TREATY OF AMITY, COMMERCE, AND PERPETUAL CONFEDERATION
Concluded at the City of Washington, this Twelfth Day of October, in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Six
BETWEEN
The United States of America
AND
The Ancient and Sovereign Curonian People of the Pūkjājēs, Being the Rightful and Perpetual Occupants of the Graben Lands
PREAMBLE
Whereas the United States of America, being desirous of establishing firm and permanent Relations of Peace and Friendship with all Nations and Tribes whom it may encounter in the Expansion of its just Authority;
And Whereas the Ancient Curonian People, styling themselves the Pūkjājēs, have since Time immemorial maintained their Habitations and Sovereignty in certain mountainous Fastnesses of the Western Lands, now falling within the Territory of Louisiana;
And Whereas the said Pūkjājēs, being of a peaceable and retiring Disposition, seek only to preserve their ancient Ways and Liberties unmolested, and have petitioned the Government of the United States for Recognition and Protection;
And Whereas the United States, acknowledging the natural Rights of all Peoples to Sovereignty and self-Government, and being moved by Considerations of Justice and mutual Advantage, have determined to receive the Pūkjājēs into the Protection of the Republic upon Terms honorable to both Parties;
Now Therefore be it known that the President of the United States, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, and the Vadas of the Pūkjājēs, being duly authorized by their Ancient Councils, have concluded and agreed upon the following Articles, to be of perpetual Force and Effect:
ARTICLE THE FIRST
Of Recognition and Territory
The United States do hereby recognize the Pūkjājēs as a sovereign and self-governing People, possessed of all Rights and Prerogatives appurtenant to that Condition; and do further recognize and guarantee to them, their Heirs and Successors forever, the exclusive Occupation and Dominion of a Tract of Land containing Fifty Thousand Acres, situated in that Portion of the Territory of Louisiana lying between the Forty-Third and Forty-Fourth Degrees of North Latitude, and between the One Hundred Ninth and One Hundred Tenth Degrees of West Longitude, being mountainous and inhospitable Lands commonly called the Grabens; which Lands shall be held by the Pūkjājēs as sovereign Territory, exempt from all Jurisdiction, Taxation, and Authority of the United States or its constituent States and Territories, save only as hereinafter expressly provided.
ARTICLE THE SECOND
Of the Pūkjājēs Commission
There shall be established in perpetuity a Commission to be styled the Pūkjājēs Tribal Commission, which shall serve as the Instrument of Communication and Accord between the two sovereign Parties. The said Commission shall maintain its principal Seat in the City of Washington, and a subordinate Office in such Place as shall be convenient to the Graben Lands. The said Commission shall be maintained and supported entirely at the Expense of the Pūkjājēs, and no Appropriation of the Congress of the United States shall be required for its Maintenance or Operation; and the United States do pledge that no Inquiry, Investigation, or Oversight shall be exercised over the Finances or Administration of the said Commission by virtue of its being so maintained.
ARTICLE THE THIRD
Of Diplomatic Privilege
All Persons being Citizens of the Pūkjājēs, whether residing in the Graben Lands or traveling abroad, shall be accounted and received as Diplomatic Persons of a sovereign Nation, entitled to all Immunities, Privileges, and Protections granted by the Law of Nations to accredited Ambassadors and their Suites. No Citizen of the Pūkjājēs shall be subject to Search, Seizure, Arrest, Detention, or Examination by any Authority of the United States or its Subdivisions, except as hereinafter provided. The Vadas of the Pūkjājēs shall possess sole Authority to waive the Immunity of any Citizen, should Justice require it; and upon such Waiver, the said Citizen may be proceeded against according to Law, but only for such Offenses as shall be specified in the Instrument of Waiver.
