John Bidwell and the 1851 Indian Treaty

Dr. Michele Shover 
Professor Emeritus, 
Department of Political Science, CSU, Chico 

Dr. Michele Shover provides an in-depth look at the 1851 Indian treaty meeting in Chico and its aftermath. In 1851, John Bidwell assembled 300 Maidu Indians to meet with a Federal Treaty Commissioner at Bidwell’s ranch. This meeting resulted in an offer to the Maidu tribe of a reservation east of present-day Chico. While the mountain Maidus considered the reservation a threat, it appealed to valley Maidus. John Bidwell made the local treaty possible; then, a month after the government and the Indians signed it, he used all of his influence to defeat it in the U.S. Senate. Dr. Shover provides historical and political contexts to this event and its consequences. 

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Recorded: October 24, 2011