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Primary sourceDocument26 December 1854

Treaty of Medicine Creek

Isaac I. Stevens · 26 December 1854

An 1854 treaty ceding Puget Sound Indian lands to the United States, negotiated under Pierce's administration and its Indian-affairs policy.

Negotiated by Pierce's appointee and ratified under his presidency, this treaty shows his administration's Indian land policy.

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Black-and-white photograph of a calm creek with dark reflections of tall, sparse conifer trees along its banks under an overcast sky. Grassy bank on the left, a wooden fence line on the right, and distant forest.
Treaty of Medicine Creek, 26 December 1854.

About this source

What it is

Signed on December 26, 1854, near Medicine Creek in Washington Territory, this treaty was negotiated by Governor Isaac Stevens with chiefs and delegates of nine tribes and bands living around Puget Sound, including the Nisqually and Puyallup.

Why it matters

Stevens was appointed by President Franklin Pierce, and the treaty reflects the aggressive land-cession policy pursued during Pierce's presidency. The tribes were told the treaty would compensate them, but it took valuable farmland and moved them onto reservations, leading to protest and eventually war. It shows how federal Indian policy under Pierce directly affected Native communities in the Pacific Northwest.

Look closer

  • Who actually benefited from this treaty, and who lost the most?
  • Why might the tribal representatives have agreed to sign it?
  • What does the later conflict over this treaty tell you about how it was carried out?

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