Betrayal: 18 "secret" treaties between the U.S. and California tribes went unratified and hidden for 50 years

By Joe Moore

Published November 8, 2026 at 3:36 PM PST

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The Camp Belt Treaty of May 1851 was one of 18 treaties between the United States and California tribes that were never ratified and remained secret documents for 50 years.

It was an outrage kept hidden for 50 years. Documents that revealed the sad story of broken promises in America’s treatment of California’s tribal nations. Today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots, the story of 18 unratified treaties, hidden for years by the U.S. Senate.

The year was 1851. California was being transformed by the gold rush and had just joined the Union. The Senate had authorized funding for the government to negotiate with the state’s native tribes. The government’s goal? Gain title to the land occupied by the tribes, through treaties.

In April, a group of U.S. officials gathered at a dusty camp along the San Joaquin River, called Camp Barbour. It later became Fort Miller. They met with representatives of over a dozen local tribes. In return for giving up their land, the tribes would move to the newly established Fresno River Farm Reservation, near present day Madera. Most of the tribes signed, as did the federal agents. But when the treaty went back to Washington, D.C., the Senate refused to ratify the document.

The same thing happened with 17 other treaties, including one signed at Camp Belt on the Kings River with the Tachi Yokut tribe. Supposedly, the Senate had concerns over whether Mexico had ever recognized native title to the land, before California joined the Union. Others though have questioned how serious the government was in dealing with the tribes. The Fresno River Farm reservation was eventually shut down by 1860 and the tribes were left landless.

The unratified treaties were largely forgotten for over 50 years. Around the turn of the 20^th century, tribes began petitioning Teddy Roosevelt to address the issue. But the government supposedly could not locate the treaties. Researchers eventually discovered that the treaties did exist, but an injunction of secrecy blocked their release. The injunction was finally lifted and the documents were published in 1905. They shocked many. The treaties covered far more of the state than experts had thought, and involved 134 different tribal bands. In response Congress appropriated funding for new tribal reservations, known as Rancherias, many of which still exist today.