The First Council

📍 Fort Atkinson State Historical Park, Nebraska
📜 August 3, 1804
 

A Historic Meeting on the Missouri

On the banks of the Missouri River, near today’s Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark held their first formal council with Indigenous leaders on August 3, 1804. Clark named the location Council Bluff, situated across and just downriver from what is now Council Bluffs, Iowa. This significant meeting site, now commemorated at Fort Atkinson State Historical Park, marked a defining moment in early diplomacy between the United States and western tribal nations—setting a precedent that would shape relations for years to come.

“Our party paraded and delivered a long speech to them expressing our journey, the wishes of our government, some advice to them…” — Lewis and Clark, August 3, 1804

Setting the Stage

The Corps of Discovery had hoped to meet with leaders of the Otoe and Missouria tribes, who were then living in joint villages due to population losses from smallpox. At the time, the tribes together counted about 250 men, with the Otoes comprising two-thirds of the population.

Many of their leaders were away on buffalo hunts when the Corps arrived in late July. Though Lewis and Clark sent scouts to locate them, they returned without success. Finally, on August 2, a small delegation of Otoe and Missouria men arrived, and six or seven lesser chiefs were invited to a formal council the next morning.

Ceremony and Diplomacy

On August 3, Lewis and Clark conducted a ceremonial display:
🔹 Soldiers in full dress marched in formation
🔹 Weaponry demonstrations showed military power
🔹 Speeches were delivered outlining the goals of the expedition

The captains declared that the tribes were now “children of a new great father” — President Thomas Jefferson — and that the United States would offer trade and protection in place of the fading influence of the French and Spanish.

The message was clear: peace between tribes would lead to prosperity. Lewis invited a delegation to travel east to meet Jefferson and distributed peace medals, clothing, and face paint as symbols of friendship.

“The principal Chief for the Nation being absent, we sent him the speech flag, peace medal, and some clothes.”

A Follow-Up Council

Lewis and Clark hoped to meet with the prominent Otoe chief, Little Thief, and asked the visiting chiefs to carry gifts and a copy of the speech to him. Their efforts paid off:

🔹 On August 18, Little Thief and Missouria chief Big Horse joined the expedition upriver
🔹 Lewis repeated his message of peace and promised access to trade
🔹 Little Thief emphasized fair trade as the tribe’s top priority and asked the captains to help broker peace with the Omaha tribe

Before departing, Little Thief pledged to visit President Jefferson. He kept his word:
🔹 In March 1805, he and a Missouria chief met with Jefferson in Washington, D.C., securing promises of trade goods and continued diplomacy.

📍 Visit Fort Atkinson State Historical Park

Today, visitors to Fort Atkinson State Historical Park can walk the same ground where this pivotal council took place. The park features:

🌾 Life-size bronze statues reenacting the First Council
🌿 Amphitheater surrounded by native plants
🏛️ A reconstructed military post — once home to 1,000 U.S. Army troops and civilians from 1820–1827
🛶 Interpretive exhibits on early military life and western expansion

As the first military post west of the Missouri River, Fort Atkinson played a key role in shaping the frontier—both in diplomacy and defense.