Treaty of St. Mary's (1818)
Signed | September–October, 1818 |
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Location | St. Marys, Ohio |
Parties |
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Language | English |
The Treaty of St. Mary's may refer to one of six treaties concluded in fall of 1818 between the United States and Natives of central Indiana regarding purchase of Native land. The treaties were
- Treaty with the Wyandot, etc.
- Treaty with the Wyandot
- Treaty with the Potawatomi
- Treaty with the Wea
- Treaty with the Delaware
- Treaty with the Miami
The main treaty was with the Miamis, who were the main tribe in Indiana. Unqualified references to the treaty usually refer to this one. The treaties acquired a substantial portion of the land area (dubbed the New Purchase) of the state of Indiana from the
The treaties
In the fall of 1818 six separate treaties were completed at St. Marys, Ohio, between the United States and the Wyandot, Seneca, Shawnese, and Ottawas (September 17), with the Wyandot (September 20), the Potawatomi (October 2), the Wea (October 2), the Delaware (October 3), and the Miami (October 6).
The treaty with the Wyandot, Seneca, Shawnese, and Ottawas of September 17, 1818, established that the grants described in the Treaty of Fort Meigs (formally titled, "Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., 1817") would be considered only as reservations for the use of indigenous peoples. The 1818 treaty also granted additional land reservations and annuity payments to the involved indigenous groups.[1][2]
The treaty with the Wyandot of September 20, resulted in the cession by the Natives of two small tracts of land in Wayne County, Michigan Territory, containing the villages of Maguaga and Brownstown in present-day Riverview and Flat Rock, Michigan. In return, Territorial Governor Lewis Cass granted them land in Huron Charter Township, Michigan.[3]
The treaty with the Wea of October 2 resulted in the Wea ceding their claims to all lands in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. In return, the U.S. government agreed to pay a sum total of $3,000 in silver annually to the Wea on a reservation the tribe had claimed earlier in the treaty. This reserved tract of land was described as "Beginning at the mouth of Raccoon creek; thence by the present boundary line, seven miles; thence, northeasterly, seven miles, to a point seven miles from the Wabash river; thence to the Wabash river, by a line parallel to the present boundary line aforesaid; and thence, by the Wabash river, to the place of beginning."[4]
The treaty with the Potawatomi of October 2 established cessions of land to the United States. The U.S. government also agreed to pay perpetual annuity to the Potawatomi, as well as to purchase any claim to the ceded land made by the Kickapoo. William Conner served as an interpreter.[5]
The treaty with the Delawares (Lenape) of October 3 established the cession of all Lenape land in Indiana to the United States. In return, the U.S. government was to provide a country for the displaced Lenape people west of the Mississippi River; full compensation for their improvements; perpetual annuity; grants of land to individuals; and the payment of certain claims. The U.S. government also agreed to provide and support a blacksmith for the Lenape after their removal to the west, and the Lenape were allowed to occupy their ceded territory for up to three years after the signing of the treaty. Signatories included, among others, Kikthawenund of the Unalatchgo Lenape clan and federal commissioner Jonathan Jennings. William Conner served as an interpreter.[6]
The treaty with the Miami was signed on October 6, 1818, at St. Mary's, Ohio, between representatives of the
New Purchase tract
The New Purchase was a jagged shaped area comprising most of the central third of the state. It had a large trapezoid "bite" out of the northern boundary that became the Great Miami Reserve, and a sawtooth in the northwest where the
Big Miami Reserve
By the treaty with the Miami, the Miami ceded most of their land south of the Wabash River, except for some individual plots and a parcel in north central Indiana between the
The reservation was short-lived. By 1840, via several additional treaties, the state effectively acquired the reservation and removed the Indians to west of the Mississippi River.
Aftermath
The treaties resulted in the confinement of the Miami to the reserve area and the removal of the Delaware, who dominated central and east central Indiana, to west of the Mississippi River by 1820, clearing the way for colonization by settlers migrating north and west from Cincinnati and other Ohio River settlements.
The area was called the Delaware New Purchase until it was divided into Wabash County in the northwest and Delaware County in the southeast on January 2, 1820. Those counties were soon after dissolved, and the areas came to be called the "Wabash New Purchase" and "Delaware New Purchase" (renamed the "Adams New Purchase" in 1827). Subsequently, 35 new counties were carved out of the original area. The future state capital of Indianapolis was founded in 1822, roughly in the center of the New Purchase area.
See also
- Treaty of Fort Meigs, the immediate precursor
- List of Indian treaties
- Indian Removals in Ohio
- Indian removals in Indiana
References
- ^ "Treaty With The Wyandot, Etc., 1818". Oklahoma State University Libraries Tribal Treaties Database.
- ^ "Treaty With The Wyandot, Etc., 1817". Oklahoma State University Libraries Tribal Treaties Database.
- ^ Cass, Lewis. "Treaty of 1818 - Sept. 20". www.wyandotte-nation.org.
- ^ "Treaty With The Wea, 1818". Oklahoma State University Libraries Tribal Treaties Database.
- ^ "Treaty With The Potawatomi, 1818". Oklahoma State University Libraries Tribal Treaties Database.
- ^ "Treaty With The Delawares, 1818". Oklahoma State University Libraries Tribal Treaties Database.
- ^ [Article 5]Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Treaty with the Miami, 1818