The Amerindian Nations

The Iroquois Confederacy - Providing for the Common Defense Before the colonists had a regional assembly of representatives from adjacent areas the Iroquois nations formed the Iroquois Confederacy. Benjamin Franklin suggested that this format serve as a model for the 1765 New Albany Convention. See the first five minutes of the video, Iroquois Confederacy [Youtube]

The Mickmacs -- Our First Treaty of Mutual Aid? The Amerindian nations were uneasy neighbors of the colonies and many had sided with the French during the "French and Indian" War of 1755-63. The British had gained their trust by revising its colonial policies to make it illegal for colonists to settle the land west of the ridgeline (the dividing line between rainfall flowing into the Atlantic Ocean and into the Mississippi River). In 1775, the Continental Congress was considering whether or not to declare independence. One of the issues was whom we should ask for aid and how much support could we get. A Continental Army under General Montgomery invaded the British colony of Quebec but was repulsed at the city of Quebec on December 31, 1775 with heavy casualties. The Mickmac Tribes of Amerindians -- known in 2011 as the Mi'kmaq Nation -- inhabited what are now Maine and the eastern part of Canada. The Continental Congress authorized Massachusetts to negotiate a treaty of mutual military assistance with the Mickmac tribes. The negotiations were a success and the treaty was signed on July 19, 1776. Read about the treaty [Hist. Soc. of Watertown MA] and its historical and geographical context [Wikipedia]. Read the articles in the links above, search for more, and decide -- Would you consider this the first treaty pledging mutual assistance signed by the U.S. and another nation? Did the Mickmac Tribes live up to the terms of that treaty in a way that paralleled France's aid under the Treaty of 1778 (taking into consideration the differences in population and in technical development)? Did the U.S. live up to the terms of that treaty by providing assistance to the Mickmac Tribes then under British occupation?

The Lenapes (Delaware) -- A Treaty and a Disaster On Sept 17, 1778 representatives of the Continental Congress signed a treaty of mutual military assistance with the Lenape (Delaware) tribes, then living in the Ohio country. The U.S. built Fort Laurens at what is now Bolivar OH, eighty miles WNW of Pittsburgh and manned it until March 1782, when a misinformed Pennsylvania militia unit (not associated with the fort) massacred over ninety defenseless Lenapes. causing the Lenape nation to support the British for what remained of the war. history of the treaty / / transcript of the treaty [Ohio History Central]