Drum Creek Treaty
Encyclopedia
The Drum Creek Treaty was a treaty negotiated between the United States and the Osage Nation
. The treaty was submitted to both the United States House of Representatives
and the United States Senate
but was never ratified.
The treaty arose out of a growing need to relocate the Osage to a new reservation. White settlers began to arrive and establish farmsteads on Osage lands in the early 19th century. Their growing presence and pressure were instrumental in the decline of Osage control in Kansas. In the late 1860s, settlers infiltrated Osage lands at such a rate that the tribe resorted to requesting U.S. military assistance to help turn them back. As a result of this pressure the Osage began negotiating the treaty with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. This treaty proposed that the United States sell the Osage Lands in Kansas on behalf of the tribe and then purchase new lands in Oklahoma using the proceeds from the sale.
The settlers, along with lobbying members of the House and Senate, strongly opposed the Drum Creek Treaty and were largely responsible for its failure.
The Osage would, however, come to an agreement with the United States that looked very similar to the Drum Creek Treaty.
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
. The treaty was submitted to both the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
but was never ratified.
The treaty arose out of a growing need to relocate the Osage to a new reservation. White settlers began to arrive and establish farmsteads on Osage lands in the early 19th century. Their growing presence and pressure were instrumental in the decline of Osage control in Kansas. In the late 1860s, settlers infiltrated Osage lands at such a rate that the tribe resorted to requesting U.S. military assistance to help turn them back. As a result of this pressure the Osage began negotiating the treaty with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. This treaty proposed that the United States sell the Osage Lands in Kansas on behalf of the tribe and then purchase new lands in Oklahoma using the proceeds from the sale.
The settlers, along with lobbying members of the House and Senate, strongly opposed the Drum Creek Treaty and were largely responsible for its failure.
The Osage would, however, come to an agreement with the United States that looked very similar to the Drum Creek Treaty.