Why Treaties Matter | NPR

The U.S. has ratified more than 370 treaties with American Indian nations. Yet many Americans know little about the these legally binding treaties, that shaped, and continue to impact, the country today.

"They're not rights given to native nations, they're native nations by and large giving rights to the United States," says Jill Doerfler, an associate professor of American Indian studies at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.

NPR’s Story Lab project Inter(Nation)al traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to the National Congress of American Indians to talk with tribal leaders, scholars and people in the legal field about these foundational, living documents.

------------------------------------------------------

Follow NPR elsewhere, too:

ABOUT NPR
NPR connects to audiences on the air, on demand, online, and in person. More than 26 million radio listeners tune in to NPR stations each week and more than 36 million unique visitors access NPR.org each month making NPR one of the most trusted sources of news and insights on life and the arts. NPR is also the leading publisher of podcasts, with 36 original shows and an average of 4 million listeners per week. NPR shares compelling stories, audio and photos with millions of social media users on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Snapchat; NPR News and NPR One apps, online streaming, podcasts, iTunes radio and connected car dashboards help meet audiences where they are. NPR's live events bring to the stage two-way conversations between NPR hosts and the audience in collaboration with the public radio Member Station community. This robust access to public service journalism makes NPR an indispensable resource in the media landscape.

[thorisbc]

I love the comment, "If you don't like the treaty, then give us our land back." Any non-native person that complains about native American's attempts to hold the government accountable to its treaty obligations, needs go back to where their ancestors came from. Drop off the deed to any land holdings you might have and don't let the door smack you in the ass on the way out.

[at]

I just experienced a shift in my perception of the world I live in.

[melissafreeman]

The US needs to renegotiate treaties seeing as how they don’t actually have most lands of this nation because they broke and/or violated all from their ends.

[jillfredenburg]

This was an important and informative reminder to keep these issues at the forefront of my mind

[tarriegibson]

My Ancestors were treaty signers and I feel very strongly about what that means and the fact that I shouldn't have to ever be forced out or priced out or gentrifide out of the same lands as my ancestors for thousands of years have lived and died for. Yes died for! And I won't forget and neither should others...😊

[johnhenare]

Beautiful and heart felt.... 'continue to remember the promises'..a great end

[ThalitaAlmondes]

A treaty grants rights to the United States from native nations. One understandings of such rights are that common people live in cities and populated places likely due to a treaty. Another understanding is that a lot of treaties give resources and the rights to preserve land and these resources such as property rights.

Something that I found really interesting is that once a treaty is signed by the United States, it’s as al A treaty grants rights to the United States from native nations. One understandings of such rights are that common people live in cities and populated places likely due to a treaty. Another understanding is that a lot of treaties give resources and the rights to preserve land and these resources such as property rights.

[fiikahlo]

Enjoyed being educated, helps to understand better even though I'm outside the situation in Europe. Thank you ❤ strength and love to the people fighting ❤❤❤

[tijaanimayers]

Sis, got they ass together real quick! “ if the treaties, don’t matter, give us the land back” 😳😳

😂🤣😭

[lorriec]

The indigenous ppl of this land are what true American heroes look like. Warriors to the highest degree, noone has sacrificed more for this patch of earth than they!!!💜 I SEE YOU!!!

[andy]

Love this video. At my community college (Chabot) they have an Ethnic studies class on Native culture and history. But unfortunately no instructors to teach it. I really want to take it!

[bgrzesiak]

This proves the saying, "Freedom isn't free." It's not just about those who fought in our wars.
These treaties must either be honored or paid back. Native peoples are owed it, just as reparations are due to: Japanese who's land and businesses were taken away when sending them to concentration camps all around the country, descendants of slaves who lost over a century of generational wealth from Jim Crow and general prejudice, from Chinese descendants who built much of the country and were then subject to the Exclusion Act, Central and South Americans who come here at the behest of farmers and businesses to toil in their fields and factories, etc, etc, etc. Not to mention the prejudice against Poles, Irish, Italian and other nationalities who were treated as 2nd class citizens.

[jrewing]

The key words here are: Manifest Destiny. Locally known as Eminent Domain. Taking that which does not belong to you for the supposed reasons of bettering or enriching another culture. Yeah, whites pretty much thought this was a slam dunk. Sign this. Sign that. Yet, in the hundreds of years since, no single treaty has ever been shown to be

Or

🌾

[umbrah]

I always used to think... what was the point of "treaties" when people just turn around and go against their word. And to hear about how groups that have a true interest in the agreements are the ones who breathe life into these words and send these reminders of what these words mean, even if other parties have ulterior motives and mal intentions; even superpowers would want to uphold maintain some kind of reliable reputation.

Even then, I still feel like honor is a bit of a facade to some.

[kiss]

Is there a treaty that America has not broken

[abdulrahmanraheem]

What is a treat if only one party upholds it?

[Charles-if]

With all due respect, the elders that speak lakota are the expert!!!

[Azishome]

I have preached since the 1970s, when the so-called concept of Pan-Indian slid into the concept of Native American, that our peoples and our tribes need to continue to use the language of the U.S. Constitution, that we are in fact Indians. If we do not continue to push the concept of being Indian people and go by the designation Natives, then the U.S. government could unilaterally ignore or cancel the Indian-related programs, services, regulations, and legislation by saying, "Well, there are no more Indian people." If I recall, the Pan-Indian concept was also pushed by Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii in the hopes of somehow including Hawaii natives in federal Indian legislation, a move that could well dilute the funds, purposes, and intents of federal obligations to Indian people and tribes. Were we to lose our distinct designation as Indian people, then we could lose our special relationship to the U.S. government. In the 1970s, the Australian Aborigines of Queensland lost an Australian court case in which they could never recover their lands. I visited with an Aborigine man who was devastated by that court decision. They can't even re-visit the matter in the courts of the land because they, in certain matters, apparently have no standing to do so. The concept spoken of in this video, that in fact treaties are not intended to give comfort to Indian people, but are in fact instruments that give comfort from the tribes to the federal government, could collapse if the feds were ever to say, "Hey, you Native Americans have no Constitutional standing before us."

[Vibe_Shift_News]

I heard somewhere that the native people negotiated rights for all people to have access to health care and schools, thats why Canada has a better welfare system than the USA I don't know if this is true, I tried to research, id like to know

I get so angry by how many candians are so defensive about indigenous people of canda, they say oh they came from somewhere else etc...

These people have been there for 10, 000s of years, they were the first people to come to the americas and live on harmony with the land, that makes them native!

[celinak]

And now there's another pipeline scandal, starting in Canada