American and Native American Rivalries: The Treaty of Saginaw

The Treaty of Saginaw was originally made almost 200 years ago, on September 24, 1819. The document was created between Chief John Okemos and General Lewis Cass; Chief Wasso; the Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwe tribes; and other Native American tribes that resided within the Great Lakes region. The document wasn’t proclaimed by James Monroe, the President of the United States at the time, until March 25, 1820. The Treaty of Saginaw was then placed in law as 7 Stat. 203

Once this document was signed, over six million acres of land was ceded by the Native Americans. The land was in the central portion of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, described within the treaty as the following:

“Beginning at a point in the present Indian boundary line, which runs due north from the mouth of the great Auglaize river, six miles south of the place where the base line, so called, intersects the same; thence, west, sixty miles; thence, in a direct line, to the head of the Thunder Bay River; thence, down the same, following the courses thereof, to the mouth; thence, northeast, to the boundary line between the United States and the British Province of the Upper Canada; thence, with the same, to the line established by the treat of Detroit, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seven; thence, with the said line, to the place of beginning.”

The document did provide some compensation though; using the land that was signed over, reserves were placed for the Chippewa Indians. About 21,760 acres were separated and set aside solely for use by the Native Americans.