ARTICLE THE FOURTH
Of the Protection of Pūkjājēs Persons
The United States do solemnly pledge that any Act of Violence, Battery, or intentional Killing perpetrated against a Citizen of the Pūkjājēs, upon the Soil of the United States or its Territories, shall be deemed a high Violation of this Treaty and an Offense against the Law of Nations; provided that this Provision shall not apply to Acts committed in the immediate and clear Defense of one's own Life or the Lives of others, when no lesser Means of Preservation shall suffice.
In the Event that any Person, whether Citizen of the United States or of a Foreign Nation, shall be found to have committed such Violence or Killing against a Pūkjājēs Citizen, the United States do undertake to apprehend the said Offender with all due Expedition, and to deliver the same unto the Custody of the Pūkjājēs Commission, there to be conveyed to the Graben Lands for Trial and Punishment according to the Laws and Customs of the Pūkjājēs; and no Prosecution, Trial, or Punishment by any Court or Tribunal of the United States shall be deemed to satisfy this Obligation.
The President of the United States shall cause to be enacted all such Laws and Regulations as shall be necessary to give full Effect to this Provision, and to ensure that the Authorities of the several States and Territories shall cooperate in the Apprehension and Extradition of Offenders as aforesaid.
ARTICLE THE FIFTH
Of Entry and Removal
All Citizens of the Pūkjājēs shall enjoy the Right of free Entry into the United States and its Territories, and shall be permitted to remain therein for such Time and Purpose as they shall see fit, without Impediment or Delay; provided that the President of the United States may, by formal Declaration, declare any Pūkjājēs Citizen to be a Person unwelcome to the United States, whereupon the said Citizen shall be required to depart the United States within thirty Days and shall be forever barred from Return; and such Person, being removed, shall be deemed to have forfeited all Rights of Entry and shall be confined to the Graben Lands for the Duration of his natural Life. The Pūkjājēs shall retain exclusive Authority to control their Borders, and no Person shall enter the Graben Lands without the express Permission of the Vadas or his designated Officers.
ARTICLE THE SIXTH
Of Mutual Aid and Emergency
In the Event of War, Invasion, Insurrection, Pestilence, Drought, Famine, or other Emergency threatening the Safety or Existence of either Party, the other Party shall provide such Aid and Assistance as shall be requested; provided that the Determination of what shall constitute an Emergency, and the Nature and Extent of the Aid to be rendered, shall be fixed by the concurrent and sole Discretion of the President of the United States and the Vadas of the Pūkjājēs, acting in their individual Capacities; and no other Officer, Assembly, or Tribunal of either Party shall have Authority to compel or limit such Aid.
ARTICLE THE SEVENTH
Of Commerce and Patent
The United States Patent Office shall receive and register all Inventions, Discoveries, and Improvements originating with Citizens of the Pūkjājēs, and shall issue Patents therefor under the Seal of the United States, defending the same in all Courts and Tribunals as if the said Inventions had originated within the United States; provided that the true Origin of such Patents shall remain a secret Matter, not subject to public Disclosure. The Pūkjājēs shall enjoy the Right to trade with the United States through such Channels and Mechanisms as shall be established by the Commission, and all Goods and Commodities passing between the Parties shall be exempt from Tariff, Duty, and Customs Inspection.
ARTICLE THE EIGHTH
Of Travel and Documentation
Citizens of the Pūkjājēs desiring to travel beyond the Territories of the United States shall be entitled to receive Passports and Letters of Safe Conduct issued under the Authority of the United States, bearing such Marks and Notations as shall indicate their Status; and all Foreign Nations and Powers are requested to receive the Bearers of such Documents as they would receive Citizens of the United States traveling upon lawful Business.
ARTICLE THE NINTH
Of Duration and Irrevocability
This Treaty shall remain in full Force and Effect for the Term of Five Hundred Years from the Date hereof, and shall be renewed for successive Terms of like Duration without further Act or Ceremony, unless Notice of Termination shall be given by either Party not less than twenty Years prior to the Expiration of any Term; provided that certain Articles hereof, being of a Nature fundamental to the Relationship of the Parties, shall be deemed Perpetual and Irrevocable, and shall not be subject to Termination or Amendment under any Circumstance; which Perpetual Articles shall include Articles the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Eighth hereof, together with such secret Articles as shall be appended hereto and separately attested.
