The Treaty of Hellgate was signed in Hellgate on July 16, 1855 between Indian commissioner Isaac Stevens and the Native American tribes located in western Montana. The treaty was ratified by Congress, signed by President James Buchanan, and proclaimed on April 18, 1859.[1]
The tribes involved in the signing of the treaty entailed the Bitteroot Salish, Pend d'Oreille, and the Kootenai. Based on the terms of the accord, the Native Americans were to relinquish their territories to the United States government in exchange for payment installments that totaled 120,000 dollars. The territories in question entailed everything from the main ridge of the Rocky Mountains at the 49th parallel to the Kootenai River and Clark Fork to the divide between the St. Regis Borgia River and the Coeur d'Alene River. From there, the ceded territories also extend to the southwestern fork of the Bitter Root River and up to Salmon River and Snake River. The treaty was ratified on March 8, 1859.