The Treaty of Mississiniwas or The Treaty of Mississinewa is an 1826 treaty between the United States and the Miami tribe. 1826 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A treaty is a binding agreement under international law concluded by subjects of international law, namely states and international organizations. ... The Miami are a Native American tribe originally found in Indiana and Ohio. ...

Provisions of the Treaty

By the treaty, the Miami leadership agreed to cede to the United States the bulk of Miami reservation lands held in Indiana by previous treaties. In compensation, the families of Chief Richardville and certain other Miami notables were given estates in Indiana, with houses like the Richardville_House and livestock furnished at government expense. The federal government agreed to buy out some of the estates granted by the previous Treaty of St. Mary's. Small reservations were to be carved out along the Eel and Maumee rivers. The Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville House was built near Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1827. ... There are two Eel Rivers in Indiana. ... See also List of Indiana rivers List of Ohio rivers External link EPA Maumee River site Categories: US geography stubs | Indiana rivers | Ohio rivers ...

The tribe was also to be compensated with $31,040.53, $10,000 of this in silver, the first year; and $26,259.47 in goods the next. Promises were made of a $15,000 annuity thereafter, in addition to monies provided for by other treaties. $2,000 per annum was to be set aside for the "…poor infirm persons of the Miami tribe, and for the education of the youth of the said tribe…" as long as the Congress should "…think proper…" Hunting rights would continue to be enjoyed "…so long as the same shall be the property of the United States." Hunting is, in its most general sense, the pursuit of a target. ...

Problems

One problem with the treaty was language making fulfillment of several US obligations conditional on the will of Congress. No such language limits native obligations pursuant to "the will of the tribal council," thus, the Miami party is at a distinct disadvantage. The United States, after a vote in Congress, can walk away from some of its obligations without breaking the treaty; the Indians cannot. Since most of the land in Indiana was soon parceled out to settlers, the Miami could not long enjoy the privilege of hunting on open land that was "…the property of the United States." This seriously curtailed the ability of most Miami to supplement their diet with meat from the hunt.

While the promises to the Miami elite seem for the most part to have been honored, the provisions for the maintenance of the lower orders were later modified to their detriment or ignored. The "commoners" of the Miami tribe, as they might be called, were left helpless in the face of the Indian Removal Act and were often at the mercy of agents from the Bureau_of_Indian_Affairs, for whom the best interests of natives were not always a priority. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was a law passed by the United States Congress and signed by President Andrew Jackson to facilitate the removal of American Indian tribes living east of the Mississippi River in the United States to lands further west. ... The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) responsibility is the administration and management of 55. ...