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It was not surprising that the condition complained of should
have resulted from a wavering and undefined policy and double-headed
system.. First, a total ignoring of the Indians' rights, turning
over the problem to the colonies; then appointing an agent of Indian
affairs on behalf of the government, yet subject in most respects to
the control of the colonial governors, who might, and did in more
than one case, grant away tracts of the very lands reserved by this
agent to the natives. Such a system, or rather lack of system. was
likely to result in confusion and trouble.
Two agents were appointed, one for the northern district that is
to say, for certain of the northern colonies and the territory not
embraced in the colonial limits and another for the southern
district.
Lord Egremont, writing on May 5, 1763, to the Lords of Trade in
regard to questions relating to North America, remarks, among other
things, as follows:
The second question
which relates to the security f North America, seems to
include two objects to be provided for; The first is the
security of the whole against any European Pour; The
next is the preservation of the internal peace &
tranquility of the Country against any Indian
disturbances. Of these two objects the latter appears to
call more immediately for such Regulations and
Precautions as your Lordships shall think proper to
suggest &ca.
Tho in order to succeed effectually in this point it may
become necessary to erect some Forts in the Indian
Country with their consent, yet his Majesty's Justice
and Moderation inclines him to adopt the more eligible
Method of conciliating the minds of the Indians by the
mildness of His Government, by protecting their persons
and property, & securing to them all the possessions
rights and Privileges they have hitherto enjoyed & are
entitled to most cautiously guarded against any Invasion
or Occupation of their hunting Lands, the possession of
which is to be acquired by fair purchase only, and it
has been thought so highly expedient to give the
earliest and most convincing proofs of his Majesty's
gracious and friendly Intentions on this head, that I
have already received and transmitted the King's
commands to this purpose to the Governors of Virginia,
the two Carolinas & Georgia,, & to the Agent for Indian
Affairs in the Southern Department, as your Lordships
will see fully in the enclosed copy of my circular
letter to them on this subject.1 |
In August of the same year the Lords of Trade informed Sir
William Johnson that they had "proposed to His Majesty that a
proclamation should be issued declaratory of His Majesty's final
determination to permit no grants of lands nor any settlement to be
made within certain fixed bounds under pretence of purchase, or any
pretext whatever, leaving all the territory within these bounds free
for the hunting grounds of the Indian Nations, and for the free
trade of all his subjects."
That the management of Indian affairs was at last taken out of
the hands of at least the governor of New York appears from a letter
of Lieutenant-Governor Colden to the Earl of Halifax, December S;
1763.
As the territories of Quebec, East Florida, and West Florida had,
by virtue of the treaty with France, February 10, 1763, come under
the control of Great Britain, a proclamation for their government
was issued October 7, 1763. The following clauses relating to the
policy to be pursued with the Indians in these colonies, and some
other sections mentioned, are inserted here:2
And whereas, it is just
and reasonable, and essential to our interest and the
security of our colonies, that the several nations or
tribes of Indians with whom we are connected, and who
live under our protection, should not be molested or
disturbed in the possession of such parts of our
dominions and territories as, not having been ceded to,
or purchased by us, are reserved to them, or any of
them, as their hunting grounds; we do, therefore, with
the advice of our privy council, declare it to be our
royal will and pleasure, that no Governor or commander
in chief, in any of our colonies of Quebec, East
Florida, or West Florida, do presume, upon any pretence
whatever, to grant warrants of survey, or pass any
patents for lands beyond the bounds of their respective
governments, as described in their commissions; as,
also, that no Governor or commander in chief of our
other colonies or plantations in America, do presume for
the present, and until our further pleasure be known, to
giant warrants of survey, or pass patents for any lands
beyond the heads or sources of any of the rivers which
fall into the Atlantic ocean from the West or Northwest;
or upon any lands whatever, which, not having been ceded
to, or purchased by, us, as aforesaid, are reserved to
the said Indians or any of them.
And we do further declare it to be our royal will and
pleasure, for the present, as aforesaid, to reserve
under our sovereignty, protection, and dominion, for the
use of the said Indians, all the land and territories
not included within the limits of our said three new
Governments, or within the limits of the territory
granted to the Hudson's Bay Company; as also all the
lands and territories lying to the Westward of the
sources of the rivers which fall into the sea from the
West and Northwest as aforesaid; and we do hereby
strictly forbid, on pain of our displeasure, all our
loving subjects from making any purchases or settlements
whatever, or taking possession of any of the lands above
reserved, without our special leave and license for that
purpose first obtained.
And we do further strictly enjoin and require all
persons whatever, who have either willfully or
inadvertently seated themselves upon any lands within
the countries above described, or upon any other lands,
which, not having been ceded to, or purchased by, us,
are still reserved to the said Indians as aforesaid,
forthwith to remove themselves from such settlements.
