Medicine Lodge Treaty
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The Medicine Lodge Treaty was a treaty that the United States of America signed with the Kiowa, Comanche, Plains Apache, Cheyenne, and Arapaho at Medicine Lodge, Kansas in 1867.
What is known as the Medicine Lodge Treaty actually consisted of three separate treaties. The first was signed October 21, 1867 by the Kiowa and Comanche tribes. The second, with the Kiowa-Apache, was signed the same day, while the Cheyenne and Arapaho signed the third on October 28.
The United States federal government during this time repeatedly reduced the size of Indian reservations. The Medicine Lodge Treaty assigned reservations with the aforementioned tribes, bringing them in close contact with the Sioux, Shoshones, Bannocks, and Navajos, setting the scene for more conflict for dwindling resources.
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[edit] Peace Commission members
General William T. Sherman, General William S. Harney, General Alfred H. Terry, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Ely S. Parker, Senator John B. Henderson of Missouri (Chairman of the Senate Indian Appropriations Committee), Colonel Samuel F. Tappan, and Major General John B. Sanborn.
[edit] Chiefs in attendance
[edit] Apache
Wolf's Sleeve, Bad Back, Iron Shirt, Poor Bear, Brave Man, and White Horn.
[edit] Arapaho
Little Raven, Storm, Spotted Wolf, Young Colt, Yellow Bear, White Rabbit, Little Big Mouth, and Tall Bear.
[edit] Cheyenne
Black Kettle, Bull Bear, Litte Bear, Buffalo Chief, Little Rock, Spotted Elk, Slim Face, Gray Head, Curly Hair, Tall Bull, Little Robe, Heap of Birds, White Horse, and Whirlwind.
[edit] Comanche
Ten Bears, Silver Brooch, Gap In The Woods, Wolf's Mane, Iron Mountain, Painted Lips, Standing Feather, Horse's Back, Little Horn, Dog Fat, and Quanah Parker.
[edit] Kiowa
Satanta, Kicking Bird, Satank, Stinking Saddle, Black Eagle, Stumbling Bear, The Crow, Woman's Heart, One Bear, and Bear Lying Down.
[edit] Unratified
The alleged Treaty was immediately controversial and contested by both the members and leadership of most of the involved tribes. Because the tribes involved were all democratic societies, acceptance of the treaty was contingent upon ratification of 3/4 of the adult members of each of the tribes. This condition was part of the treaty itself. This ratification was never obtained, and thus the treaty was never made valid or legal. This conflict continued for years until the Kiowa Chief Lone Wolf sued the US Secretary of the Interior on behalf of the entirety of the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes, all of whom were defrauded by the government. The case, LONE WOLF v. HITCHCOCK, 187 U.S. 553, was decided by the US Supreme Court in 1903. In the decision the Court conceded that the tribes had never agreed to the treaty, but concluded that it did not matter because American Indians did not merit protection of the Bill of Rights, claiming that they were "wards of the nation... Dependent [on the United States] for their daily food". With this same legal status as the institutionalized such as the criminally insane and mentally retarded, they did not have the same rights as full persons of other races who were considered able to make decisions for themselves. This legal precedent has never been overturned and still influences the position of the United States government towards all aboriginal american tribes.
