NATION to NATION

Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations



Navajo Treaty, 1868  |  VIEW TRANSCRIPT »

For years, the Navajo defended their land against Mexican and New Mexican slave traders and livestock raiders. In 1848, the U.S. Army arrived. Between 1863 and 1866, the army marched about 11,500 Diné people 400 miles to a desolate reservation at Bosque Redondo in New Mexico. In 1868, the Navajo became the only Native Nation to use a treaty to escape removal and return to their home. This treaty was written on paper taken from an army ledger book. Article 2 is the crucial one that defines the Navajo reservation.

Image: National Archives, Washington, DC | Transcript: Originally published in Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, 1904; digitized by Oklahoma State University.