And whereas great frauds and abuses have been committed
in the purchasing lands of the Indians, to the great
prejudice of our interests, and to the great
dissatisfaction of the said Indians; in order,
therefore, to prevent such irregularities for the
future, and to the end that the Indians may be convinced
of our justice and determined resolution to remove all
reasonable cause of discontent, we do, with the advice
of our privy council, strictly enjoin and require that
no private person do presume to make any purchase from.
the said Indians, of any lands reserved to the said
Indians, within those parts of our colonies where we
have thought proper to allow settlement; but that, if,
at any time, any of the said Indians should be inclined
to dispose of the said lands, the same shall be
purchased only for us, in our name, at some public
meeting or assembly of the said Indians, to be held for
that purpose; y the Governor or, commander-in-chief of
our colony, respectively, within which they shall lie:
and in case they shall lie within the limits of any
proprietaries, conformable to such directions and
instructions as we or they shall think proper to give
for that purpose. |
Although primarily relating to the colonies of Quebec, East
Florida, and West Florida, it is evident from the distinct
statements therein that it was intended, as regards the points
referred to in the quotation, to be of general application. The
policy set forth in this proclamation is just and honorable, and
appears to have been followed, as a general rule, by Great Britain
in its subsequent dealings with the Indians, which, after 1776, were
limited to its northern possessions.
In April, 1764, Sir William Johnson, as "Sole agent and
superintendent of Indian affairs for the Northern parts of North
America," concluded articles of peace with the Seneca Indians in
which they ceded to the King the following lands:
| From the Fort of
Niagara, extending easterly along Lake Ontario, about
four miles, comprehending the Petit Marais, or landing
place, and running from thence southerly, about fourteen
miles to the Creek above the Fort Schlosser or Little
Niagara, and down the same to the River, or Strait and
across the same, at the great Cataract; thence Northerly
to the Banks of Lake Ontario, at a Creek or small Lake
about two miles west of the Fort, thence easterly along
the Banks of the Lake Ontario, and across the River or
Strait to Niagara, comprehending the whole carrying
place, with the Lands on both sides the Strait, and
containing a Tract of about fourteen miles in length and
four in breadth.3 |
As the articles make no mention of payment it is presumed the
grant was made by the Seneca to purchase peace with the English.
Most of the foregoing facts relate, it is true, to the lands and
Indians of New York, and might very properly be considered in
referring to the policy of that colony; however, as they give some
insight into the English policy in the latter days of British rule
over the colonies, they are presented here. It must be admitted,
however,, as before stated, that they indicate an ill-defined system
resulting apparently from a neglect to take the subject into
consideration at the outset. Had some provision for the proper
treatment of the Indians in regard to their possessory rights been
made in the original charters, and the lords proprietary and
governors of the colonies been required to observe these provisions,
much of the trouble with the natives experienced by the government
and the colonies would, in all probability, have been avoided.
It is unnecessary to allude to the transactions of the English
authorities in the southern colonies, as these, so far as they
relate to purchases and grants of lands by the Indians, will be
referred to under the respective colonies. However, there are two or
three treaties in regard to lands in the south, outside of the
colonies, which should be mentioned, as the boundaries fixed therein
are referred to in one or two of the treaties in the accompanying
schedule.
The first of these is "a treaty between Great Britain and the
Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians," made at Mobile, March 26, 1765.
Article 5 is as follows:
And to prevent all
disputes on account of encroachments, or supposed
encroachments, committed by the English inhabitants of
this or any other of His' Majesty's Provinces, on the
lands or hunting grounds reserved and claimed y the
Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians, and that no mistakes,
doubts, or disputes, may, for the future, arise
thereupon, in consideration of the great marks of
friendship, benevolence, and clemency, extended to us,
the said Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians, y His Majesty
King George the Third, we, the chiefs and head warriors,
distinguished y great and small medals, and gorgets, and
bearing His Majesty's commissions as Chiefs and leaders
of our respective nations, by virtue and in pursuance of
the full right and power which we now have and are
possessed of, have agreed, and we do hereby agree, that,
for the future, the boundary be settled y a line
extended from Gross Point, in the island of Mount Louis,
by the course of the western coast of Mobile Bay, to the
mouth of the Eastern branch of Tombecbee river, and
north y the course of the said river, to the confluence
of Alebamont and Tombecbee rivers, and afterwards along
the western bank of Alebamont river to the mouth of
Chickasaw river, and from the confluence of Chickasaw
and Alebamont rivers, a straight line to the confluence
of Bance and Tombecbee rivers; from thence, y a line
along the western bank of Bance river, till its
confluence with the Tallotkpe river; from thence, y a
straight line, to Tombecbee river, opposite to
Alchalickpe; and from Alchalickpe, by a straight line,
to the most northerly part of Buckataune river, and down
the course of Buckatanne river to its confluence to the
river Pascagoula, and down y the course of the river
Pascagoula, within twelve leagues of the sea coast; and
thence, by a due west line, as far as the Choctaw nation
have a right to grant.
And the said chiefs, for themselves and their nations,
give and confirm the property of all the lands contained
between the above described lines and the sea to His
Majesty the King of Great Britain, and his successors,
reserving to themselves full right and property in all
the lands to the northward of said lines now possessed
by them,; and none of His Majesty's white subjects shall
be permitted to settle on Tombechee river to the
northward of the rivulet called Centebonck.4 |
The second is "a treaty between Great Britain and the Upper and
Lower Creek Indians," signed at Pensacola, Florida, May 28, 1765.
