Treaty of Ruby Valley (1863) facts for kids

The Treaty of Ruby Valley was an agreement signed in 1863 between the United States and the Western Shoshone people. This treaty gave the U.S. government certain rights in the Nevada Territory. The Western Shoshone did not give up ownership of their land in this agreement. Instead, they allowed the U.S. to travel through the area, keep telegraph and stagecoach lines, build one railroad, and do certain business activities. The treaty also said the U.S. president could set aside special areas called reservations for the Shoshone, but this was not linked to them giving up their land.

Even in 1992, the Western Shoshone were still arguing about the treaty with the U.S. government and President-Elect Clinton. By 2006, most Western Shoshone leaders had refused a payment of $145 million. This money was offered to transfer 25 million acres (101,000 km²) of their traditional lands to the United States. Congress had approved this payment in 2004. The Shoshone worried that taking the money would mean they were giving up their claims to the land forever.

Why the Treaty Was Signed

In the early 1860s, some Western Shoshone people were attacking European-American settlers. These settlers were traveling along the Humboldt River and the Overland Trail. To protect the settlers, the U.S. government built Fort Ruby.

During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the U.S. government needed gold from the West. To get this gold and ensure safe travel, the U.S. began making agreements with the Shoshone and other groups in the Great Basin.

Signing the Agreement

On October 1, 1863, Governor James W. Nye of Nevada Territory and Governor James Duane Doty of Utah Territory signed the Treaty of Ruby Valley. Twelve chiefs signed for the "Western Bands of the Shoshonee Nation of Indians." Most of them made a mark instead of a written signature. White men present at the signing were the first to call these different native groups "Western Shoshone." These people speak the Shoshone language and share a similar culture, but they acted as independent groups.

What the Treaty Said

The Shoshone leaders who signed the treaty agreed to stop fighting. They would allow European Americans to travel freely through Shoshone lands. They also agreed to let the U.S. set up military posts and rest stops for travelers, mail, and telegraph companies. The treaty allowed telegraph and stagecoach lines to keep running. It also permitted the building of a railway through their land, connecting the Plains to the Pacific Ocean.

The Shoshone also agreed to let people search for gold, silver, or other minerals. They allowed mining, the creation of mining and farming towns, and ranches. They also permitted the building of mills and the cutting of timber. The treaty stated that if the U.S. President decided it was time for them to stop their nomadic (roaming) life, they would agree to become herders or farmers on reservations given to them. In return, the Shoshone were supposed to receive twenty yearly payments of $5,000 each, in the form of cattle and other goods.

Land Ownership and Disputes

The treaty did not say that the Shoshone had to give up their lands. This led to a long disagreement with the U.S. government. In the 20th century, the Shoshone took their land claims to the Indian Claims Commission, which was a special court for Native American land issues. Because the treaty never clearly stated that the Western Shoshone gave up specific lands, their claims were very complicated. After this commission closed in 1978, the Western Shoshone continued their fight in federal courts.

The Western Shoshone have been in legal battles with the U.S. government over their land rights for many years. This started after a claim was wrongly filed in 1951 for land that was thought to have been taken from them. Most western states in the Great Basin were created by U.S. laws that said "no part of Indian country will be included into the boundaries or jurisdiction of any state or territory ...without the consent of the Indians."

During the Civil War, the U.S. needed gold from the West to pay for the war. The U.S. signed treaties, like the Treaty of Ruby Valley, to get access and free passage through the large Shoshone territory. The 1863 treaty identified the boundaries of their 40,000 square mile territory. The U.S. government used this treaty to show European governments and banks that it could get the gold needed for the war. They announced that "the treaty is in full force and effect."

The Western Shoshone never agreed to have their land included in any U.S. state or territory. The Western Shoshone still legally own the land that the U.S. tried to buy for $5,000 a year for 20 years. The United States only made the first payment to the Shoshone. However, the U.S. used its rights from the treaty to build railroads and later for federal agencies, like the Bureau of Land Management, to manage what they called "federal public lands."

