boundaries” within which they “should be compelled
constantly to remain until such time as their general
improvement and good conduct may supersede the
necessity of such restrictions.”
September 8
Indian leaders of the northern Plains sign
the Treaty of Fort Laramie.
Indian agent Thomas Fitzpatrick calls a treaty con-
ference at Fort Laramie, in what is now Wyoming.
His goal is to end both intertribal warfare and In-
dian raids on settlers moving through the northern
Plains on their way to Oregon Territory and Califor-
nia. More than 10,000 Indians—including Lakota
Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow, Shoshone, Man-
dan, and Hidatsa—come to the meeting, making
it the largest gathering of Indians ever assembled.
Some groups, such as the Pawnee, Kiowa, and
Comanche, refuse to attend, largely because of their
ill-will toward the Lakota.
Following several days of pageants, during
which warriors in full war regalia try to impress
other tribes with their power and strength, Indian
and army leaders come together to discuss treaty
terms. In the final treaty, the Indians agree to live in
peace with one another, stop their attacks on whites
on the Oregon Trail, and allow the government
to build forts and roads in their lands. In return,
they receive a great store of goods and promises of
more.
The peace established by the Treaty of Fort
Laramie will be short-lived. As the number of
whites arriving in the Plains increases and the
threat to Indian land and ways grows, the promises
made in the treaty will have little meaning to either
Indians or whites.
November
Antonio Garra leads a California Indian
uprising.
Organized by Cupeño Indian leader Antonio
Garra, the Cupeño and a small number of Ca-
huilla, Quechan, and Cocopa join together to
resist the illegal attempts of the new state of
California to compel the Indians to pay property
taxes. When the state will not relent, the Indians
soon resolve to expel all non-Indians from their
lands. When the rebelling Indians kill two whites
and two Mexicans, the Cupeño rise up against
Juan José Warner, a white man who was granted
ownership of their homeland by the governor of
California and has since held the Cupeño living
there in virtual slavery. The Cupeño burn down
Warner’s house and kill four whites before the
state militia and U.S. troops attack and destroy the
Indians’ village of Cupa.
The uprising is quelled when a Cahuilla
leader betrays Garra and turns him over to the
U.S. Army. In a military court, Garra is tried for
treason, but because he declares that he has never
pledged allegiance to the United States, he is con-
victed of murder instead. Garra and four other
rebel leaders are executed. Although fewer than 50
Indians ever joined Garra, news of the uprising,
with exaggerated accounts of white deaths, spreads
through California. The reports create a panic and
inflame anti-Indian sentiment throughout the
white population.1852July 8Congress rejects treaties made with
California Indians.
Succumbing to pressure from non-Indians in Cali-
fornia, the Senate withholds its ratification of 18
treaties made with the Indians of the state (see
entry for JANUARY 1851). In these treaties, com-
missioners appointed by the president guaranteed
Indians exclusive use of about 7.5 million acres.
Although this amounts to only about 7.5 percent
of the land in California, many white Californians
loudly object to the creation of these reserved
areas, insisting instead that the government should
force Indians to leave the state completely.