# Dakota Sioux treaties of 1851 *Two 1851 treaties under which Dakota bands ceded land to the United States, also called the 1851 treaty signings.* The Dakota Sioux treaties of 1851 are the [[Treaty of Traverse des Sioux]], dated July 23, 1851, and the [[Treaty of Mendota]], dated August 5, 1851. Under them, [[Dakota]] signatories ceded roughly 24 million acres to the United States. [[Alexander Ramsey]] was one of the U.S. commissioners for both treaties.[^1] A separate document, the [[traders' paper]], was presented with the treaty. It redirected about one-third of the Dakota's cash payments to fur traders. The [[Minnesota Historical Society]]'s encyclopedia MNopedia records that the paper was "not read aloud or translated."[^1] Dakota signatories later alleged intimidation and fraud in the signings and named Ramsey as a principal figure. Congress investigated, and the [[United States Senate]] exonerated him in 1854. MNopedia states that the exoneration came "despite evidence uncovered in its own investigations suggesting improprieties."[^2] ## Who The United States negotiated both treaties through commissioners, Alexander Ramsey among them. The other parties were Dakota signatories.[^1] The project's dossier records that Ramsey was later the first president of the Minnesota Historical Society, the institution whose encyclopedia now documents the 1854 disposition. He began donating his materials to it in the 1860s.[^3] ## When - **July 23, 1851**: the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux is signed.[^1] - **August 5, 1851**: the Treaty of Mendota is signed.[^1] - **1854**: after a congressional investigation of the Dakota allegations, the Senate exonerates Ramsey.[^2] ## How much According to the project's dossier, the cession totalled roughly 24 million acres. The price was about seven and a half cents an acre. The traders' paper diverted roughly one-third of the cash payments due to the Dakota to fur traders.[^1] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record lists the 1854 Senate action as an allegation followed by a disposition, in pair AI-Ramsey-025 (rank 25). It relies on the Minnesota Historical Society's encyclopedia for the finding that the reviewing body cleared Ramsey despite evidence its own investigations had uncovered.[^4] Two project sources differ on who investigated. The at-issue row says the Senate itself investigated and exonerated Ramsey. The dossier says he was investigated by Congress and exonerated by the Senate.[^2][^4] The project pairs this disposition with a March 2026 White House presidential action establishing a task force to eliminate fraud.[^5] ## Notes [^1]: Warren E. Burger Apex Dossier, *§VI, The Prior-Period File* (2026-09-02), 1851 entry (dossier notes 29–30, citing MNopedia; underlying URLs not supplied in pack) — Ramsey as U.S. commissioner; treaty dates; acreage and price; the traders' paper, quoted from MNopedia. No allowed URL is available for this fact. [^2]: Warren E. Burger Apex Dossier, *§VI, The Prior-Period File* (2026-09-02), 1854 entry (dossier note 31, citing MNopedia; underlying URL not supplied in pack) — the Dakota allegations, the congressional investigation, the 1854 Senate exoneration, and the MNopedia qualifier. No allowed URL is available for this fact. [^3]: Warren E. Burger Apex Dossier, *§VI, The Prior-Period File* (2026-09-02), custody entry (dossier note 26; underlying URL not supplied in pack) — Ramsey as first president of the Minnesota Historical Society and donor of his materials from the 1860s. No allowed URL is available for this fact. [^4]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, *Pair AI-Ramsey-025* (Tier II, rank 25) — the allegation and its 1854 disposition, with sources at mnhs.org (URLs not supplied in pack). [^5]: The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026) — the presidential action the project uses as the anchor for pair AI-Ramsey-025; cited only as the anchor document, not for any 1851 or 1854 fact. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/