As settlers and prospectors moved into Dakota Territory, conflicts increased between the newcomers and the people who had long called the Great Plains home. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 was an attempt to reduce that conflict and allow for free passage through Native American lands. The treaty established territory for the exclusive use of different tribes. Unfortunately, the terms began to unravel almost immediately. The United States lacked the resources to stop the flow of prospectors and settlers.
Fort Rice was the first Army post on the Upper Missouri River. It became the site of both peaceful cultural contact and armed conflict. According to the 1861 treaty, the land around the fort was designated as Lakota territory. The Lakota were not pleased with the location of the fort, and tensions were rising.
On this date in 1868, the largest peace gathering ever held on the Great Plains took place at Fort Rice. It was estimated that as many as 50,000 Native Americans gathered for the meeting. But some of the most important Native leaders chose not to attend. Sitting Bull, quickly gaining recognition as a strong defender of Native rights, refused to participate. As one of the most respected leaders, his absence meant the treaty carried little weight without his approval.
The Treaty of 1868 appeared to offer security to the Lakota with the creation of the Great Sioux Reservation, an enormous area covering parts of present-day North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska. The government also agreed to remove Army posts along the Bozeman Trail, which ran through Wyoming to the gold fields of Montana.
But the treaty lasted only six years. In 1874, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led an exploratory expedition into the Black Hills. When news broke that the expedition had found gold, prospectors poured into the area and the government again lacked the means to stop them.
In the end, the impressive gathering of so many Native Americans in the quest for peace came to nothing. Two years after his expedition, Custer met his end at the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Lakota lost possession of the Black Hills that had been promised to them.
Dakota Datebook written by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Historical Society of North Dakota. “Today in North Dakota.” https://www.statehistoricalfoundation.org/todayinndhistory/?&offset=100 Accessed 6/19 2025.
- National Park Service. “Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/horse-creek-treaty.htm Accessed 6/19/2025.
