1831 treaty between the United States and representatives of the Menominee
The Menominee ceded approximately 2.5 million acres in Wisconsin, shaping Indigenous land rights and requiring renegotiation after Senate modifications.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- February 8, 1831
- Land ceded
- approximately 2,500,000 acres acres
- Location of land
- Wisconsin, primarily adjacent to Lake Michigan
- Senate ratification modification
- June 1832, added land for Stockbridge-Munsee tribe
- Renegotiation date
- October 27, 1832
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The United States government sought to acquire Menominee lands in Wisconsin during a period of broad Indian removal and land cession policies. The Menominee held extensive territory adjacent to Lake Michigan that American authorities wished to open for settlement and development.
On February 8, 1831, in Washington D.C., the Menominee tribe signed a treaty ceding roughly 2,500,000 acres of their Wisconsin lands to the United States. During Senate ratification in June 1832, the treaty was amended to allocate additional land to the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe without Menominee consent.
Because the Menominee rejected the Senate's unilateral modifications, the treaty had to be renegotiated and a revised agreement was reached on October 27, 1832. The two resulting agreements are collectively known as the Treaty of Washington and permanently transferred a vast portion of Menominee territory to the United States.
Political Outcome
The Menominee ceded approximately 2,500,000 acres in Wisconsin to the United States; Senate modifications necessitated renegotiation, producing a revised treaty on October 27, 1832.
Menominee held approximately 2,500,000 acres of Wisconsin land adjacent to Lake Michigan
Land transferred to the United States; Stockbridge-Munsee tribe received additional allocations