In exchange for ceded lands, Stevens promised the Native American groups improvements to reservations and annuities. The Flathead, Pend d’Oreille, and Kootenai agreed to share the Jocko Indian Reservation, which covered about 518,000 hectares (about 1,280,000 acres) to the south of Flathead Lake. The Flathead, who were reluctant to leave the Bitterroot Valley, inserted a clause into the treaty that allowed them to stay in their home for a temporary period. The Blackfoot also signed a treaty that bound them to a region in northern Montana. By 1868 nearly one-quarter of Montana had been set aside for reservations. However, whites frequently violated the treaties by using Native American land.

As Montana became more populated during the gold rushes in the 1860s, white settlers and Native Americans clashed. Although the incidents were generally minor -- a stolen horse or missing livestock --occasionally settlers or Native Americans were killed. In response to these incidents, the white immigrants demanded federal protection. In 1866 the army established Fort C.F. Smith, its first post in Montana. Later forts were built along the Mullan Road, near the Bozeman Trail, and to the east of Helena.

In 1869 a series of attacks on white settlers and on Native Americans drove the settlers from around Fort Benton to demand military action. Major Eugene M. Baker, who believed that the Blackfoot were responsible for the violence, led an attack on an innocent Blackfoot camp. This offensive left 173 Blackfoot dead. The Blackfoot, who were divided about how to react to the massacre, did not mount a counterattack.

The gold rush also provoked conflict between the Sioux in Montana and the white settlers. The Sioux were opposed to settlers using the Bozeman Trail, which crossed Sioux territory in the Great Plains region, to reach mining districts. The federal government attempted to negotiate with the Sioux at Fort Laramie in 1866, but the Sioux broke off the talks. Throughout the next few years, the Sioux regularly attacked settlements and travelers along the Bozeman Trail. In 1868 the government and the Sioux met at Fort Laramie again and signed a treaty, which closed the Bozeman Trail and provided a reservation for the Sioux in the Black Hills in Dakota Territory.

Some Sioux were dissatisfied with this agreement, including Sioux leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. This group continued to live near the Bozeman Trail. In 1874 gold was found within the boundaries of the reservation in the Black Hills, which brought in white prospectors. Some Sioux left the reservation to join Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. In 1876 the United States government sent troops, including Lieutenant Colonel George Custer and his regiment, to relocate this group to the reservation. On June 25, 1876, a Sioux force under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defeated Custer’s troops at the Little Bighorn. Although the Sioux were victorious in this famous battle, the United States sent reinforcements, and Crazy Horse gave up his arms in 1877. Sitting Bull conceded victory to the United States in 1881.

Source:  "Fort Laramie Treaty" Microsoft® Encarta®

Online Encyclopedia 2003  http://encarta.msn.com
 

Updated September, 2009

Also See:

Hauntings at Fort Laramie

Fort Laramie Gallery

Fort Laramie Treaty Document