The Traders' Paper

When the government payments came the traders were on hand with their books, which showed that the Indians owed so much and so much, and as the Indians kept no books they could not deny their accounts, but had to pay them, and sometimes the traders got all their money. I do not say that the traders always cheated and lied about these accounts. I know many of them were honest men and kind and accommodating. . .but there was always trouble over their credits. --Waƞbdiṭanka, 1894

Treaties stipulated that the Dakota receive their payment in a combination of cash, annuities (in the form of goods, cash, and services), and repayment of debts to traders. Sometimes, traders took this opportunity to claim debts owed to them by Dakota who had bought goods on credit.

After Wahpeton and Sisseton leaders signed the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux in 1851, they were ushered to another document, which some later said they were tricked into signing. The Traders’ Paper, as the document is known, turned over about a third of the Dakotas’ cash payments to a group of traders, including Henry Sibley and his associates, to satisfy years of debts allegedly accumulated in the fur trade.