California Indian Reservations and Cessions facts for kids

Between 1851 and 1892, the United States Army made California's Native American tribes sign 18 treaties. These treaties made the tribes give up their rights to their traditional lands. In return, they were promised reservations. However, the U.S. Congress did not approve these treaties. They even ordered them to be kept secret.

It wasn't until 1896 that these treaties became public. This happened when the Bureau of American Ethnology released a report. This report was about how Native American tribes across the U.S. interacted with the government. Charles C. Royce put the report together. It included the 18 secret treaties from California. It also had a map of the promised reservation lands.

California's Native American Lands and Treaties

This article shares information from a special report. It was made by the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1896. The report details all the official actions taken by the United States government. These actions involved California's Native American people between 1851 and 1892.

A Difficult History

California became a U.S. state in 1850. This meant the U.S. government had to handle all relationships with Native American tribes. Before this, Mexico had ruled California. Mexico had not made formal agreements with the tribes. After a law in 1833 closed the Spanish missions, many Native Americans became servants. They worked for owners of large ranches. Others moved east to the Sierra Mountains or north. There, they joined tribes that Mexico had left alone.

Farmers and gold miners in California wanted Native Americans taxed heavily. They also wanted them removed from the gold fields. In 1851, the U.S. government set up a special group. This group was to check land grants given by Mexico. At the same time, the government also created a commission. This commission had military support. It led to 134 of California's more than 300 Native American tribes signing 18 treaties.

These treaties made the tribes give up their rights. In exchange, they were promised 7.4 million acres of "reservation" lands. These lands were spread across the state.

This map from 1896 shows Native American land cessions and reservations in California.

Between 1851 and 1865, California acted on its citizens' wishes. The state used military force to remove tribes from their homelands. The U.S. government allowed these actions. It did not stop the state during this period. This time is sometimes called the California Genocide. It was made legal by the 1850 Indian Protection Act. The state also used money to fund many state armies. These armies hunted down and killed tribal members.

In 1851 and 1852, John C. Frémont, a U.S. Senator, formed the Mariposa Battalion. This group rounded up tribal leaders living on his ranch. Frémont pushed for federal troops and three Indian Commissioners. These commissioners got tribes to agree to leave their lands. These agreements were for the first reservations in California. But the state refused to allow these large land takeovers. This caused the treaties to fail. The U.S. Senate then ordered that their existence be kept secret for over 45 years.

One of the commissioners, O. M. Wozencraft, spoke out. He said the government's actions would lead to a "war to wipe out" the state's tribal people. He even published a pamphlet about the problems. But because he spoke out, he was removed from his job in September 1852.

The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs later set up four reservations. Congress had ordered these. More land was later given to various Mission Indians in Southern California. In 1896, the Smithsonian Institution created a report. It listed all historical actions by date and tribe. These actions included lands taken from or reservations created by the U.S.

Larisa Miller wrote about how the Northern California Indian Association (NCIA) helped. In 1903, they asked President Roosevelt to buy federal lands. This was for thousands of homeless Native Americans in California. They said the land's ownership "had never been extinguished." Their efforts led to the rediscovery of the 18 treaties. These treaties had been signed by 134 Native American groups. The Senate's order of secrecy was removed on January 18, 1905.

This is the second 1896 map showing Native American land cessions and reservations in California.

The United States Bureau of American Ethnology published yearly reports. These reports covered different Native American topics. Their 18th annual report, in two volumes, listed all U.S. land takings, treaties, and reservations before 1896. Charles C. Royce put the report together. It also had a 122-page introduction by Cyrus Thomas. This introduction explained the legal ideas the U.S. used for its actions. It focused on the 1823 U.S. Supreme Court decision called the Discovery doctrine. This idea suggested that European countries could claim land.

Thomas wrote something that set the tone for the introduction: "Its vastness offered a great opportunity for everyone. The Native Americans' way of life and beliefs gave an excuse for Europe to claim control over them. So, the leaders of the Old World easily convinced themselves that they paid Native Americans enough. They did this by giving them the benefits of civilization and Christianity. In exchange, they took control of the people and their country."

The report included colorful maps for each state. California had two maps. They had numbered areas to show each land cession or reservation. These numbers help locate the land.

Native American Land Changes in the United States

Part 2 of the report, from pages 781 to 948, is called "Indian Land Cessions in the United States." This section lists information from U.S. government treaties, reservations, and land cessions. These were made with California's tribal people between 1851 and 1896. The California entries in the report include page numbers for legal and historical sources. Links have been added to make the original report clearer. Some parts about specific land areas were left out of the original report.

The table below shows land transactions. Each transaction has a number. You can find this number on the maps above. Later transactions are on the second map, "Ca-2," with their number. The first 18 entries are called "unratified treaties." The 1896 Smithsonian report did not call them that. It listed them as lands given up in exchange for other land.