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Unratified
Treaties
Since its initial publication in 1904, Charles
Kappler's Indian Affairs, Laws, and Treaties has been the
standard reference work for those interested in American Indian
treaties and treaty-making. Despite its size, however, Kappler's
work is by no means comprehensive. Scattered among various
national and state archives, university and historical society
collections, topical monographs and articles are dozens of
treaty documents pertinent to an understanding of American
Indian legal issues and history not included in Kappler's
volumes. It had long been the ambition of the noted American
Indian scholar and advocate, Vine Deloria, Jr., to compile
and publish these treaty documents in a convenient, accessible
format. To that end, Professor Deloria enlisted the aid of
Raymond J. DeMallie as co-editor, and the resources of the
American Indian Studies Research Institute.
Using Professor Deloria's extensive, preliminary
research and continuing input as a guide, AISRI was responsible
for confirming and obtaining authoritative copies of each
treaty, verifying and correcting source citations, and in
many cases, researching alternative or more reliable sources.
This project often involved working from handwritten documents,
some of which were in Spanish. AISRI undertook the translation
of these, and of a number of other treaties that had been
published only in Spanish. Finally, AISRI staff were responsible
for computerizing, proofreading, and formatting each of these
documents. The 1600-page manuscript was submitted to the publisher
fully formatted and virtually ready to publish.
The result of this effort is Documents
of American Indian Diplomacy: Treaties, Agreements, and Conventions,
1775-1979, a two-volume collection that illustrates the
full range of American Indian treaty activity. Along with
the usual ratified treaties, there are chapters covering less
well-known and seldom considered treaties and agreements,
such as those with foreign nations, with other Indian tribes,
with state governments, with railway companies for rights-of-way,
and with individuals for land grants and sales. In addition,
the work documents the considerable number of negotiated treaties
and agreements which were rejected and never ratified. Each
chapter begins with an introductory essay by Professor Deloria
which provides essential context for the treaties collected
therein. Thus, the work is simultaneously a illustrative study
of American Indian diplomacy and a valuable reference source
for difficult-to-obtain treaty documents.
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