Indian Treaty Room

[1] The design of the room includes many nautical motifs, such as shells over the Italian and French marble panels; seahorses and dolphins in the cast iron railings on the second floor balcony; stars for navigation in the ceiling; and the compass in the center of the floor.

[1] President Dwight D. Eisenhower held the first televised presidential press conference in the room in January 1955.

[2] In 2001-2002, the room was used for the White House's Coalition Information Center, which coordinated media relations and relief efforts during Operation Enduring Freedom.

One theory is that it arose because the War Department stored papers there during the 1930s, including treaties with the American Indian nations.

[1] The Bretton Woods agreements, the peace treaties with Italy, Hungary, and Romania after World War II, and the United Nations Charter were all signed in the room.