Taking Indian Land

Between 1825 and 1892 in Nebraska, there were a series of 18 different treaties between Native American tribes and the U.S. government in which Indians gave up their land. Nationally, there were hundreds of treaties. These treaties were important because each made it legally possible for the United States to make land available to settlers. The treaties of the early 1800s (and later) made the settlements of the 1870s possible.

The map below is linked to the actual text of the treaties, or a summary of the U.S. Congressional act, that ceded (gave up) land to the United States. These treaties and agreements make fascinating reading. The terms under which tribes gave up their land are remarkable, even for a time when a dollar bought a lot. Well-known political figures in Nebraska were among the negotiators who signed the documents.

Select a tribe and year to read the text of each treaty or a law summary that ceded land to the U.S.

NET Learning Services
Based on an original Map of Native American land cessions via treaties in what became Nebraska
Courtesy Bureau of American Ethnologies, Smithsonian Libraries, 1899

The Reservations

By 1878, the Lakota, Brule and Ogalala Sioux had been moved from their Nebraska agencies to reservations in South Dakota. So, life for the Native American on the Great Plains in the mid to late 1800s was one of increasing conflict with the white man for space, loss of their traditional lands, and the gradual destruction of their way of life.

Some "Indian Campaign" Medal of Honor recipients are in the Nebraska Hall of Fame.
Learn more about its members.