Issue 1: The effects of treaty making - For students - We have a story to tell: Native peoples of the Chesapeake region

Reading questions

What were the factors that made treaty negotiations difficult?
Why are treaties with England still relevant to Chesapeake region tribes today?
Who benefited the most during the seventeenth century from tributes specified in the Treaty of Middle Plantation?
Who benefits the most today from tributes specified in the Treaty of Middle Plantation?

Treaties are agreements made between nations. During colonial times, the English viewed Indian tribes as separate autonomous nations and they often established treaties with them to make peace during times of war. Usually, treaty provisions specified that the Native Americans would give up portions of their lands and cease hostilities with the English. In exchange, the English colonists agreed not to attack the tribes and to set aside areas of land called reservations, or “manors,” for Native use. The English also promised to allow Indians to continue to hunt and fish in their accustomed places.

The 1666 Articles of Peace and Amity was a treaty between the Maryland Colony and the Piscataway Chiefdom. It stated, “That from this day forward there be an inviolable peace and amity between the Right honorable the Lord Proprietor of this Province and the Indians…to endure.”¹ Among other rights, it ensured that the Piscataway would not have to give up their lands. The Articles also promised that the Piscataway could fish, hunt, and gather crabs without disturbance.

One of the most important treaties in the Chesapeake region was the Treaty of Middle Plantation (Treaty between Virgina and the Indians). The English and a number of tribes in Virginia, including the Powhatan hiefdom, signed the Treaty of Middle Plantation in 1677. The treaty specified an agreement that Indians would own their reservations and would be treated as Englishmen under the law. The English also agreed not to settle within three miles of an Indian reservation.

In addition to the reservations established in the Powhatan/English treaties of the 1600s, one of the provisions that the Natives insisted on was the right to hunt, fish, and gather natural resources. In exchange for these rights, the Powhatans agreed to pay a tribute of game to the Virginia governor every year. At the time, these tributes helped feed the colonists.

Provisions in treaties between the Native Americans and the English colonists were always established through negotiations. Sometimes these negotiations were difficult and took a long time to complete. Not only were they negotiating complex arrangements, such as the exchange of lands; they were also attempting to communicate in two completely different languages. Natives and colonists were also trying to comprehend each other’s differing cultural values. For example, the Native people believed that the earth was sacred and that land was there for the benefit of all. Tribes had certain territories that they occupied, but individual people did not buy, sell, or hold title to plots of land.

Although the English did not uphold many of their promises and eventually left the Powhatan tribes with much smaller areas of land than they had agreed to during negotiations, the Powhatan have always felt that it was important and honorable to uphold their end of the agreement. Powhatan tribes, such as the Pamunkey and Mattaponi and sometimes non-reservation tribes such as the Chickahominy, still deliver their gifts to the Governor of Virginia. In the twenty-first century, this act has a far different meaning than it did in the seventeenth century. Today, paying the tribute of game is an expression of sovereignty for the tribes. It reminds the governor and people of Virginia that the Native Americans are still here, that they have never broken their treaty, that their reservation is still in place, and that their communities are alive and well.

Even though the United States government did not enter into treaties with the tribes of the Chesapeake region, the earlier colonial treaties still have relevance. They established the fact that Native nations existed here at the time the colonies were founded and after. This is very important for tribes today as they continue their efforts to keep their communities together and to assert their rights as Native nations.

Research resources:

For additional information on the importance of early treaties today,
go to the National Museum of the American Indian website.

Group discussion:

As a group, brainstorm how the United States has used treaties, agreements, and accords over time. Think about world issues such as war, the environment, and trade.

Think about it: If you were a world leader today, how would you decide what other nations you would and would not enter into treaty negotiations with? What would happen if one nation broke a treaty today? How do you think the seventeenth-century leaders of the Chesapeake area tribes decided who they would and would not enter into treaty negotiations with? Do you think all sides got what they expected from those treaties?