charles D. Bernholz and Brian L. Pytlik Zillig.