Why Treaties Matter: Self-Government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations

The project is funded in part with money from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and The Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation.

The traveling exhibition “Why Treaties Matter: Self-Government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations” offers your community an unprecedented opportunity to learn more about the Native nations in Minnesota and the history of treaty-making with the United States. The exhibit relays Minnesota’s Native history in a way that has never before been done – in the voices of Dakota and Ojibwe people in this place once called “Mnisota.”

“Why Treaties Matter” – traveling throughout the state since August 2011 – has been displayed at Indian Reservations, tribal colleges, universities, museums, historical societies, cultural centers, libraries and community centers. A copy of the exhibit is permanently on view at the Minnesota State Capitol.

The exhibit is the result of a historic partnership forged by three organizations: the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the official liaison between the state and Minnesota’s Native Nations, the Minnesota Humanities Center, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. It includes 20 freestanding panels and a 14-minute video titled “A Day in the Life of Minnesota Tribal Nations.”

We were the first people here, and before others arrived on our lands we governed ourselves and maintained diplomatic relations with each other. Our independent, or sovereign, nations negotiated government-to-government agreements – like treaties – with one another over trade, hunting, and other issues.

European powers recognized our sovereign status  when they made treaties with us, as did the fledgling United States in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Contitution and treaties signed during the 18th and 19th centuries. Thus, the story of tribal nations is the story of our treaties – from the time before Europeans arrived, through treaty making with the United States, to the growth of tribal self-determination in our time.

Many people think the United States gave land to the Native Americans, but the reverse is true. Our ancestors agreed, often under pressure, to give up large portions of their homelands and retain small areas of land called reservations for the exclusive use of their people and descendants. At times, tribes also retained access to resources on lands that were sold. In exchange, the United States promised to provide tribal nations with social, economic, and educational services, a responsibility that continues today.

Treaties matter to all of us – Natives and non-Natives – because they are an important part of our shared history in Minnesota. They are living documents that continue to affirm the inherent sovereignty of Native nations, enabling our tribal governments to maintain a nation-to-nation relationship with the United States; manage our lands, resources, and economies; protect our people; and build a more secure future for generations to come. Today, more than 145 years after our treaties were signed, we celebrate them and our status as sovereign nations.

“Why Treaties Matter: Self-Government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations” is a collaboration of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the Minnesota Humanities Center, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. The project is funded in part with money from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and The Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation. The travel itinerary and other exhibit information may be viewed at http://mnhum.org/native-nations-minnesota/why-treaties-matter/ .