Treaties and Sovereign Performances, from Westphalia to Standing Rock

By

David A. Nichols

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Police gather on a sacred hill above protesters at Standing Rock.

Standing with Standing Rock

Police gather on a sacred hill above protesters at Standing Rock.

A portion of the Dakota Access Pipeline under construction.

Dakota Access Pipeline

A portion of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) under construction in Central Iowa.

A protester in Washington, D.C. in November 2016.

Honor the Treaty of 1868

A protester in Washington, D.C. in November 2016 calling on the government to honor the terms of the Treaty of Fort Laramie, which was supposed to guarantee native ownership over the Black Hills and the Great Sioux Reservation.

A painting of Fort Laramie.

Fort Laramie

A painting of Fort Laramie in 1841.

North Dakota police sprayed unarmed protesters with pepper spray in November 2016.

Police Pepper Spray Protesters

North Dakota police sprayed unarmed protesters with pepper spray in November 2016 as they attempted to build a bridge across the Cantapeta Creek to reach the land owned by the pipeline developers.

Council at Medicine Lodge Creek.

Council at Medicine Lodge Creek

In 1867, representatives of the United States government and the Kiowa, Comanche, Plains Apache, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes met at Medicine Lodge Creek, Kansas to sign three treaties that required the tribes to move to reservations in Indian Territory.

An 1834 depiction of members of the Choctaw tribe performing the Eagle dance.

Eagle Tail Dance

An 1834 depiction of members of the Choctaw tribe performing the Eagle dance in Oklahoma.

The flag of the American Indian Movement.

Flag of the American Indian Movement

The flag of the American Indian Movement, an advocacy group founded in 1968 to address American Indian sovereignty, treaty issues, spirituality, and police harassment and racism against Native Americans.

William Weatherford surrendering to future-president Andrew Jackson.

Andrew Jackson and William Weatherford

William Weatherford, a Creek chief who led the offensive in the Creek War against the United States (1813-1814), surrendering to future-president Andrew Jackson after the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

A protester waving a flag reading 'Since 1492 One Blood.'

"Since 1492 One Blood"

A protester waving a flag reading “Since 1492 One Blood” at the Standing Rock protests in November 2016. Protesters have stressed the unity of all tribes.

A protester at Standing Rock watches the police convene.

Protester and Police

A protester at Standing Rock in November 2016 watches the police convene.

North Dakota Police on top of Turtle Hill.

Police Lookout Station

North Dakota Police on top of Turtle Hill, tribal burial grounds in the Standing Rock Reservation.

Oceti Sakowin Camp, or All Nations Camp, in Standing Rock.

Oceti Sakowin Camp

Oceti Sakowin Camp, or All Nations Camp, in Standing Rock where many protesters have lived since April 2016.

Protesters and police faced off in Standing Rock.

Protesters and Police

Protesters and police faced off in Standing Rock in October 2016.

The signing of a peace treaty in 1642.

New Amsterdam Treaty

The signing of a peace treaty in 1642 in New Amsterdam (present-day Manhattan) between the Dutch and Lenape Indians.

The United States and a coalition of Native American tribes signing the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.

Treaty of Greenville

The United States and a coalition of Native American tribes, known as the Western Confederacy, signing the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 after the latter’s defeat in battle a year earlier.

The signing of a treaty in 1851 between the United States and the Sioux Indians.

Treaty of Traverse des Sioux

The signing of a treaty in 1851 between the United States and the Sioux Indians.

A November 2016 march in San Francisco in solidarity with Standing Rock protesters.

Solidarity March

A November 2016 march in San Francisco in solidarity with Standing Rock protesters.

Peace of Westphalia.

Peace of Westphalia

The ratification in 1648 of one of the many treaties to end the Thirty Years’ War and the Eight Years’ War in Europe.

A mural to the Trail of Tears in Oklahoma.

Trail of Tears Mural

A mural to the Trail of Tears in Oklahoma. An estimated 3,500 Native Americans died along the 1,200 mile journey.

Members of the Native American Youth Council demonstrating against the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Bureau of Indian Affairs Protest

Members of the Native American Youth Council demonstrating against the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1970.

General William T. Sherman meeting with Indian Chiefs.

Fort Laramie, Wyoming

General William T. Sherman meeting with Indian Chiefs at Fort Laramie, Wyoming in 1868.

Apache children at the Carlisle boarding school in Pennsylvania.

Carlisle Indian Industrial School

Apache children at the Carlisle boarding school in Pennsylvania in the 1880s.

Pawnee Indians receiving a government annuity in the 1890s.

Government Annuities

Pawnee Indians receiving a government annuity in the 1890s.

Fredericksburg Peace Pipe Statue.

Fredericksburg Peace Pipe Statue

A statue in Fredericksburg, Texas commemorating the 1847 peace treaty between the Comanche and white settlers.

A replica of the wampum belt given by the Lenni Lenape tribe to William Penn.

Wampum Belt

A replica of the wampum belt given by the Lenni Lenape tribe to William Penn for the “Treaty of Amity and Friendship” in 1683.

Depiction of the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.

Treaty of Greenville Signing

Depiction of the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 between U.S. General Anthony Wayne and Mishikinakwa of the Miami.

A poster from the U.S. Department of the Interior advertising the sale of 'Indian Land.'

Indian Land for Sale

A poster from the U.S. Department of the Interior advertising the sale of “Indian Land” under the authority of the Dawes Act.

Carlos Montezuma as a young man in 1890.

Carlos Montezuma

Carlos Montezuma as a young man in 1890.

Gertrude Bonnin in 1897.

Gertrude Bonnin

Gertrude Bonnin in 1897.

Protesters in Standing Rock insisting that treaty rights and sacred ground be respected.

Standing Rock Protesters

Protesters in Standing Rock insisting that treaty rights and sacred ground be respected.

A 2013 commemoration of the Treaty of Canandaigua in Syracuse, New York.

Treaty of Canandaigua Commemoration

A 2013 commemoration of the Treaty of Canandaigua in Syracuse, New York. The banner calls on native treaties to be honored.

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