09/25/2026
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📣 1854 Treaty with the Chippewa of Lake Superior and the Mississippi 📣
On September 30, 1854, representatives of the United States and the Chippewa Indians of Lake Superior and the Mississippi River entered into the Treaty of 1854 at La Pointe on Madeline Island. The treaty was later ratified by Congress on January 10, 1855.
The Treaty of 1854 was significant for the Ojibwe people of this region and helped shape the homelands and communities that remain here today.
One of the events leading to the treaty involved efforts by the United States government to remove Chippewa people living in Wisconsin. In 1850, President Zachary Taylor issued an executive order connected to those removal efforts. Following Taylor’s death, Millard Fillmore became president. During this period, Chief Buffalo and his people traveled to Washington, D.C., seeking an end to removal.
In 1852, President Fillmore suspended the removal order. Two years later, the Treaty of 1854 further established that the Chippewa people of Wisconsin would remain in Wisconsin.
The treaty also established reservation homelands associated with Ojibwe communities in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. This included the reservation homelands of Bad River, Red Cliff, Lac Courte Oreilles, and Lac du Flambeau.
The Treaty of 1854 also involved the cession of territory in northern Minnesota to the United States. In exchange, the treaty provided for payments, goods, and various services.
More than 170 years later, Treaty Day provides an opportunity to remember this history and the generations of Ojibwe people who worked to protect their people and their homelands.
For the Bad River community, this history is especially meaningful. The Treaty of 1854 is not simply a document from the past. Its history is connected to the homeland where our community continues to live today.
The treaty was signed generations ago, but the people, the community, and the connection to this homeland continue today. When we recognize Treaty Day, we remember that the decisions made by our ancestors were not only for the people living in 1854. They were also for the generations who would follow. Today, we are among those generations. The responsibility now belongs to us to understand this history, teach it to our children, honor those who came before us, and continue caring for the homeland they worked to protect.
For those looking to see a scan of the Treaty, feel free to follow the link below:
http://www.badriver-nsn.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260924_1854-Treaty-Scan.pdf
- Credit for Text goes to Kelly Shaggy! Thank you for all your help!
