12. A major shift in policy by the U.S. government brings an end to the treaty-making process with Native American tribes
An increasing number of Congressman had protested against the policy of negotiating treaties with Native American tribes to resolve conflicts. Sufficient pressure resulted in a shift in governmental policy and the passage of the Indian Appropriation Act on March 3, 1871, which declared that “hereafter, no Indian nation or tribe would be recognized as an independent power with whom the United States may contract by treaty.”
The Indian Appropriation Act brought an end to over two and a half centuries of negotiating treaties with Native American tribes which had begun in 1607. In the period 1607-1776, at least 175 separate treaties had been negotiated between the tribes and the British. From 1778-1868 the U.S. Government had ratified 371 treaties with Native American tribes. With the passage of the Indian Appropriation’s Act, future Native American policy would be determined by the passage of Congressional statutes or executive orders.