Treaty of Bird’s Fort
Encyclopedia
The Treaty of Bird’s Fort, or Bird’s Fort Treaty was a peace treaty
between the Republic of Texas
and some of the Indian
tribes of Texas
and Oklahoma
, signed on September 29, 1843. The treaty was intended to end years of hostilities and warfare between the Native Americans and the white settlers in Texas. The full title of the treaty was “Republic of Texas Treaty with the Indigenous Nations of the Delaware
, Chickasaw
, Waco, Tawakani, Keechi, Caddo
, Anadahkah, Ionie, Biloxi
, and Cherokee
.”
had made it one of his top priorities to end hostilities with the Indians. On July 1, 1842, Houston appointed a commission to “treat with any and all Indians on the Frontiers of Texas.” The Indians were also amenable to a treaty, having lost many of their young men in wars with the whites. In August of 1842, the Indians agreed to a peace council to be held at Waco
on October 26. The chiefs did not appear for that council, but on March 31, 1843, the chiefs of the nine tribes agreed to a council of peace. The council and the commissioners met six months later and concluded a peace treaty on September 29, 1843. The meeting was held and treaty was signed at Bird’s Fort on the Trinity River
at present-day Arlington
near Fort Worth
.
The Senate of Texas ratified the treaty on January 31, 1844. President Houston signed the treaty on February 3, 1844 in Washington, Texas
.
Peace treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends a state of war between the parties...
between the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
and some of the Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribes of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, signed on September 29, 1843. The treaty was intended to end years of hostilities and warfare between the Native Americans and the white settlers in Texas. The full title of the treaty was “Republic of Texas Treaty with the Indigenous Nations of the Delaware
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
, Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
, Waco, Tawakani, Keechi, Caddo
Caddo
The Caddo Nation is a confederacy of several Southeastern Native American tribes, who traditionally inhabited much of what is now East Texas, northern Louisiana and portions of southern Arkansas and Oklahoma. Today the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma is a cohesive tribe with its capital at Binger, Oklahoma...
, Anadahkah, Ionie, Biloxi
Tunica-Biloxi
The modern Tunica-Biloxi tribe live in Mississippi and east central Louisiana. The modern tribe is composed of descendants of Tunica, Biloxi , Ofo , Avoyel , and Muskogean Choctaw. They speak mostly English and French...
, and Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
.”
Background
President of Texas Sam HoustonSam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
had made it one of his top priorities to end hostilities with the Indians. On July 1, 1842, Houston appointed a commission to “treat with any and all Indians on the Frontiers of Texas.” The Indians were also amenable to a treaty, having lost many of their young men in wars with the whites. In August of 1842, the Indians agreed to a peace council to be held at Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
on October 26. The chiefs did not appear for that council, but on March 31, 1843, the chiefs of the nine tribes agreed to a council of peace. The council and the commissioners met six months later and concluded a peace treaty on September 29, 1843. The meeting was held and treaty was signed at Bird’s Fort on the Trinity River
Trinity River (Texas)
The Trinity River is a long river that flows entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. It rises in extreme north Texas, a few miles south of the Red River. The headwaters are separated by the high bluffs on the south side of the Red River....
at present-day Arlington
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
near Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
.
The Senate of Texas ratified the treaty on January 31, 1844. President Houston signed the treaty on February 3, 1844 in Washington, Texas
Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas
Washington-on-the-Brazos is an unincorporated area along the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States. It was founded when Texas was still a part of Mexico, and the settlement became the site of the Convention of 1836 and the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence...
.
Terms of the treaty
The treaty comprised 24 articles. A summary of the articles follows.- Article I. The parties will “always live in peace” and “meet as friends and brothers. The existing state of war shall cease and never be renewed.”
- Article II. The parties agree that it is the “duty of warriors to protect women and children” and that they will never make war on them; only on warriors.
- Article III. The Indians will never “unite with the enemies of Texas” nor make any treaty with them which would require the Indians to take part against Texas.
- Article IV. If Texas is at war with anyone, an Indian chief will counsel with the President of Texas.
- Article V. Texas will appoint agents to hear the complaints of the Indians, to ensure justice between the Indians and the whites, and to communicate the orders and wishes of the President to the Indians.
- Article VI. Noone may “go among the Indians to trade” except by the authority of the government of Texas.
- Article VII. No white man may sell or provide “ardent spirits or intoxicating liquors” to the Indians.
- Article VIII. Noone except a licensed trader may “purchase any property of an Indian” without the authority of the government of Texas.
- Article IX. If any property of the Indians is found among the whites, or any property of the whites is found among the Indians, it shall be returned to its rightful owner.
- Article X. No trader may furnish any “warlike stores” to the Indians without the permission of the President of Texas.
- Article XI. No one may “pass the line of trading houses” (presumably at the border of the Indians’ territory) without permission of the President, and may not reside or remain in the Indians’ territory.
- Article XII. Any person who “molest[s] or attempt[s] to molest” the persons or property of the Indians while they remain peaceable, shall be punished for a felony.
- Article XIII. Any white man who kills an Indian or commits an outrage against an Indian, shall be punished for a felony.
- Article XIV. If an Indian kills a white person, he will be punished by death. If an Indian steals the property of a white man, he shall be punished by the tribe.
- Article XV. No Indian may “cross the line” without authority and passport. No Indian may sell any property to a white man without authority.
- Article XVI. If anyone “come[s] among the Indians without authority,” the Indians will seize him and deliver him to the Indian agent.
- Article XVII. The parties will mutually exchange prisoners, and “not be friendly” with any people or nation who will take prisoners from Texas.
- Article XVIII. The President of Texas may “send among the Indians” blacksmiths and other mechanics, and schoolmasters for the purpose of instructing the Indians in English and Christianity.
- Article XIX. When the President sends people among the Indians as described in Article XVIII, the Indians will “extend to them kind treatment and protect them from harm.”
- Article XX. The chiefs and headmen of the Indians will cause their “young men and warriors to behave themselves” in accordance with the treaty, and will punish them so as to keep the peace between “the white men and red brothers.”
- Article XXI. Should any difficulty or cause for war arise between Texas and the Indians, the Indians will send their complaints to the President and hear his answer before commencing hostilities; and the government of Texas will do likewise.
- Article XXII. After the Indians have shown that they will keep the treaty and not make war upon the whites, the President will authorize the traders to sell arms to the Indians, and to provide gifts to the Indians.
- Article XXIII. The government of Texas will have the right of working all mines that have been discovered or will be discovered on the territory of the Indians.
- Article XXIV. The President will make all arrangements and regulations with the Indians as he sees fit “for their peace and happiness.”