The Lakota Leader Who Forced The U.S. Army To Abandon Its Forts — And Won A War Most Americans Never Learned About

What Red Cloud Actually Won

The achievement of Red Cloud’s War was real.

It needs to be stated clearly before addressing its limits.

For the first time since the sustained U.S. westward expansion began creating conflicts with Indigenous nations east of the Mississippi River, the United States government formally agreed, in a binding treaty, to abandon military positions and close a transportation route because of Indigenous military resistance.

This had not happened in the Northwest Territory.