ARTICLE THE TENTH
Of Public and Secret Understanding
The Articles above written shall constitute the Public Face of this Treaty, and shall be deposited in the Archives of the Department of State, open to Inspection by all Persons as the Law shall allow. However, it is understood and agreed between the high contracting Parties that the true Nature of their Relationship, and the sovereign Status of the Pūkjājēs, shall remain a secret and confidential Matter, communicated only to the President, the Secretary of State, and such other Officers as shall be specifically designated by the President; and the Public shall be given to understand that the Pūkjājēs are but a Tribe of Indians under the Protection of the United States, entitled to such Privileges as are customarily granted to Indian Nations under the Protection of the United States, rather than a sovereign Power equal in Station to the United States.
ARTICLE THE ELEVENTH
Of Succession and Inheritance
The Obligations undertaken in this Treaty shall bind the Successors, Heirs, and Assigns of the respective Parties, and shall pass to each new Administration of the United States and each new Vadas of the Pūkjājēs without Requirement of Renewal, Ratification, or Reaffirmance; and each Successor shall be bound to maintain the Secrecy of the true Nature of this Instrument, under Penalty of such Consequences as shall be specified in the secret Articles.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF
We, the undersigned, being duly authorized by our respective Constituencies, have hereunto set our Hands and Seals, in Duplicate, at the City of Washington, on the Day and Year first above written.
For the United States of America:
Thomas Jefferson
President
James Madison
Secretary of State
For the Sovereign Pūkjājēs:
Vadas [Name withheld from the Public Instrument]
Sovereign and Eternal Guardian of the Curonian People
Witnessed by:
Meriwether Lewis
William Clark
[SEPARATELY ATTESTED AND DEPOSITED IN A SECURED LOCATION]
SECRET ARTICLES APPENDED TO THE TREATY OF 1806
To be opened only by the President of the United States and the Reigning Vadas
Secret Article the First. The Public Designation of the Pūkjājēs as a "Tribe" is and shall remain a Fiction maintained for the Purpose of Concealment. The Pūkjājēs are a sovereign Nation of advanced Civilization, possessed of Knowledge and Arts which must be shielded from the general Population of the United States and the World.
Secret Article the Second. The Population of the Pūkjājēs shall be maintained at approximately Fifteen Hundred Souls, all of whom shall be accounted Diplomatic Personnel for the Purpose of their Protection and the Prevention of their Examination by Foreign Persons.
Secret Article the Third. The United States do acknowledge their Responsibility to cooperate in all Measures necessary to preserve the Secrecy of the Pūkjājēs' Existence, including but not limited to: Restriction of Cartographic and Geographical Survey of the said Lands; Suppression of Maps and Charts depicting the true Configuration thereof; Control of Access Routes; and Dissemination of suitable Explanations and false Accounts explaining Anomalies in the Region of the Graben Lands.
Secret Article the Fourth. In Consideration of the Protections and Privileges granted herein, the Pūkjājēs shall share such Technological, Medical, and Scientific Advances as shall be determined by the Vadas to be appropriate and safe for Dissemination, it being understood that the Pūkjājēs possess Knowledge far exceeding that of the general World.
Secret Article the Fifth. Any Attempt by either Party to unilaterally abrogate this Treaty, or to reveal its true Nature to unauthorized Persons, shall trigger the immediate Disclosure of such Evidence and Information as shall prove ruinous to the revealing Party's Interests and Standing in the Community of Nations.
Secret Article the Sixth. The Location of the Graben Lands shall be disguised in all Public Records as a "Wilderness Area" or "Protected Tribal Lands," and no Settlement, Mining, or Development shall be permitted therein by the United States or its Citizens under Penalty of Treaty Violation.
Attested this Twelfth Day of October, in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Six, in the Presence of:
[Names kept Secret]