Bad men clause facts for kids
A bad men clause is a clause in treaties signed between the United States and participating Native American tribes that states, if "bad men among the whites, or among other people subject to the authority of the United States" committed crimes against the tribes, that the United States would arrest and punish bad men involved while also reimbursing individuals affected by bad men. Though the clause has rarely been enforced, it remains an applicable way for tribes that signed treaties to seek justice for crimes committed against them by citizens of the United States.
History
Bad men provisions would appear in nine such treaties with various tribes between 1867 and 1868. The Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1868 was an agreement between the United States and the Oglala, Miniconjou, and Brulé bands of Lakota people, Yanktonai Dakota and Arapaho Nation, following the failure of the first Fort Laramie treaty, signed in 1851. The first of seventeen articles in the treaty holds a clause that has been described as the "bad men clause" that requires the US to prosecute and punish white settlers who commit crimes against the Sioux. In practice, the "bad men among the whites" clause was seldom enforced.
Legal usage
In 2015, the Lower Brule Indian Reservation invoked the Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1868 against TransCanada Corp. for its construction of the Keystone XL, with the tribe stating "presence of the Keystone XL Pipeline is hazardous to both the land and its inhabitants".
