Near Whitney in Dawes County, Nebraska — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Grand Council Site
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 14, 2023
1. Grand Council Site Marker
On this vast plain between Crow Butte and the White River, a Grand Council was held on September 20th, 1875. By the Treaty of 1868, the Government acknowledged the Black Hills and other lands in Dakota Territory belonged to the Lakota Indians. General George Custer’s expedition in 1874 excited the public and started gold fever.
The Allison Commission represented the United States Government and met with Lakota Leaders in an attempt to negotiate the purchase of the Black Hills. After days of unsuccessful discussion, the commission presented a written offer to purchase the Black Hills which the Chiefs refused to accept. The conference ended on September 29th. In 1876, another Commission headed by George Manypenny met with the tribes separately to obtain signatures. The Black Hills Treaty was approved by Congress on February 28, 1887.
Erected 2003 by Dawes County Historical Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Native Americans • Wars, US Indian. A significant historical date for this entry is September 20, 1875.
Location. 42° 44.216′ N, 103° 20.42′ W. Marker is near Whitney, Nebraska, in Dawes County. Marker is on Old U.S. 20, 0.8 miles west of Whitney Lake Road, on the left when traveling west. The marker is located near
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Council Tree (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Butte Country (approx. 1.2 miles away); The Death of Baptiste Garnier (approx. 5.1 miles away); Crawford 1891 School Bell (approx. 5.2 miles away); Crawford (approx. 5.2 miles away); Moses P. Kinkaid (approx. 5.2 miles away); Crossing of the Trails (approx. 5.2 miles away); Site of Red Cloud Indian Agency (approx. 6.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Whitney.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
Also see . . .
1. Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) (Wikipedia). Excerpt:
The Treaty of Fort Laramie (also the Sioux Treaty of 1868) is an agreement between the United States and the Oglala, Miniconjou, and Brulé bands of Lakota people, Yanktonai Dakota, and Arapaho Nation. It established the Great Sioux Reservation including ownership of the Black Hills and set aside additional lands as "unceded Indian territory" in the areas of South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, and possibly Montana. The treaty was negotiated by members of the government-appointed(Submitted on November 10, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)Indian Peace Commission and signed between April and November 1868 at and near Fort Laramie, with the final signatories being Red Cloud himself and others who accompanied him. Animosities over the agreement arose quickly, with open war breaking out again in 1876, and in 1877 the US government unilaterally annexed native land protected under the treaty.Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 14, 20232. Grand Council Site MarkerLooking south from Old US Highway 20. Crow Butte is visible in the distant background.
2. The Greatest Gathering of Indians Ever Assembled – the Black Hills Council of 1875. Excerpt:
The so-called “Grand Council” would focus on gaining the Indians’ agreement to cede ownership of the Black Hills, then a part of the Great Sioux Reservation. By early September 1875 the number of Indians assembled within a fifty-mile radius of Red Cloud Agency, including women and children, may have approached 20,000 although estimates vary. The White River valley and its tributaries must have offered an impressive sight, dotted as they would have been with hundreds of tepees and thousands of ponies. One observer called it “the last grand gathering of the greatest of the surviving Indian nations.” Because the Black Hills gold discoveries had already received wide publicity and miners were already prospecting and building settlements there illegally, the government’s purchase of the Hills seemed crucial to preventing the outbreak of an Indian war.(Submitted on November 10, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
3. Seizure of the Black Hills (Wikipedia). Excerpt:
The United States government illegally seized the Black Hills from the Sioux Nation in 1876. The land was pledged to the Sioux Nation in the Treaty of Fort Laramie, but a few years later the United States illegally seized the land and nullified the treaty with the Indian Appropriations Bill of 1876, without the tribe's consent. The Agreement of 1877, also known as the Act of February 28, 1877, is the most controversial treaty regarding the Black Hills land claims. The treaty officially took away Sioux land, and permanently established Indian reservations.(Submitted on November 10, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on November 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 9, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 75 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 10, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
