White Pine Treaty

White Pine Treaty. . All of the land seen from this bridge and beyond is part of millions of acres ceded under an 1837 treaty between Ojibwe and Dakota bands and the United States government. The acreage contained vast tracts of the prized white pine that grew north of Taylors Falls and throughout the St. Croix River watershed. The treaty gave land used by the native tribes for fishing, hunting, ricing, sugaring and gathering roots and herbs to logging interests., Denied the treaty’s rights to hunt and fish the ceded land, the Ojibwe and Dakota moved on. The many decedents of these Native people now live on reservations and communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and beyond. The lumber industry cleared the forests in the St. Croix watershed in a span of about 60 years. , Photo captions: , {Left} Groups of boys, birch bark tipi and birch bark canoe in harvested forest. , Source: Washington County Historical Society , Undercutters felling white pine , Source: Washington County Historical Society , {Map} Red line: Land ceded under an 1837 treaty between Ojibwe and Dakota bands and the U.S. government , White area: St. Croix watershed