Historical Prelude II::

The Treaty Relationship

The first treaty between an indigenous nation and the United States was signed in 1778. The treaty relationship was based upon three main premises:

- that both parties to the treaty are sovereign powers;
- that the Indian nation has a transferable title of some sort to the land in question; and
- that the acquisition of Indian lands can not be left to individual colonists, but must be controlled by a government monopoly.

The Dutch contributed to the early development of US Indian law by use of acquiring Indian land by treaty, and by recognising Indian tribes as sovereign powers. And indeed, the Continental Congress adopted this European principle of 'nation-to-nation' interactions in their treaties of peace and friendship with Indian governments.