The 1854 Treaty
Honoring the Past, Protecting the Future—Understanding the Treaty’s Impact on Ojibwe Rights and Land Access Today
The 1854 Treaty gives the rights of Ojibwe tribes to hunt, fish, and gather on ceded lands—rights that continue today. Yet, despite this legal right, many Native communities still face barriers to accessing these lands. Land Access Alliance invites you to imagine and explore how treaty rights can be honored.
Land Access Alliance fosters long-lasting connections between people and the land. We believe that land access is a right, not a privilege.. Our mission is to create land access opportunities for women, Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, landless farmers, and foragers for just participation in our local food system. As an organization based in the Arrowhead Region of Minnesota, we recognize the importance of honoring those who were on this land before us. We intentionally work in the spirit of reconciliation with land and people. We all have a responsibility on ceded lands, and strive towards doing our part to aid in land accessibility for all.
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Historically, treaties were often used to develop political alliances and to remove tribes from their homelands to make room for the growing population of settlers. Tribes were often coerced, misinformed, and/or had unequal bargaining power when signing treaties, leading to often unjust and underregulated treaties. Treaties hold federal power, meaning that the rights presented in them are upheld on a federal level, not a state level.
The 1854 Treaty, formally known as the Treaty of La Pointe, was an agreement signed on October 4, 1854, between the United States government and the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa(Ojibwe) tribes. The treaty was negotiated to establish terms for land cessions and to set up provisions for the management and protection of the tribes' remaining lands. The tribes traded 5.5 million acres of the Arrowhead region in exchange for annual payments of money, goods, and supplies worth less than $20,000. The rights to hunt, fish, and gather on ceded lands were also a large part of the trade. These rights were promised indefinitely, until further declarations or discussions, meaning that these rights are still in place today. The rights for tribes to hunt, fish, and gather on ceded lands have been historically overlooked and ignored.
Treaty History ​
The Treaty Today
The 1854 Treaty Authority is an organization that works to protect the 1854 treaty rights. They are an inter-tribal organization that centers around the Grand Portage and Bois Forte bands and their rights in the ceded lands. The Treaty Authority works to provide licenses, access, and more, to Native communities.
The 1854 Treaty Authority does a large amount of work with Native communities, including providing 1854 Treaty Cards to Grand Portage or Bois Forte Band members. These cards aid in accessing ceded territory lands for foraging, hunting, and fishing. 1854 Treaty Card holders are still subject to rules and regulations for how they hunt, fish, and forage.
The state of Minnesota signed an agreement with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in 2017, to clarify policies and practices around the hunting, gathering, and fishing rights. This agreement marked a collaboration and an understanding between the state and the impacted tribes, as they work together to share and collect data around regulatory strategies.
In many places across northeast Minnesota, the Ojibwe bands impacted by the 1854 treaty are still fighting today to protect their lands from environmental destruction and economic exploitation.
We all have a responsibility on ceded lands. One important way to respect and protect the 1854 treaty rights today is by protecting public lands. Protecting public lands begins with knowing the lands around you. Building connections with the public lands and organizations that work with them is a good area to begin. Once you are familiar with the public lands around you, learning about them and their history becomes the next important step. Being mindful while on the lands is essential to any advocacy, donations, or volunteering that you do from there. Volunteer organizations are vital to the survival of public lands, and participation and connection is key to getting involved.
To learn more about protecting public lands, go to https://www.publiclands.com/blog/a/how-to-protect-public-lands.
We Are Water MN Speaker Series - 1854 Treaty Authority
Marne Kaeske discusses the 1854 treaty and natural resource management with the Minnesota Discovery Center.
Looking Ahead
In the future, LAA aims to hold a plot of land for communities to access. With this land, LAA will honor the 1854 Treaty Rights, offering the ability for communities to hunt, fish, and gather as preferred. We look to this future with our same goals of access and opportunity for all.
Protecting public lands is a vital step in honoring the future of the 1854 treaty. You can get involved in many ways, such as advocating for land rights, volunteering with specific public land focused organizations, or donating to important causes. We all have a responsibility to honor the treaty, and protecting the land available to everyone is an important part of the process.