Because the tribe still legally controls the land, the United States Department of Energy could not prove ownership of land for a planned nuclear waste storage site called Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. They had to withdraw their application for the facility. In 1979, Congress set aside $26 million to settle the land claims, but the tribes refused the payment. They said they wanted the U.S. to follow the 1863 treaty and stop trespassing on their lands.

In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court made a ruling in the case US v. Dann. This case was brought by Western Shoshone sisters Carrie and Mary Dann. They challenged the government's efforts to control their livestock grazing on traditional lands. The court ruled that when Congress set aside funds and the Secretary of the Interior accepted this, it counted as "payment." This meant that further claims were blocked, and the Western Shoshone's land title was "presumed to be extinguished."

However, the Western Shoshone tribes refused the settlement and left the money with the government. In another attempt to close a 1951 land claim case, Congress passed the Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act of 2004. This law approved a payment of $160 million to the tribe for what the government saw as the purchase of 39,000 square miles (100,000 km2). The Western Shoshone had originally filed a claim for $1.05 per acre for 26 million acres (which they had never received). But they said this did not mean they were giving up their rights to the land, because the Treaty of Ruby Valley was still in effect.

The Western Shoshone have held protests about many issues as they try to protect their territory. They have asked for an end to nuclear testing on their land. They have also asked courts to stop gold mining that would remove water from Mount Tenabo, Nevada. The Western Shoshone have tried to show that they are fully independent and that the U.S. does not have control over their territory.

Attempts to Settle the Dispute

The United States Congress tried to settle the agreement in 1979. They set aside $26 million to buy the rights to 24 million acres (97,000 km²) of tribal lands. In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this settlement ended the Shoshone's claims to the land.

Chiefs Frank Temoke and Frank Brady strongly refused the government's payment at Battle Mountain, Nevada on December 11, 1992. Temoke was sure that the Shoshone would lose their claim to the lands if they took the money. He said, "I did not sign any agreement for money. The actions of the federal government are against the law, wrong, and against international law." Brady also urged his people to refuse the settlement, saying, "The people need land, not money." Both chiefs faced a lot of pressure from their own people to accept the money, as many Shoshone wanted it. Brady said, "Some say we've lost the land already and that may be so, but we still have a fighting chance if we don't take the government payment." By 1998, the value of the settlement had grown to $100 million, and it continues to increase.

Congress passed the Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act of 2004. This law allowed a payment of $145 million to the tribe for the transfer of 25 million acres (101,000 km²) of their traditional land to the United States. However, seven of the nine tribal councils within the Western Shoshone Nation passed resolutions opposing this law and refusing the settlement payment.

On March 10, 2006, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination stated that there was "credible information alleging that the Western Shoshone indigenous people are being denied their traditional rights to land." On January 17, 2006, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Western Shoshone National Council against the United States. This lawsuit tried to confirm their ownership of lands defined by the Treaty of Ruby Valley.

The Treaty in Movies

• Broken Treaty at Battle Mountain (1975) is a documentary film by Joel Freedman. It shows how the U.S. has treated the Western Shoshone since the 1863 treaty was signed. It highlights how actions by agencies like the Bureau of Land Management negatively affected their traditional lands.
• To Protect Mother Earth (1989) is another documentary by Freedman, produced by Robert Redford. It focuses on the Shoshone tribe's efforts to protect their lands and rights when the U.S. was trying to settle the land claims case.
• American Outrage (2008) is a documentary film that explores these land disputes. It follows the legal fight led by Mary Dann and Carrie Dann, two Western Shoshone sisters who challenged the U.S. government over land use. It also shows how the United Nations recognized the Western Shoshone's struggle. The film was directed by George Gage and Beth Gage.
• Land of the Brave, 2016 is a film by Joel Freedman, continuing to cover the Western Shoshone and their land claims issues with Robert Redford.