​1825 – A treaty is signed in Michigan Territory with the Sioux, Chippewa, and others, allegedly, to introduce map boundaries to native tribes and to establish the idea of land ownership to lessen inter-tribal wars.

It was the first step in the process of identifying land parcels for ownership by native people. It
​set the stage for the U.S. Government to set future reservation boundaries, and to identify future parcels to be ceded (sold for money and promised goods).
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The same strategy was used time and again as white settlement moved further into Indian land. In 1851, the tactic had spread westward into Dakota Territory with the signing of the Horse Creek Treaty/Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851, when lines on a map divided land in similar fashion. That same year, map marking in Minnesota Territory had advanced to the point of ceding nearly all Dakota controlled land to the U.S. Government and establishing a strip of land 10-miles wide, 130-miles long on each side of the Minnesota River for the Dakota to control. To read more, access The Thirty-Ninth Man,  click here.​

Although each man’s reaction to the white incursion on their tribal lands differed significantly, research has led me to believe that the three qualities listed above were the common links between the three men and likely shared by the leaders of all great native nations. 

Their focus was on Oyate-The People. Every action they took held that focus as its basis. Each man showed his commitment to protect and nurture the people. The most important thing in their minds was to serve the people with unbreakable honor and commitment. Not surprisingly, they differed greatly in personalities and what each viewed as the best tactic for protecting the people and the land they controlled. At times their characters seemed at odds, but by the people, each was viewed with utmost respect, for each carried the day with what became recognized as their unique gift to the people.