The Treaty Trail: Isaac Stevens' Treaty Councils 1854-1856
Context for Treatymaking: Overview
1839 Burr Map
David Burr (1803-1875)
Map of the United States of North America with parts of the adjacent countries

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Hand-colored engraved map, London: 1839. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division (132)

Treaty making in the Northwest between the United States and Indian tribes did not occur in isolation from events happening across the country.

Why did the U.S. push for these treaties? Why did some tribes sign them? Why did other tribes avoid them? The Treaty Trail in the Northwest changed how both Native American peoples and non-native peoples have experienced life in the United States since 1854. Consequently, some of our family histories involve triumphant journeys westward to start a new life; other family histories tell of displacement, survival, and innovation amid discrimination. By opening up the region to the commercial development of natural resources, even the landscape around us bears the literal marks of the Treaty Trail.

Please continue on with the following interactive map to explore some of the events and changes in lifeways that occurred prior to the signing of treaties in the Northwest.

TRIBAL HOMELANDS
Tribal Homelands explores the ancestral homes and lifeways of Native Americans, the changes imposed on them with the arrival of settlers, and the treaties that followed.
Interactive Contest Map
INTERACTIVE CONTEXT MAP
The Context Map provides an opportunity to connect a timeline of the history of Washington Territory to some familiar locations on an interactive map.
BIOGRAPHIES
History exists because of the people who wrote it, and frequently what was written were their own life stories. More than just text, these pages add images to give life to the people who participated in the Treaty Trail.
FEDERAL INDIAN POLICY
Essays, documents and an historical timeline fill the pages of the Federal Indian Policy section which is devoted to explaining Federal Indian Policy and how it was created. An interactive view of the U.S. Constitution highlights aspects of this document that laid the groundwork for the making of treaties.

Please proceed to Tribal Homelands »

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