"On this day (July 12) special commissioner Albert Pike completed treaties with the members of the Choctaw & Chickasaw tribes, giving the new Confederate States of America (CSA) several allies in Indian Territory. Some members of the tribes also fought for the CSA.
"A Boston native, Pike went west in 1831 & traveled with fur trappers & traders. He settled in AR & became a noted poet, author, & teacher. He bought a plantation & operated a newspaper, the Arkansas Advocate. By 1837 he was practicing law & often represented Native Americans in disputes with the federal government.
"Pike was opposed to secession, but, nonetheless sided with his adopted state when it left the Union.
"As ambassador to the Indians, he was a fortunate addition to the CSA, which was seeking to form alliances with the tribes in Indian Territory [basically modern-day OK]. Besides the agreements with the Choctaw & Chickasaw tribes, Pike also engineered treaties with the Creek, Seminole, Comanche, & Caddos, among others.
"Ironically, many of these tribes had been expelled from the Southern states in the 1830s & 1840s, but they still chose to ally themselves with the CSA during the war.
"The grudges they held against the CSA were offset by their animosity toward the federal government.
"Native Americans were also bothered by Republican rhetoric during the 1860 presidential election. Some of Lincoln's supporters, such as William Seward, argued that the land of the tribes in Indian Territory should be appropriated for distribution to white settlers. When the war began in 1861, Secretary of War Simon Cameron ordered all posts in Indian Territory to be abandoned in order to free up military resources for use against the CSA, leaving the area open to invasion by the CSA.
"By signing these treaties, the tribes severed their relationships with the federal government, much in the way that the Southern states did by seceding from the Union. They were accepted into the CSA, & they sent representatives to the CSA Congress. The CSA government promised to protect the Native American's land holdings & to fulfill the obligations such as annuity payments made by the federal government.
"Some of these tribes even sent troops to serve in the CSA army, & one Cherokee--Stand Watie--rose to the rank of brigadier general."
SOURCE: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/confederacy-signs-treaties-with-native-americans
"A Boston native, Pike went west in 1831 & traveled with fur trappers & traders. He settled in AR & became a noted poet, author, & teacher. He bought a plantation & operated a newspaper, the Arkansas Advocate. By 1837 he was practicing law & often represented Native Americans in disputes with the federal government.
"Pike was opposed to secession, but, nonetheless sided with his adopted state when it left the Union.
"As ambassador to the Indians, he was a fortunate addition to the CSA, which was seeking to form alliances with the tribes in Indian Territory [basically modern-day OK]. Besides the agreements with the Choctaw & Chickasaw tribes, Pike also engineered treaties with the Creek, Seminole, Comanche, & Caddos, among others.
"Ironically, many of these tribes had been expelled from the Southern states in the 1830s & 1840s, but they still chose to ally themselves with the CSA during the war.
"The grudges they held against the CSA were offset by their animosity toward the federal government.
"Native Americans were also bothered by Republican rhetoric during the 1860 presidential election. Some of Lincoln's supporters, such as William Seward, argued that the land of the tribes in Indian Territory should be appropriated for distribution to white settlers. When the war began in 1861, Secretary of War Simon Cameron ordered all posts in Indian Territory to be abandoned in order to free up military resources for use against the CSA, leaving the area open to invasion by the CSA.
"By signing these treaties, the tribes severed their relationships with the federal government, much in the way that the Southern states did by seceding from the Union. They were accepted into the CSA, & they sent representatives to the CSA Congress. The CSA government promised to protect the Native American's land holdings & to fulfill the obligations such as annuity payments made by the federal government.
"Some of these tribes even sent troops to serve in the CSA army, & one Cherokee--Stand Watie--rose to the rank of brigadier general."
SOURCE: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/confederacy-signs-treaties-with-native-americans