Article 5 is as follows:
| And to prevent all
disputes on account of encroachments, or supposed
encroachments, committed y the English inhabitants of
this or any other of his Majesty's provinces, on the
lands or hunting grounds reserved and claimed y the
Upper and Lower Creek nations of Indians, and that no
mistakes, doubts, or disputes, may, for the future,
arise thereupon, in consideration of the great marks of
friendship, benevolence, and clemency, extended to us,
the said Indians of the Upper and Lower Creek nations, y
His Majesty King George the Third, we, the said chiefs
and head warriors, leaders of our respective nations, y
virtue and in pursuance of the full rights and power we
have and are possessed of, have agreed, and we do hereby
agree, that, for the future, the boundary be at the
dividing paths going to the nation and Mobile, where is
a creek; that it shall run along the side of that creek
until its confluence with the river which falls into the
bay; then to run around the bay and take in all the
plantations which formerly belonged to the Yanmasee
Indians; that no notice is to be taken of such cattle or
horses' as shall pass the line; that, from the said
dividing paths towards the west, the boundary is to run
along the path leading to Mobile, to the creek, called
Cassaba; and from thence, still in a straight line, to
another creek or great branch, within forty miles of the
ferry, and so to go up to the head of that creek; and
from thence turn round towards the river so as to
include all the old French settlements at Tassa; the
eastern line to be determined by the flowing of the sea
in the bays, as was settled at Augusta. And we do hereby
grant and confirm unto His Majesty, his heirs, and
successors, all the lands contained between the said
lines and the sea coast.5 |
The third is a treaty between the same parties as the last, made
at Picolata, Florida, November 18, 1765. The fifth article is as
follows:
| To prevent all disputes
on account of encroachments, or supposed encroachments,
made y the English inhabitants of his Majesty's said
province, on the lands or hunting grounds reserved and
claimed by the Zipper and Lower nations of Creek
Indians, and that no doubts, mistakes, or disputes, may,
for the future, arise; in consideration of the great
marks of friendship, benevolence, and clemency,
generosity, and protection, extended to us, the said
Indians of the Upper and Lower Creek nations, by His
Majesty King George the Third, we, the chiefs, head
warriors, and leaders, of our respective nations, y
virtue and in pursuance of the full rights and power
which we now have, and are possessed of, have agreed,
and we do hereby agree, that, for the future, the
boundary line of His Majesty's said province of East
Florida shall be, all the sea coast as far as the tide
flows, in the manner settled with the English by the
Great Tomachiches, with all the country to the eastward
of St. John's river, forming nearly an island from its
source to its entrance into the sea, and to the westward
of St. John's river by a line drawn from the entrance of
the creek Ocklawagh into said river above the great
lake, and near to Spalding's upper trading storehouse,
to the forks of Black creek at Colville's plantation;
and from thence to that part of St. Mary's river which
shall be intersected by the continuation of the line to
the entrance of Turkey creek into the river Altamaha.
That no notice is to be taken of such horses or cattle
as shall pass the line. And we do hereby accordingly
grant and confirm unto His Majesty, his heirs and
successors, all the said lands within the said lines.6 |
But little need be said in regard to the English policy in the
Canadian provinces from their acquisition in 1762. The system
outlined in the proclamation of October 7, 1763, appears to have
been followed from that time up to the present day, and it may truly
be said that, as a general rule, it has been one of justice and
humanity creditable to the Canadian authorities. Mr Joseph Howe, in
retiring from his position as superintendent of Indian affairs in
1872, makes the following statement: "Up to the present time the
results are encouraging, and although I regret that the state of my
health will soon compel me to relinquish the oversight of the work,
I trust it will not be neglected by those who may come after me, and
who ought never to forget that the crowning glory of Canadian policy
in all times past, and under all administrations, has been the
treatment of the Indians." Though this statement is perhaps too
broad, yet the course pursued under English control, with some
exceptions relative to the seaboard provinces, has been an honorable
one.
One precaution which the commissioners adopted and have generally
followed was to require the assembled Indians to name the chiefs, or
persons of their tribes, who were authorized by them to make the
treaty and sign. the grant. This fact and the names of the persons
so selected were inserted in the deed or grant.
1 Ibid., pp. 520-521.
2 Laws, etc, relating to Public Lands (1828), pp.
86-88.
3 New York Colonial Documents, vol. vu, p. 621.
4 Laws, U. s., etc, respecting Public Lands, vol.
II, 1836, app., p. 275.*
5 Ibid., p. 276.*
6 Laws, U. S., etc, respecting Public Lands, vol.
II, 1836, app., p. 276*.
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materials that may imply negative stereotypes reflecting the culture
or language of a particular period or place. These items are
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stereotypes implied
First annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology,
1879-80
Indian
Land Cessions in the United States
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