Cherokee Commission

The Cherokee Commission, was a three-person bi-partisan body created by President Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...

to operate under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior

United States Secretary of the Interior

The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...

, as empowered by Section 14 of the Indian Appropriations Act

Indian Appropriations Act

The Indian Appropriations Act is the name of several acts passed by the United States Congress. A considerable number of acts were passed under the same name throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the most notable landmark acts consist of the 1851 Indian Appropriations Act and the 1871...

of March 2, 1889. Section 15 of the same Act empowered the President to open land for settlement. The Commission's purpose was to legally acquire land occupied by the Cherokee Nation

Cherokee Nation (19th century)

The Cherokee Nation of the 19th century —an historic entity —was a legal, autonomous, tribal government in North America existing from 1794–1906. Often referred to simply as The Nation by its inhabitants, it should not be confused with what is known today as the "modern" Cherokee Nation...

and other tribes in the Oklahoma Territory for non-indigenous homestead acreage .

Eleven agreements involving nineteen tribes were signed over the period of May 1890 through November 1892. The tribes resisted cession. Not all understood the terms of the agreements. The Commission tried to dissuade tribes from retaining the services of attorneys. Not all interpreters were literate. Agreement terms varied by tribe. As negotiations with the Cherokee Nation snagged, the United States House Committee on Territories

United States House Committee on Territories

The United States House Committee on Territories was a committee of the United States House of Representatives from 1825 to 1946 . Its jurisdiction was reporting on a variety to topics related to the territories, including legislation concerning them, and their admission as new states....

recommended bypassing negotiations and annexing the Cherokee Outlet

Cherokee Outlet

The Cherokee Outlet, often mistakenly referred to as the Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma, in the United States. It was a sixty-mile wide strip of land south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border between the 96th and 100th meridians. It was about 225 miles long and in 1891...

.

The Commission continued to function until August 1893. Lawsuits, Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

rulings, investigations and mandated compensation for irregularities ensued through the end of the 20th Century. Congress failed to respond to a legal protest from the Tonkawa

Tonkawa

The Tickanwa•tic Tribe , better known as the Tonkawa , are a Native American people indigenous to present-day Oklahoma and Texas. They once spoke the now-extinct Tonkawa language believed to have been a language isolate not related to any other indigenous tongues...

, or to an Indian Rights Association

Indian Rights Association

The Indian Rights Association was an American social activist group dedicated to the well being and acculturation of Native Americans...

investigation that condemned the Commission's actions with the Cheyenne and Arapaho

Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes

The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma.-History:...

. Commission attempts to negotiate signed agreements produced no results with the Osage

Osage Nation

The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...

, Kaw

Kaw (tribe)

The Kaw Nation are an American Indian people of the central Midwestern United States. The tribe known as Kaw have also been known as the "People of the South wind", "People of water", Kansa, Kaza, Kosa, and Kasa. Their tribal language is Kansa, classified as a Siouan language.The toponym "Kansas"...

, Otoe

Otoe tribe

The Otoe or Oto are a Native American people. The Otoe language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family and closely related to that of the related Iowa and Missouri tribes.-History:...

and Ponca

Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma

The Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, also known as the Ponca Nation, is a federally recognized tribe located in Oklahoma. The Ponca traditionally speak the Omaha-Ponca language, part of the Souian language family. Another portion of the people belong to the larger Ponca Tribe of...

The 1887 Dawes Act

Dawes Act

The Dawes Act, adopted by Congress in 1887, authorized the President of the United States to survey Indian tribal land and divide the land into allotments for individual Indians. The Act was named for its sponsor, Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts. The Dawes Act was amended in 1891 and again...

empowered the President of the United States to survey commonly held tribal lands and allot the land to individual tribal members, with the individual land patents to be held in trust as non-taxable by the government for 25 years.

Indian Appropriations Act

On March 2, 1889, President Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland

Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...

signed the Indian Appropriations Act into law. Section 14 of the Act authorized the President to appoint a three-person bi-partisan commission to negotiate with the Cherokee and other tribes in Indian Territory for cession of their lands to the United States. Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison

became President on March 4. The body was officially named the Cherokee Commission, and its existence ended in August 1893. Section 15 of the same Act empowered the President to open land for settlement. On May 2, 1890, President Harrison signed into law the Oklahoma Organic Act creating the Oklahoma Territory

Oklahoma Territory

The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma.-Organization:Oklahoma Territory's...

.

On July 1, 1889, the Commission received its initial funding. Food, transportation and lodging were all compensated, plus $5 per diem. The commissioners received an additional $10 per diem while they were actually in service. Congress appropriated an additional $20,000 for the Commission to continue its work. In 1892, Congress appropriated another $15,000 for the Commission.March 1893, Commission got $15,000 additional appropriation.

Commission organization

The Cherokee Commission was to operate under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, John Willock Noble

John Willock Noble

John Willock Noble was a U.S. lawyer and brevet general in the Civil War. He served as the Secretary of the Interior between 1889 and 1893....

, and his successor, Michael Hoke Smith. Noble's directive to the Commission was to offer $1.25 per acre, but to adjust that amount if the situation favored it. Lucius Fairchild

Lucius Fairchild

Lucius Fairchild was an American politician, army general, and diplomat. He served as the tenth Governor of Wisconsin and as U.S. Minister to Spain.-Military career:...

of Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

was appointed the first Chairman of the Commission. Fairchild submitted his resignation to President Harrison after the committee's first endeavor failed in negotiations with the Cherokee. Angus Cameron

Angus Cameron

Angus Cameron was a Republican and a member of the United States Senate from Wisconsin from 1875 to 1881, when he did not seek reelection, and again from 1881 to 1885, when he was elected to succeed Matthew H. Carpenter, who died in office; he did not seek reelection in 1885...

of Wisconsin was appointed to replace Fairchild as Chairman of the Commission, and resigned after three weeks. David H. