1858 treaty between the United States and the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of Dakota
This treaty redefined Dakota reservation boundaries, stripping the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of the northern half of their previously allotted Minnesota River strip lands.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- June 19, 1858
- Parties
- United States and Sisseton & Wahpeton Dakota bands
- Land affected
- Southern half of strip defined in Treaty of Traverse des Sioux
- Land excluded
- Northern half of previously allotted Indian territory
- Reservation location
- South of the Minnesota River
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The earlier Treaty of Traverse des Sioux had allotted a strip of land along the Minnesota River to the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of Dakota. Pressure from the United States government to reduce Indigenous landholdings and open territory to American settlement prompted renegotiation of these boundaries, setting the stage for a new treaty.
On June 19, 1858, representatives of the United States government and the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of Dakota signed the Treaty with the Sioux. The agreement redefined the Lower Sioux reservation as only that portion of the previously allotted strip lying south of the Minnesota River, and included provisions for land surveying, individual family allotments, law enforcement, compensation payments, and economic development.
The treaty effectively eliminated the Dakota bands' claim to the northern half of their earlier land allotment, shrinking the Lower Sioux reservation substantially. The allotment provisions also began a shift toward individual land tenure, undermining communal land use. These reductions contributed to growing Dakota grievances that would factor into later conflicts in Minnesota.
Political Outcome
The Lower Sioux reservation was redefined to only the land south of the Minnesota River, removing the northern half of the Dakota's previously allotted territory and introducing individual land allotments and other administrative provisions.
Sisseton and Wahpeton Dakota held rights to both northern and southern halves of the Minnesota River strip under the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux
Dakota land rights confined to the southern half of the strip; northern half ceded to the United States