1815 : Treaty of Spring Wells

When:
September 8, 2024 all-day
2024-09-08T00:00:00-04:00
2024-09-09T00:00:00-04:00

This treaty, signed by General William Henry Harrison and representatives of various tribes on September 8, 1815 in Spring Wells, Michigan Territory, established peace between the United States and the Wyandot, Delaware, Seneca, Shawnee (Shawanoe), Miami, Ojibway (Chippewa), Ottawa, and Potawatomi. The treaty was one in a series of treaties negotiated with Indian tribes in the summer of 1815 to restore peace after the War of 1812. These eight tribes, or factions of these tribes, joined Tecumseh’s alliance with the British against the United States during the war. In this treaty, peace was declared, the Indians’ rights and privileges were restored to their prewar status, and injuries were pardoned. The treaty also renewed the terms of the 1795 Treaty of Fort Greenville, under the terms of which the defeated Miami-alliance tribes under Little Turtle ceded most of present-day Ohio and other areas. The end of hostilities resulted in an influx of settlers to the region, and the Old Northwest tribes were soon pressed to give up more land.

According to the Historic Fort Wayne Association, the Treaty was signed at or near the location of Historic Fort Wayne, just outside Detroit.

Treaty negotiations are preserved in the American State Papers, Indian Affairs.  Here is a copy of the actual treaty text.

Source : Why Detroit’s Fort Wayne is Important to Native Americans

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