The name “Treaty of Fort Laramie” refers to two very different agreements signed seventeen years apart at the same frontier outpost. The 1851 treaty and the 1868 treaty are often confused, but they had different signatories, purposes, and consequences. Here is what changed.
The 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie (Horse Creek Treaty)
Signed on September 17, 1851, the first Fort Laramie Treaty — also called the Horse Creek Treaty — was a sweeping agreement between the United States and eight Plains nations: the Lakota (Sioux), Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow, Assiniboine, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara. Rather than taking land, it recognized the territories of each nation, guaranteed safe passage for emigrants along the Oregon Trail, and permitted the government to build roads and forts. In exchange, the nations were promised annuities for decades.
The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie
The second Fort Laramie Treaty, signed in 1868, was negotiated primarily with the Lakota (Sioux) and Arapaho to end Red Cloud’s War over the Bozeman Trail. It established the Great Sioux Reservation — including the sacred Black Hills — and set aside additional “unceded” territory in the Powder River country. Crucially, it promised the Black Hills to the Sioux permanently, and that no future land cession would be valid without the approval of three-quarters of adult Sioux men.
Key Differences at a Glance
- Signatories: 1851 included eight Plains nations; 1868 was primarily with the Sioux and Arapaho.
- Purpose: 1851 recognized territories and secured safe passage; 1868 ended a war and created a reservation.
- Land: 1851 mapped tribal lands without major cessions; 1868 defined the Great Sioux Reservation and the Black Hills guarantee.
- Legacy: the 1868 Black Hills clause became the heart of the longest-running land dispute in U.S. history.
The Black Hills and a Broken Promise
When gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874, the United States moved to seize the region in violation of the 1868 treaty. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians that the taking was unlawful and awarded monetary compensation. The Sioux have refused the money — now worth over a billion dollars — insisting instead on the return of the land.
Why It Still Matters
Both treaties remain binding agreements under Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, which makes treaties the supreme law of the land. Understanding the difference between 1851 and 1868 is essential to grasping modern debates over Native sovereignty and treaty rights. Learn more about why the 1851 Treaty is still relevant today.
