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The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)

Treaty of 1868

The Black Hills of Dakota are sacred to the Sioux Indians. In the 1868 treaty signed at Fort Laramie and other military posts in Sioux country, the United States recognized the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation, set aside for exclusive use by the Sioux people. However, after the discovery of gold there in 1874, the United States confiscated the land in 1877. To this day, ownership of the Black Hills remains the subject of a legal dispute between the U.S. government and the Sioux.

Article II delineates the border of the land set aside for the Sioux. The final pages of the 1868 treaty bear the names and markings of the Sioux chiefs and the signatures of the American commissioners who represented the United States.

Treaty of 1868, April 29, 1868, selected page


Treaty of 1868, April 29, 1868, selected page

National Archives, General Records of the U.S. Government

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Last updated: July 1, 1998