This Day In Founding Fathers History – 15 July

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This Day In Founding Fathers History – 15 July

On this day in 1830, the Treaty of Prairie du Chien was signed. This was the fourth treaty of Prairie du Chien. It was negotiated between the U.S. government and the Sac and Fox, Dakota, Wahpekute, Wahpeton and Sisiton Sioux, Omaha, Iowa, Oto and Missouri tribes. William Clark and Willoughby Morgan represented the U.S. The tribes agreed to land cession of three tracts of land in what is today Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. The treaty also established the Nemaha Half-Breed Reservation in Nebraska. This was reserved for mixed-race descendants of European/American fur trappers and their Native American females. These were people who were not openly welcomed in either of the respective cultures, leaving them without a home. ₁

In 1806 on this day, Zebulon Pike and his crew of “two lieutenants, one surgeon, one sergeant, two corporals, 16 privates, and one interpreter” embarked on his expedition, the Pike Expedition, to explore and document the southern portion of the Louisiana Territory. The expedition had several goals, one of which was to establish relationships and alliances with several Indian tribes along the route. Pike’s Peak was later named such after Pike’s discovery of it during the expedition. Pike and company were taken into custody by Spanish troops more than six months into their journey. Pike was sent to Mexico before being returned to U.S. Territory. He later published a book accounting his expeditions which became required reading for any explorer. ₂

 

_{1 “Treaty of Prairie du Chien,” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Prairie_du_Chien
2 “Zebulon Pike’s Expedition To The Southwest 1806-1807,” www.santafetrailresearch.com/pike/expedition.html}