A copy of an 1858 treaty signed by the Yankton Sioux Nation and the U.S. has been acquired by the Minnesota Historical Society for $40,000.

The copy is considered rare because only two or three were made. It is not known whether the copy had belonged to the tribe. It comes from a private collection in Canada.

In the treaty, Yankton Sioux leaders ceded more than 11 million acres between the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers in exchange for a 430,000-acre reservation in what is now South Dakota. The tribe was promised $1.6 million over 50 years but received little of the money.

The copy will go on display in St. Paul next week.

Get the Story:
Rare document comes to St. Paul (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 11/18)
pwlat

Relevant Links:
Minnesota Historical Society - http://www.mnhs.org