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Report of the Committee |
The Committee on Indian Affairs to which was referred the Memorial of the Stockbridge Nation of Indians in Wisconsin, being desirous of procuring every information practicable relative to the statements made in that Memorial, referred it to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, with the request that he would examine and report on the subject. See appendix marked A. That report, under date of the 11th instant has been received, and carefully examined by the Committee, in connexion with the various treaties &c therein referred to, and the Committee are constrained to differ in conclusions wholly from the Commissioner.
The great length of the Commissioner's Report, will prevent a review of the whole of it, but the Committee will refer to the leading points to show the grounds on which they differ from the Commissioner[.]
The first conclusion of the Commissioner is, that the claim of the Stockbridges, to the White River Country in Indiana, is nowhere admitted, or even referred to in the treaties between the United States and the several Indian Tribes. That the Stockbridges had not left the State of New York, when that country was acquired by the U. States. That a Bill for their relief was rejected by the House in 1820; that their claim thereto was relinquished for a consideration deemed adequate, on 17th March 1821; & that from that time till 1839, they alleged no further claims against the U States for these lands, but sought indemnity from the Delawares, who denied their right, but offered them a share of their annuities &c.
The Commissioner seems to have lost sight entirely of the reference made by himself to the Treaty of June 7, 1803, one of the witnesses to which, he states, was a chief of the Stockbridge tribe; showing that he, at least was there at that time, though the main body of his people did not remove for years afterwards; he seems also to have overlooked the 2d Article of the Treaty of 1809, in which the Miamies clearly recognise and reserve certain rights of the Stockbridges & Delawares;
Nor is any reference made to the document approved in 1808 by President Jefferson and Henry Dearborn Secy of War, confirming the right of the Stockbridges to these lands, though the Commissioner was, or should have been cognizant of that fact; Nor yet to proceedings preliminary to the treaty made by the Miamies in 1818, ceding these lands, & which the Miamies refused to enter into till the Government gave them an indemnity against the claims of the Stockbridges who were not present at the Treaty, as will be seen by the documents on the subject. The Stockbridges sought indemnity from the Delawares, because they were assured by the United States, that they had a good claim on them, and that the Delawares should be induced to do them justice. The declaration in the Treaty of 1804, that the U States, in future would consider the Delawares as the rightful owners of the lands therein described, can neither vest, nor divest a right. It is a simple declaration, subsequently contradicted by the action of the President & Secy of War & which the Commissioner himself recites on the 6th page of his report, showing that the Delawares & Stockbridges were then considered as jointly & equally interested in those lands. The Delawares, by the treaty of 1818, only relinquished their claim to these lands leaving the claim of the Stockbridges untouched. The Commissioner however, states, that the Stockbridges relinquished this claim for a consideration deemed adequate! What was that consideration? $3000!- The Committee consider the payment of this money, as a recognition of the claim of the Stockbridges, or a gross misapplication of the public money- They are satisfied that it is not the latter, such a charge never having been suggested, but are inclined to the opinion, that the officers then having the charge of this business being satisfied of the justness of this claim, were yet disposed to make the best bargain, possible, for the Government, and therefore succeeded in obtaining a relinquishment from the Stockbridges for this nominal sum. The Committee do not believe that such
a course was desired by the Government, as it is at war with the uniform course pursued towards the Indians. It is not the wish of the U States, to extort from the Indians, their lands at a nominal price, when they have them in their power, by preferring them an inadequate recompense, with the alternative of taking that or nothing, & hence the committee regard the payment of these $3000 under the circumstances, as on account of & a recognition of the whole; the Stockbridges having like rights with the Delawares, and entitled to like compensation. The fact, that a Bill for their relief, was rejected by one house of Congress in 1820, is, as every member of Congress well knows, no evidence of the injustice of their claim.
2d The Commissioner admits that the New York Indians, of whom the Stockbridges appear to have been the leaders purchased in 1821 & 1822 large tracts from the Menomonies and Winnebagoes in Wisconsin; with the approbation of the President of the United States;- but further states, that the Menomonies denied that in the agreements of 1821 and 1822 they intended to convey the land therein designated; that their understanding of those agreements, was, that they had only given the Stockbridges and other New York Indians permission to occupy the land for agricultural purposes. That Commissioners were appointed, as soon as the objections of the Menomonies were known, to settle the difference; that the Stockbridges & other New York Indians represented to the President their willingness to abridge their claims to nearly one half; that the Treaties of 1831 and 1832 with the Menomonies affected a settlement of the whole difficulty in a manner, and upon terms which met the approbation of the Stockbridges & those acting in their behalf; that the allotment of two townships of land on the East side of
Winnebago Lake was made on their solicitation, & embraced about the quantity claimed by them; & that five thousand dollars were appropriated on the 6th August 1846, in consideration of the moneys paid by the Stockbridges to the Winnebagoes & Menomonies in 1821 & 1822 & all other claims.
This is a most extraordinary arrangement and blending of facts and conclusions. The Stockbridges and other New York Indians purchased under the Sanction of the President & Secy of War a tract of about six millions of acres from the Menomonies & Winnebagoes, which purchase was subsequently approved by the Executive. The vendors, after having received the price of their lands, with a want of faith common to the wandering tribes complain;- Commissioners are at once dispatched to settle the difficulty; and they, regardless of the just claims of the Stockbridges and other New York Indians, reduce their lands to about one tenth of the amount embraced by their purchase, on the sole ground that as they were an agricultural people, they needed less lands than the Menomonies & Winnebagoes, who were hunter tribes! The allegation made by the Menomonies, & which appears by the Commissioner's Report to have been the basis of their complaint, was perfectly true; that is, that they only sold out their possessory rights in these lands. They had no other, & of course could sell no other; and the approval of the Executive expressly limited the purchase to that right. Hence that complaint did not justify the appointment of Commissioners, with instructions to reduce the limits of the Stockbridge purchase; nor can that reduction be justified on any principle of justice or equity. It can only be regarded as a measure of policy on the part of the Executive, to conciliate the Menomonies, who were a fierce, powerful, and warlike tribe, & whose friendship to the Government was
always problematical, at the expense of a comparatively weak tribe of agriculturists, who were known to be devoted to the United States; and for the lands of which the Stockbridges were deprived by this unjust decision of the Commissioners, the Govt is bound to make a just restitution. The allegation, that the Treaty of 1831 & 1832, with the Menomonies, affected a settlement of the whole difficulty, in a manner, and upon terms, which met the approbation of the Stockbridges & their friends, is most extraordinary. The history of our intercourse with the Indian tribes present few cases of grosser outrage and injustice than the treaty thus referred to- By that treaty the Stockbridges were entirely excluded, although their claims were known to, & had recently been brought before the Department, when the Commissioners were appointed to adjust their differences with the Menomonies; and if the Senate had not interposed, and affixed that condition to their ratification of this treaty, they would, by its provisions, have been cast out, houseless, homeless, & landless, dependant on charity wholly, for a roof to cover them, or food to support nature. See appendix marked B.
In view of the foregoing, then, the Committee consider the Stockbridges justly and fairly entitled to full remuneration for their claims on White River, in Indiana, deducting of course the amount heretofore paid them; and also for the lands of which they were unjustly deprived in Wisconsin, deducting the amount appropriated by the Act of 1846, which the Commissioner states, has been sent them; and therefore Report the accompanying Joint Resolution, devolving the settlement of the claims of the Stockbridges upon the accounting officers of the Treasury, as the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, by his report, has already & unfavorably adjudged their claims.