# Treaty of Mendota *Treaty between the United States and the Mdewakanton and Wahpekute bands of Dakota, signed August 5, 1851* The Treaty of Mendota, cited at 10 Stat. 954, is an agreement dated August 5, 1851, between the United States and two bands of the [[Dakota]], the [[Mdewakanton]] and the [[Wahpekute]].[^1][^2] It was concluded at [[Mendota]], near [[Pilot Knob]],[^3] on the south bank of the [[Minnesota River]], in view of [[Fort Snelling]].[^2] In its second article the two bands gave up all their lands and land claims in Minnesota Territory and Iowa. In its fourth article the United States promised them $1,410,000.[^1][^4] The treaty came thirteen days after the [[Treaty of Traverse des Sioux]], which the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands signed on July 23, 1851.[^5][^6] The project's claim record lists Mendota as that treaty's companion Dakota cession.[^7] According to Wikipedia's account, the two 1851 treaties together opened most of southern Minnesota to settlement.[^2] Article 1 of the treaty states that the peace and friendship between the United States and the two bands "shall be perpetual."[^1][^4] Eleven years later, the 1862 annuity money for the Dakota did not reach St. Paul until August 16, 1862. Wikipedia's account describes the treaty, and disputes over how it was carried out, as a major contributor to the Dakota War of 1862.[^8] ## Background The first U.S. treaty with the Dakota was signed in 1805 at Pike Island. It ceded 100,000 acres where the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers meet, as the site for Fort Snelling.[^6] [[Zebulon Pike]], the U.S. negotiator, valued the land at $200,000. The treaty text named no dollar amount, and the U.S. Senate paid $2,000.[^6] The fur trade collapsed before 1837, and that year the United States negotiated new treaties with the Dakota and the Ojibwe. Under those treaties:[^6] - the Dakota received $16,000 in cash and goods at signing, with promises of up to $40,000 a year afterward; - fur traders received $90,000 in debt payments; - "relatives and friends" of the Dakota received $110,000. The first of the two 1851 treaties was made at Traverse des Sioux with the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands, also called the upper bands.[^6] MNopedia's entry on that treaty, as summarized in a project research dossier, gives the following details:[^5] - the U.S. commissioners were [[Luke Lea]], Henry Sibley and [[Alexander Ramsey]]; - the cession was about 24 million acres at about 7½ cents an acre; - a [[traders' paper]] was signed by all but two Dakota leaders and was "never read aloud or translated"; - more than 100,000 settlers arrived within the decade. Commissioners Ramsey and Lea said the two 1851 treaties were needed because of "the overwhelming tide of migration." Wikipedia's account notes that the number of newcomers on Dakota and Ojibwe land was still relatively small at the time.[^6] After the Traverse des Sioux treaty, the delegation went to Mendota to meet the two lower bands, the Mdewakanton and the Wahpekute.[^6] ## Treaty The treaty text sets out its terms article by article:[^1][^4] - **Article 1** declares that the "peace and friendship existing between the United States and the Med-ay-wa-kan-toan and Wah-pay-koo-tay bands of Dakota or Sioux Indians shall be perpetual." - **Article 2** states that the bands "do hereby cede and relinquish all their lands and all their right, title and claim to any lands whatever, in the Territory of Minnesota, or in the State of Iowa." - **Article 3** is marked "[Stricken out.]" Article 4 commits the United States to pay $1,410,000 "at the several times, in the manner and for the purposes following."[^1][^4] The first item is $220,000 for the chiefs of the bands, "to enable them to settle their affairs and comply with their present just engagements." The same payment was also made in return for two promises by the bands. They agreed to move to the country set apart for them within one year after ratification. They also agreed to support themselves for the first year after the move. Both promises were to be kept "without further cost or expense to the United States."[^1][^4] The text divides this sum equally between the chiefs of the Mdewakanton band and the chief and headmen of the Wahpekute band. It was to be paid after the move, and only once Congress had made the necessary appropriations.[^4] The Minnesota Historical Society's account names Lea and Ramsey as the U.S. commissioners. It lists [[Little Crow]] (Ta-oya-te-duta), [[Wabasha]] and roughly eighty other Mdewakanton and Wahpekute signers.