On December 30, 1816, the United States government proclaimed the Treaty of St. Louis. The United States and the Ottowa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi tribes signed the treaty in August of 1816.

The 1816 Treaty of St. Louis was one of fourteen treaties (collectively called the Treaty of St. Louis) signed between the United States and various Native American tribes. The earliest Treaty of St. Louis was signed in 1804, and the final treaty was signed in 1825. All of the treaties aimed to officially obtain land from the Native American tribes.

The terms of the treaty stated that the Ottowa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi tribes would relinquish all rights to lands that the U.S. had previously given two other tribes (the Sac and the Fox). The three tribes also agreed to cede a 20-mile strip of land, which connected Lake Michigan with the Illinois River, to the United States. In exchange for these pieces of land, the United States agreed to pay the tribes $1,000 in merchandise over 12 years – hardly a deal for the Native American Indians.

Though the treaty was signed in August, it was not proclaimed as official until December 30, 1816. This treaty was yet another step in the systematic removal of lands from the Native Americans.