150th Anniversary of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

WORKING DRAFT

ORIGINAL
Senate
JOINT RESOLUTION
.
SJ0002

ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 1,

SENATE

SIXTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2018 Budget Session

A JOINT RESOLUTION to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the signing of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

WHEREAS, the area in and around what is presently known as Fort Laramie, Wyoming has served like a grand meeting hall, described by author Starley Talbott as a place
"
where the mountains meet the plains; where two rivers converge; where Native American tribes gathered; where fur trappers and traders rendezvoused; where emigrants met for rest and supplies; where soldiers came and went; where homesteader
s
linked the past to the present; and where
today
'
s
travelers come to partake in Fort
Laramie
'
s
fascinating
history;
"
and

WHEREAS
,
Fort Laramie and its surrounding area had been occupied by tribes of the
Great
Plains th
roughout the course of history; and

WHEREAS
,
in 1812, Robert Stuart was the first non-Indian person to visit
the area later known as
Fort Laramie and Alfred Jacob Miller became the first artist to record the
area's
l
andscape in 1837; and

WHEREAS
,
beginning in 1841, emigrants bound for the West Coast stopped in Fort Laramie as they traveled to what would later become the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails, with westward migration peaking in the early 1850s at more than
fifty thousand (
50,000
)
people traveling these trails annually
; and

WHEREAS
,
the U
nited States
military purchased the Fort Laramie Post in 1849 and stationed soldiers to protect wagon trains, thereby establishing a social and economic cent
er for Indians and non-Indians; and

WHEREAS
,
despite efforts to secure peace between Native Americans and the non-Indian emigrants and military personnel, conflicts arose, culminating in wars between Plai
ns Tribes and the United States; and

WHEREAS, the indigenous
N
ations

of the
n
orthern Great Plains
region
entered into treaties with the United States of America in 1868 at Fort Laramie
,
in the
Dakota Territory
, which is
now present day Wyoming,

and at other military posts in the region
;
and

WHEREAS, these treaties are collectively regarded as the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie and include the following Tribes in treaty with the United States:
Treaty with the Sioux and Arapaho
Brulé
band of Sioux (
presently
"
Brule Lakota
"
: Lower Brule and Rosebud Reservations
)
Ogallalah
band of Sioux (presently
"
Oglala Lakota
"
: Pine Ridge Reservation)

Minneconjou
band of Sioux (presently
"
Miniconjou Lakota
"
: Cheyenne River Reservation)

Yanktonai
band of Sioux (
presently
"
Yanktonai
Dakota
"
and "Yankton"
: Standing Rock, Yankton and Crow Creek Reservations
)

Arapaho (
presently
"
Southern Arapaho
"
: headquartered in Concho, Oklahoma, Cheyenne-Arapaho Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Area
)

Hunkpapa band of Sioux (
presently
"
Hunkpapa Lakota
"
: Standing Rock Reservation
)

Blackfeet band of Sioux (
also
"
Blackfoot,
"
presently
"
Blackfeet Lakota
"
: Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Reservations
)

Cuthead
band of Sioux (
presently
"
Cuthead
Dakota
"
: Standing Rock Reservation
)

Two Kettle band of Sioux (
presently
"
Two Kettle Lakota
"
: Cheyenne River Reservation
)

Sans Arc band of Sioux (
presently
"
Sans Arc Lakota
"
: Cheyenne River Reservation
)

Santee band of Sioux (
presently
"
Santee Dakota
"
: Santee Sioux, Flandreau, Crow Creek and Lake Traverse Reservations and the Upper Sioux, Lower Sioux, Prairie Island and Shakopee Mdewakanton Indian Communities
)

Treaty with the Crow (Crow Reservation)
Treaty with the Northern Cheyenne and Northern Arapaho (Northern Cheyenne and Wind River Reservations, respectively);
an
d

WHEREAS,
each of the Tribes and the United States Government desiring for peace, the parties signed
the
1868
T
reaty
of Fort Laramie

to cease
wars among the parties and

bring about and maintain peace
;
and

WHEREAS
,
the
1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie
did not end conflict, as terms of the Treaty were broken resulting from the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, the area of Fort Laramie remained a supply and communications center for the
United States
military
'
s efforts to confine Native people onto reservations
; and

WHEREAS
,
the
United States
military abandoned Fort Laramie in 1890,
and
all but one
(1)
of the fort
'
s
sixty (
60
)
structures were sold at private auction and were used as private dwellings, businesses, a dance hall and livestock shelters during the fort
'
s h
omestead period of 1890 to 1937; and

WHEREAS
,
interested homesteaders, local residents and others recognized the historical significance of Fort
Laramie in the 1930s and the State of Wyoming acquired Fort Laramie in 1937, which eventually became a unit of t
he national park system in 1938; and

WHEREAS
,
today, the Fort Laramie National Historic Site is open to the public and restoration of many of the structures to their historic appearances provides visitors with a glimpse of a bygon
e era; and

WHEREAS, the
legacy of the
1868
Treaty of Fort Laramie
has
had an impact in numerous ways on the lives of Tribal members of Tribes party to the Treaty from generation to generation since the signing
;
and

WHEREAS, the
indigenous
N
ations of the northern Great Plains
and their people

have endured difficult burdens, sometimes navigating treacherous trails in their dedicated effort to preserve and pass along their physical and cultural identity, while at the same time making significant contributions to the development of the Republic
;
and

WHEREAS
,
the indigenous Nations of the northern Great Plains and their people continue to defend their inherent sovereignty
and
celebrate their cultural heritage
; and

WHEREAS, the anniversary of the signing of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie will be commemorated throughout 2018 at the Fort Laramie National Historic Site to honor the spirit of this area's rich past and its First Nations, with events from sunrise to sunset slated for April 28 and ending festivities on November

6. Throughout the anniversary year, celebrations will commemorate individual Tribe signing dates and may include traditional culture and history demonstrations; and

WHEREAS
,
Wyoming values and respects the historical and modern contributions of American Indian people, as evidenced by the 2017 passage of the
American
Indian Education
al

Program
A
ct,
which will educate all Wyoming students about American Indian tribes of the region, to ensure the cultural heritage, history and contemporary contributions of American Indians are addressed.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING:

Section 1
.

That t
he Wyoming
legislature
commemorat
es
the one hundred fiftieth (150
th
) anniversary of the signing of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie by educating
people about the Treaty and history of this nationally significant place.

Section 2
.

T
hat t
he
Wyoming l
egislature supports nationwide public education about the heritage, history and contributions of Native American tribes and urges the federal government to uphold its federal trust responsibilities.

Section 3
.

T
hat t
he
Wyoming l
egislature supports
permanently displaying
in
Wyoming
the original treaties that comprise the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie
, which are
presently on
file with the National Archives
.

Section 4.

That the Secretary of State of Wyoming transmit copies of this resolution to
the President of the United States, the Secretary of
the
Interior,

the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate and
the
majority and minority leader and whip of each house
,

the Wyoming Congressional Delegation,
each state governor
and
the business council of
each tribal nation that signed the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie
.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the
Senate
.

Chief Clerk

1