[^3] Under the treaty, the bands were to move to the Lower Sioux Agency on the Minnesota River, near present-day Morton, Minnesota.[^2] ## Contribution to the Dakota War of 1862 Wikipedia's account names several causes of the 1862 war:[^8] - Article 3 was stricken from both this treaty and the Traverse des Sioux treaty. - Annuity payments were late. The account attributes the delays in part to the [[Bureau of Indian Affairs]] and to the costs of the U.S. Civil War. In 1862 the annuities were held up for two reasons: Congress was late with the appropriation, and the Treasury debated whether to pay the Dakota in paper currency or in gold. The money usually came in late June. That year it reached St. Paul on August 16, 1862.[^8] Bishop Whipple wrote to Washington several times. President Lincoln sent John Hay to investigate. Hay concluded that agents working for Superintendent Major Cullen in particular "have become rich."[^8] The reservation set apart for the bands was cut by half in the 1858 Dakota Treaty, the same year Minnesota was admitted as a state.[^8] Wikipedia's account concludes that the treaty and the disputes over carrying it out helped trigger the Dakota War of 1862.[^8] The sources in this record do not state the total actually paid out under Article 4. ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Parties: the United States and the Mdewakanton and Wahpekute bands of the Dakota.[^1][^2] - U.S. commissioners: Luke Lea and Alexander Ramsey.[^3] - Signers included Little Crow (Ta-oya-te-duta), Wabasha and roughly eighty other Mdewakanton and Wahpekute signers.[^3] ### What - The treaty is cited as 10 Stat. 954. Under Article 2 the bands ceded all their lands and land claims in Minnesota Territory and Iowa.[^1][^2] - Article 4 promised $1,410,000. Its first item, $220,000 for the chiefs, was payable after the bands moved and once Congress made the appropriations.[^1][^4] ### When - July 23, 1851: the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux was signed.[^5] - August 5, 1851: the Treaty of Mendota was signed.[^1][^3] - 1858: the Dakota Treaty cut the reservation by half.[^8] - August 16, 1862: the delayed annuity money reached St. Paul.[^8] ### Where - The treaty was signed at Mendota, near Pilot Knob, on the south bank of the Minnesota River, in view of Fort Snelling.[^2][^3] - The bands were to move to the Lower Sioux Agency, near present-day Morton, Minnesota.[^2] ### Why - The commissioners' stated reason was "the overwhelming tide of migration." Wikipedia's account notes that newcomers were still relatively few at the time.[^6] ## Notes [^1]: Kappler's *Indian Affairs*, Vol. II, *Treaty of Mendota* (August 5, 1851), Oklahoma State University digital collection — treaty text and date, including Articles 1–4. https://dc.library.okstate.edu/digital/collection/kapplers/id/26443 [^2]: Wikipedia, *Treaty of Mendota* (revision 1376053250, retrieved 2026-10-26), lead section — citation 10 Stat. 954; parties; signing near Pilot Knob on the south bank of the Minnesota River within sight of Fort Snelling; relocation to the Lower Sioux Agency; opening of southern Minnesota. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Mendota [^3]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Treaty of Mendota* — signed August 5, 1851 at Pilot Knob; commissioners Lea and Ramsey; Little Crow, Wabasha and roughly eighty other signers. https://www.mnhs.org/usdakotawar/stories/history/treaty-mendota [^4]: Wikipedia, *Treaty of Mendota* (revision 1376053250), section "Treaty" — reproduced text of Articles 1, 2, 3 (stricken) and 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Mendota [^5]: MNopedia, *Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, 1851*, as summarized in a project research dossier — signed July 23, 1851; commissioners Lea, Sibley and Ramsey; about 24 million acres at about 7½ cents an acre; the traders' paper; more than 100,000 settlers within the decade. https://www.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/event/treaty-traverse-des-sioux-1851 [^6]: Wikipedia, *Treaty of Mendota* (revision 1376053250), section "Background" — 1805 Pike Island treaty; 1837 treaties; the 1851 negotiations; Ramsey and Lea's stated justification. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Mendota [^7]: MNopedia, *Treaty of Mendota* (1851), as listed in the project's claim record — companion Dakota cession to Traverse des Sioux. https://www.mnopedia.org/event/treaty-mendota-1851 [^8]: Wikipedia, *Treaty of Mendota* (revision 1376053250), section "Contribution to the Dakota War of 1862" — stricken Article 3, the 1862 annuity delays, the Hay investigation, the 1858 Dakota Treaty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Mendota