Congress passes legislation to nullify fraudulent 1865 Warm Springs treaty

House passage sends measure to president's desk

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- The U.S. House on Monday unanimously gave final congressional approval to legislation introduced by Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., to nullify a fraudulent treaty with the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

Walden introduced the 1865 Treaty Nullification Act last year, which also will clearly validate an 1855 treaty that establishes the tribes’ reservation and preserves certain hunting, gathering and fishing rights. The Senate passed the measure in late June of last year.

"The Warm Springs Treaty of 1865 has long been recognized as a fraud and a sham," Walden said Monday. "The U.S. government has not enforced the treaty, and federal courts have also regarded it as fraudulent."

"I am pleased that today the House has passed my legislation to nullify this unfair treaty. Nullifying the 1865 treaty would ensure that the tribes' rights under the 1855 treaty are fully recognized," he added.

"I am proud to have worked with Senators Wyden and Merkley to correct this historical anomaly and I look forward to President Trump signing this bill into law so that we can fully right this longstanding wrong.," Walden said. 

The Warm Springs Tribes in 1855 entered into a treaty with the United States, defining the trust relationship between the parties, and establishing rights to land and off-reservation hunting and fishing.  

However, in 1865, an unscrupulous Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon, J.W. Perit Huntington, wrote a supplemental treaty that amended the 1855 agreement to prohibit members of the Warm Springs from leaving their reservation without government permission and relinquishing all off-reservation rights. 

The 1865 treaty essentially gives away hunting and fishing rights that were protected in the 1855 treaty.