Treaty Rights

We Are All Treaty People

The land now known as Minnesota is the ancestral home of the Anishinaabe, Dakota, and Ho-Chunk people. Between 1805 and 1867, Native People and the United States entered into multiple treaties. However, none of the treaties have been honored. Through deliberate policies, corruption and false promises, the United States stole this land from Native Peoples. This has denied the sovereignty and self determination of tribal nations, harmed natural resources, and created environmental and racial injustices. Fossil fuel projects like pipelines often cut through treaty lands, endangering our future and contributing to the climate crisis.

Despite the ongoing attempts of genocide and assimilation, Native People remain, connected to this land, and continuing to expect everyone — Native and non-Native — to fulfill their treaty responsibilities. Non-Native Minnesotans have benefitted from those broken promises and the theft of this land, and continue to profit from our ongoing occupation. Consequences of this ongoing exploitation have caused loss of biodiversity, endangering our planet. We must organize ourselves so that we can build treaty awareness and relationships.

A Collective Responsibility

Honoring Tribal Sovereignty is key to respecting the self determination of Tribal Nations. We work to continue building treaty awareness and relationships and assist those responsible for upholding treaty rights in ensuring that they are honored and implemented by law. Our collective well-being is dependent upon living in balance with the land and each other.

We need you.

The treaties signed by the U.S. government are living documents and therefore have ongoing obligations. Treaties involve all people, whether or not they were descendants of the signatories. We all need to create space to peacefully assert our rights, and build relationships based on treaty obligations.

Through community, collective action, and self education, we can create a future where we can all thrive. Sign the Pledge of Acknowledgement and Responsibility to learn more:

JOIN US: Sign the Treaty Pledge

Get involved: To join the movement, check out our Events Calendar to sign up for our campaign’s next meeting, or contact nancy@mn350.org for more information.