Fort Wise Treaty facts for kids

The Treaty of Fort Wise was an agreement signed in 1861 between the United States government and some leaders of the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Native American tribes. Many Cheyenne people were very unhappy with this treaty. This was because only a few Cheyenne chiefs signed it, and they did not ask the rest of their tribe what they wanted. These disagreements about the treaty led to more conflict between white settlers and Native Americans. This conflict eventually contributed to the Colorado War of 1864, which included the terrible Sand Creek massacre.

What Led to the Treaty?

The Big Land Promise of 1851

Back in 1851, the United States and several tribes, including the Cheyenne and Arapaho, signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie. This treaty said that the Cheyenne and Arapaho people would have a very large area of land. This land was located between the North Platte River and the Arkansas River. It stretched eastward from the Rocky Mountains into western Kansas. This huge area included parts of what is now southeastern Wyoming, southwestern Nebraska, most of eastern Colorado, and the western parts of Kansas.

Gold Rush Changes Everything

In November 1858, something big happened: people found gold in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. At that time, Colorado was part of the western Kansas Territory. This discovery caused a huge rush of people, known as the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. Many white settlers started moving across the lands that belonged to the Cheyenne and Arapaho people.

Because so many new people were arriving, officials in the Colorado territory asked the government to change the size of the Native American lands. They wanted to make the treaty lands smaller.

A New Treaty Meeting

In the fall of 1860, A.B. Greenwood, who was in charge of Native American affairs for the government, traveled to Bent's New Fort. This fort was located along the Arkansas River. His goal was to create a new treaty to deal with the land issues.

The Treaty of Fort Wise (1861)

On February 18, 1861, the new treaty was signed. Six chiefs from the Southern Cheyenne and four chiefs from the Arapaho tribes signed the Treaty of Fort Wise with the United States. The signing happened at Bent's New Fort, which was also known as Big Timbers. This place was near what is now Lamar, Colorado. The U.S. Government had recently rented the fort and changed its name to Fort Wise.

In this new treaty, the Native American leaders gave up most of the lands that had been promised to them by the Fort Laramie treaty. They gave these lands to the United States government.

Images for kids

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  Approximate territory of the Arapaho and Cheyenne Indian tribes in 1851