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Minnesota Treaties Quiz How much do YOU know about treaties in Minnesota’s History? This painting of the 1851 treaty signing at Traverse de Sioux by Francis Millet hangs in the Governor's Reception Room in Minnesota's state capitol. On the stage, Dakota leaders shake hands, while at the table, individuals sign away the money now owed to them by the treaty to traders who have trapped them in a cycle of debt and dependence. The painting celebrates the “gaining” of land of Minnesota. What message does having this painting still displayed at the state capitol send to present day American Indians? First Question

How many American Indian - U.S. Treaties affected Minnesota Territory? 1 out of every 2 1 out of every 10 1 out of every 50 1 out of every 100

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Correct Answer! 1 out of every 10. Forty-one U.S.-Indian Treaties affected Minnesota Territory.* *Information courtesy of Allies: Research and Writing. Next Question

How many non-Native people lived in Minnesota in 1850 when the Dakota ceded 24 million acres to the U.S. government?ceded 6,000 20,000 80,000 1 million

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Correct Answer! 6,000 non-Native people lived in Minnesota in 1850 when the Dakota ceded 24 million acres to the U.S. government.* *Information courtesy of Allies: Research and Writing. Map of Minnesota Territory Map by Thomas Cowperthwait & Company, Next Question

Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey called for the ____________ of all Sioux people in Sioux Extermination or banishment Fair treatment and tolerance Arrest or imprisonment Honor and respect

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Correct Answer! Extermination or banishment. After the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, Governor Ramsey declared, "The Sioux Indians of Minnesota must be exterminated or driven forever beyond the borders of the state.“ Many Dakota people were killed or forcibly removed from Minnesota after this war. Governor Alexander Ramsey Would the same declaration today be considered genocide? Next Question

Minnesota Territory Treaties involved how many sovereign Indian nations?sovereign 2 4 6

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Correct Answer! Six. Minnesota treaties involved six sovereign nations: Dakota, Ojibwe, Menominee, Ho-Chunk, Sac, and Fox nations.* *Information courtesy of Allies: Research and Writing. Map sources: Indian Land Cessions in the United States, compiled by Charles C. Royce and presented as Part 2 of the Eighteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Printed by the Government Printing Office in Indian Land Cessions. U.S. Serial Set, Number 4015, 56th Congress, 1st Session. Next Question

True or False: Reservations were portions of land given to Indian nations by the U.S. government. True False

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Correct Answer! False. Reservations were portions of land reserved by Indian nations for themselves as part of land cession treaties in which Indigenous people ceded land to U.S. control. The U.S. government could not give away land that it did not own. Next Question As of 2010 there are 11 federally-recognized tribes in the State of Minnesota.

True or False: American Indian – U.S. Treaties are still relevant today. True False

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Correct Answer! True. “Treaties are more than relics of the past. Tribal sovereignty based on treaties works in everyday life, particularly in contemporary commercial ventures from fishing to the creation of utility companies.”* *Information courtesy of Allies: Research and Writing. John Czeck of Leech Lake holds a sign during a protest at Bemidji waterfront park May 2010 in Bemidji, Minn. The treaty the sign refers to is the 1855 treaty with the Anishinaabeg by the state of Minnesota. MPR Photo/Derek Montgomery Next Question

True or False: Treaties affected relationships between bands within Indigenous nations. True False

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Correct Answer! True. “The homelands of Indigenous nations – and subsequently their land cession – seldom corresponded to any U.S. state or territorial boundaries. Treaties, especially among the Dakota and Ojibwe, were made by autonomous bands from within the larger nations; consequently, several of the treaties concern not only relations among the U.S. and Indigenous nations, but also relations among bands from within a single nation.”* *Information courtesy of Allies: Research and Writing. More Info

A collaboration between the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the Minnesota Humanities Center, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, Minnesota American Indian Treaties project will explore the “absent narrative” or missing story of circumstances surrounding our Minnesota land, its use, and the treatment of our land’s indigenous peoples today. Click to Start the Quiz Over About the Minnesota American Indian Treaties Project Coming Spring 2011 Traveling Exhibit Website Teacher Resources “Imagine if every child in Minnesota grew up having learned what tribal sovereignty is… Together, we can work to educate a new generation of Minnesotans who understand basic important facts about Minnesota’s tribal nations.” - Kevin Gover, Director National Museum of the American Indian Learn more at

Glossary To cede: to yield or formally surrender to another. Sioux: a French word used to refer to Dakota Indians. Sovereign: Independent of, and unlimited by, any other; possessing, or entitled to, original authority or jurisdiction; as, a sovereign state; a sovereign discretion. (1913 Webster’s dictionary) Go Back