Treaties

What is a treaty, and why do they still matter?
A treaty is a nation-to-nation agreement involving independent entities such as political
groups that can establish rules for their own communities, control their membership, care for
their territory, and enter agreements with other self-governing entities. A treaty can be
established on anything likely to result in disagreements and imbalance among participants. In
addition, a treaty is always expressed, which means it is written and cannot be indirect or
implied. A treaty is categorized as bilateral and multilateral.
However, each treaty differs from others depending on the agreements and contexts.
Treaties matter today because they continue to uphold the inherent authority of the Native
American nations (Nations, 2014). This enables the tribal governments to uphold the relationship
between nations and the federal government. Besides, treaties are living documents that
recognize the government of the Native Americans. They essentially assure to preserve and
protect the lands, culture, and traditions of the Native Americans and future generations. Treaties
are valid today, just as they were signed and approved.
Other than a lack of knowledge, what are some reasons why treaties tend NOT to be
respected?
It is quite unfortunate that the treaties signed and approved helped the United States
expand its territory. This led to many promises made to the Native Americans being broken, and
as a result, the Native Americans were left with no choice but to show no respect to these
agreements. Besides, there were broken promises (Berrettini, 2007). Federal officials promised
that the Native American reservations would always be under the custody of the tribes and that

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the payments and provisions of the treaty would be delivered fully and without any delay.
Nevertheless, these promises were not honored.

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References

Berrettini, M. L. (2007). Archives of the West: Fort Laramie Treaty, 1868. Public Broadcasting
Service. https://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/four/ftlaram.htm
Nations, W. H. A. B. S. (2014). Indian Affairs Council, State of Minnesota. Why treaties matter:
Self-government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations.
http://treatiesmatter.org/exhibit/welcome/t