Treaty of St . Peters Treaty of St . Peters may be one of two treaties conducted between the United States and Native American peoples , conducted at the confluence of the Minnesota River ( then called " St . Peters River " ) with the Mississippi River , in what today is Mendota , Minnesota . 1805 Treaty of St . Peters . The 1805 Treaty of St . Peters or the Treaty with the Sioux , better known as Pike ' s Purchase , was a treaty conducted between Lieutenant Zebulon Pike for the United States and Chiefs " " Le Petit Carbeau " " and " Way Aga Enogee " on behalf of the Sioux Nation . The treaty conducted on September 23 , 1805 , purchases two tracts of land : nine - square miles each at the confluence of the St . Croix River about what now is Hastings , Minnesota and confluence of the Minnesota River with Mississippi about what now is Mendota , Minnesota , for the purposes of establishing military posts at each of the two sites . A military post was not established at the confluence of the St . Croix with the Mississippi , but Fort Snelling was established on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota with the Mississippi . Though the treaty was never proclaimed by the President of the United States , it was ratified by the United States Congress on April 16 , 1808 . 1837 Treaty of St . Peters . The 1837 Treaty of St . Peters or the Treaty with the Chippewa ( or informally as the White Pine Treaty ) was a treaty conducted between Governor Henry Dodge for the United States and representatives from various Ojibwa Bands located across today ' s Wisconsin and Minnesota . It was conducted on July 29 , 1837 , at St . Peters , Wisconsin Territory ( known today as Mendota , Minnesota ) . Signatory tribes commonly call this treaty The Treaty of 1837 . The treaty was proclaimed on June 15 , 1838 , and codified in the United States Statutes at Large as . Land Cession Terms . In the treaty , the Ojibwa nations ceded to the United States a large tract of land located from the Mississippi River in east - central Minnesota to the Wisconsin River in northern Wisconsin , using as its southern boundaries the " Prairie du Chien Line " as established by the 1825 Treaty of Prairie du Chien , between the Dakota and the Ojibwa , and using the Lake Superior watershed as its northern boundaries . The land cession was conducted to guarantee access to the Wisconsin Territory ' s lumber resources that was needed to help build housing for the growing populations in St . Louis , Missouri and Cleveland , Ohio . In the sale , the United States obligated itself to payments to the signatory Bands for twenty years and additional provisions for the Metis in the territory . In turn , the signatory Ojibwa bands retained usufruct uary rights to continue hunting , fishing and gathering within the treaty - ceded territory . Signatories . Commissioner : Recording Secretary : Indian Agents : Interpreters : Army : Traders : Special guests : Others : In addition , two other know people were in attendance , but were not signatories : Establishment of Reservations . Together with the 1842 and 1854 treaty - ceded territories in determining the locations of Indian Reservation s in the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe and the 1855 Treaty of Washington , the 1837 treaty - ceded territory was divided into five zones . Charles Royce in his 1899 report and accompanying map to the United States Congress designated the territory as " Land Cession Area No . 242 , " thus the area is often called " Royce Area 242 . " The five zones each with proposed centralized Indian Reservations of approximately each were Mille Lacs Lake ( 242A ) , St . Croix ( 242B ) , Lac Courte Oreilles ( 242C ) , Lac du Flambeau ( 242D ) and Mole Lake ( 242E ) , with access accommodations made for Fond du Lac , La Pointe and Lac Vieux Desert . However , with St . Croix and Sokoagon walking out of the negotiations of the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe , they were excluded from further business , losing their federal recognition until 1934 , and the proposed St . Croix Indian Reservation was never established in zone 242B and Mole Lake was never established straddling zone 242E and 1842 treaty - ceded territory . In the case of St . Croix , illness overcame the Chief " Ayaabens " and the United States would not accept a sub - Chief vested with negotiation authority , so St . Croix had no choice but to walk away ; oral history of both the St . Croix Chippewa Indians of Minnesota of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and the St . Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin both state if it were not for Chief " Ayaabens " ’ illness , the St . Croix Band would have insisted on reaffirmation of treaty rights expressed in both the 1837 Treaty of St . Peters and the 1842 Treaty of La Pointe , so that the Band would not be face with loss of off - Reservation resources access . Shortly afterwards , Chief " Ayaabens " died from his illness . In the case of Mole Lake , their Chief was barred from the treaty council as the United States firmly believed that the initially proposed four Reservations of about each would not be an adequate alternative for a single Reservation of about . The Mole Lake Chief sent his sub - Chief to the Treaty council , with full negotiation authority , but like St . Croix , United States would not accept Mole Lake ' s sub - Chief , even when fully vested with negotiation authority , leaving the Mole Lake delegation no other choice but to walk away from Treaty council . However , Mille Lacs Lake and Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Reservations were established in 242A and 242C respectively , and Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservations was established straddling zone 242D and 1842 treaty - ceded territory . Treaty area boundary adjustments . In Wisconsin , for regulatory purposes , the southern boundaries of the 1837 treaty - area have been adjusted to follow distinct landmarks such as roads and streams . However , in Wisconsin with consent of the property - owner and with tribally issued license , all treaty rights of hunting , fishing and gathering may be exercised by the members of the signatory bands . In Minnesota , no boundary adjustments have been made . However , hunting is limited to public lands located within the 1837 treaty - area and requires tribally issued hunting license . For non - public lands within the 1837 treaty - area , hunting is subjectable to state hunting licensing and rules . For fishing and gathering , tribally issued licenses are required in Minnesota ' s portion of the 1837 treaty - ceded territory .