The Indian Policy of a New Nation

The Indian Policy of a New Nation. . , On April 18, 1796, the U.S. government legislated the government factory system for e conduct and regulation of the fur trade. By this means, the U.S. government hoped to eliminate the influence of private traders, counteract the actions of foreign powers, and provide the Indians with regular trade and goods., The government factory designated for the Kansas was established at Fort Osage on the Lower Missouri River in 1808. There were problems from the beginning. Fort Osage was well over 100 miles from the main Kansa village and at least 200 miles from the principle area where they did most of their hunting and trapping. Moreover, while traveling, the Kansas were vulnerable to attacks from Iowa, Sac, and Pawnee raiding parties. In the meantime, private traders were refused permits to enter the old Indian trading camps. Kansa spokesmen repeatedly complained about traders' failures to visit their villages, as had been the custom in the past. Yet those few traders who, in defiance of the government, did venture into Kansa Territory during this time, often found themselves met by angry, impatient Kansas who would rob them of their merchandise. Under these distressing circumstances, the Fort Osage factory was eventually acknowledged to be a failure. The factory system was officially abandoned in 1822., Before the closure of the factory system, however, the head of the Fort Osage factory, George C. Sibley, in response to reports concerning Kansa violence and warning between the Kansas and the Pawnees, decided to visit Kansa and Pawnee villages in an effort to seek reconciliation. The Kansas welcomed the visit of a prominent white spokesman to their main village at Blue Earth River. In turn, Sibley was impressed with what he observed. The almost continuous feasting and kind attention provided were, in Sibley's words, "Much more than had been expected." He wrote that the Kansas' 128 lodges, located on the north bank of the Kansas River, were "neat and cleanly. Near the village were about a hundred acres of corn, beans and pumpkins recently planted by the women. In sight of the town was a beautiful prairie where hundreds of children were herding a large number of fine quality horses and mules. As Sibley wrote, "All was bustle busy hum and merriment." For the tribe was planning the summer buffalo hunt which Sibley described as "the greatest enjoyment of their life.", In 1818, the Missouri Territory petitioned for statehood, which it achieved in 1821. The petition set in motion government negotiations with the Kansas Nation for the purchase of Kansa Territory on the Missouri and Arkansas Rivers. Taking into consideration both the continuous intrusions of white settlers on the Kansas' Missouri lands and the promise of a generous annuity settlement. The Kansas ceded all of their lands lying within the state of Missouri. For this generous cession, the tribe was granted a $3,000 annuity for a period of twenty years and a reservation thirty miles wide, beginning twenty leagues west of the Kansas River. These negotiations were concluded June 3 and proclaimed law on December 30, 1825.