Diplomacy
Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark spent much of the winter on diplomatic efforts with the tribes who lived near Fort Mandan. Because the expedition would establish the first official contact between the United States and several Native American nations, President Thomas Jefferson had several diplomatic goals for the captains to pursue. They were to try to establish a friendly relationship with as many tribes as possible and announce that American traders would be coming to the region. They were also to claim territorial sovereignty over the land. Because the Tetons had shown resistance to the expedition, Lewis and Clark gradually made an adjustment to these goals and decided to try forming an alliance with the Arikaras, Hidatsas, and Mandans against them.
The Mandans were cautiously favorable towards allying with the United States, even going so far as to send one of their chiefs, Sheheke, back with the Expedition in 1806 to travel to Washington, D.C., and meet with Thomas Jefferson. However they did not commit to trading with the United States at the expense of their previous trading partnerships. The Hidatsas were much more resistant to American diplomatic efforts, often avoiding even meeting with Lewis and Clark.
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