Sworn in as the 18th President of the United States on March 4, 1869, Ulysses S. Grant found himself in a bind. Prospectors were swarming into the West. New settlers made their way into Dakota Territory. The Transcontinental Railroad was nearly complete. Trails across the Great Plains were turning into roads. All this progress increased conflicts with Native American tribes.
Lakota Chief Red Cloud was an effective leader, achieving impressive victories over the U.S. Army. In one engagement, he wiped out an entire force of eighty-one soldiers. The worst American defeat until the Battle of Little Bighorn, ten years later.
Red Cloud played a key role in securing the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. On paper, it looked like a win but it did little to stop the westward push into Native American lands.
President Grant struggled to balance competing demands. Americans were determined to settle the Great Plains. Native Americans demanded that the federal government honor treaties protecting their land.
Grant called for reforms to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but did little to slow the flood of settlers and prospectors. The government even built a new fort on Lakota land.
On this date in 1870, Chief Red Cloud was in Washington, D.C., meeting with President Grant.
An accomplished leader in war, Red Cloud was also a skilled diplomat. He was not intimidated by the Washington elite. He told the Secretary of the Interior that the treaty was “all lies.” He told President Grant, "We have been driven far enough; we want what we ask for."
Red Cloud’s first visit didn’t yield the results he’d hoped for and he returned to Washington eight more times. During his 1872 visit, he agreed to be photographed by famed Civil War photographer Matthew Brady.
In later visits, hoping to influence politicians, Red Cloud cut his hair and wore Eastern-style clothing. Photographers clamored to capture his image. Today, there are 128 known photographs of Red Cloud.
His efforts to uphold the rights promised in the 1868 treaty ultimately fell short. But thanks to his many visits to Washington and those many photographs, Red Cloud became the most well-known Native American of his time. He passed away in 1909, at the age of 88.
Dakota Datebook by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Lost History. “Chief Red Cloud.” https://losthistory.net/nativeamericans/RedCloud.htm Accessed 5/8/2025.
- WyoHistory. “Red Cloud’s War.” https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/red-clouds-war Accessed 5/8/2025.
- National Park Service. “President Ulysses S. Grant and Federal Indian Policy.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/president-ulysses-s-grant-and-federal-indian-policy.htm Accessed 5/8/2025.
