Episode 5: The Treaty at Bird’s Fort: The Paperwork After the Smoke

Before Fort Worth was a city, and before settlers moved in, there was violence, displacement, and an attempt to clean it all up with paperwork.

In Episode 5 of We Got The Funk, DonTheBarber breaks down the Treaty at Bird’s Fort—the who, the what, the when, the where, and most importantly, the why behind one of the most overlooked moments in North Texas history.

After the Battle of Village Creek in 1841, the Republic of Texas sought “peace” with Native nations through a treaty signed in the woods along the Trinity River. On paper, it promised peace and friendship forever. In reality, the frontier kept moving, the violence didn’t stop, and the treaty revealed more about power, fear, and expansion than reconciliation.

This episode explores:

• Why the treaty happened after violence, not before
• How slow communication shaped frontier decision-making
• The role of Edward H. Tarrant and other Republic officials
• Why Bird’s Fort mattered as a meeting place
• How treaties often managed consequences instead of preventing them
• Why Fort Worth could only be built after Village Creek and Bird’s Fort

This is not the textbook version.

This is the barbershop version—context, consequences, and honesty.

Episode 5 also sets up what comes next:

When the Army abandoned Fort Worth in 1853, civilians stepped into the space left behind—and that’s where the real city begins.

🎧 Subscribe to We Got The Funk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, or wherever you listen, and don’t miss Episode 6 as we dive into the settlers who built Fort Worth after the soldiers left.