The Indian Treaty Room where Kash Patel took oath as FBI director: Does the room have India links? All about it

The Indian Treaty Room, a historic chamber in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, served as the venue for Indian-American Kash Patel’s swearing-in as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Friday, February 21.

Originally built in the late 19th century as the Navy Department Library and Reception Room, the elaborately decorated Indian Treaty Room has since hosted significant events, including presidential press conferences and high-level meetings, and also served as one of the rooms to sign treaties.

The exact origin of the name ‘Indian Treaty Room’ and its connection to India remains unclear. However, it is believed that the room earned its name in the 1930s when the War Department stored treaties signed with American Indian nations there.

But, it is also a fact that the State Department used the Indian Treaty Room for storage “until the 1940s after the Navy Library moved out”.

Among the treaties signed in this room include “the Bretton Woods Treaty- establishing the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Peace Treaty with Rumania, Italy and Hungary after WWII, and the UN Charter.”

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Here are some key facts about the historic venue where Kash Patel took oath as FBI director.

1. President Eisenhower held the first “live” televised presidential press conference in the Indian Treaty Room on January 19, 1955.
2. The Indian Treaty Room was designed by Richard Ezdorf, completing it in 1879.
3. In the 19th century when the room was constructed, it cost more than any other room in the building in the tower.
4. In 1879, the room was constructed at about $33.50 per square foot which is $55,675.00 in 1879 dollars
5. In the beginning, the Indian Treaty Room was used as a library and a reception room.
6. Design of the room: The room's design features numerous nautical motifs, including shells adorning the Italian and French marble panels, seahorses and dolphins incorporated into the cast iron railings of the second-floor balcony, navigation stars on the ceiling, and a compass at the center of the floor, according to White House Archives.
7. The floor is the original English Minton tile floor.
8. In the 1930s, the building was renamed the Department of State Building and by 1949, the building was renamed the Executive Office Building.
9. What is the Indian Treaty Room used for? The room is used for meetings, receptions, and special swearing-in ceremonies.
10. Kash Patel’s oath-taking in the Indian Treaty Room adds another chapter to its storied past.