Welcome to the IDA Treaties Explorer
While treaties between Indigenous peoples and the United States affect virtually every area in the USA, there is as yet no official list of all the treaties. The US National Archives holds 374 of the treaties, where they are known as the Ratified Indian Treaties.
Here you can view them for the first time with key historic works that provide context to the agreements made and the histories of our shared lands.
374 Ratified Indian Treaties visible for the first time
Thanks to an anonymous donation, the US National Archives conserved and digitized the Ratified Indian treaties in its holdings. Most are now available, and more will be added as the National Archives completes preservation and scanning.
Here you can see the original documents spanning more than a hundred years.
See Treaties
Visualize some of the documents signed
The lack of an official list of treaties between the US and Native nations inevitably led to confusion. In the 1890s-1900s, government clerks attempted to get a handle on all the agreements that had been made regarding land. In a series of publications they mapped out the land transfers and called them “cessions”.
Here you can see the historic maps and what agreements and Native nations relate.
See Cessions
Look at which historic and present day Native nations are involved in the treaties
Who signed the treaties? Here you can see how Native nations were named in the historic documents, the present day names of federally recognized tribes, and find documents they’re mentioned in. Selecting the currently recognized name of a Native nation shows a map of recorded land transfers and timeline and links for treaties and land cessions.
See Native nations
Look at places
Enter a zip code, name of a state, use your location, or zoom in on the map to start exploring land transfer agreements that relate to your place.
See Places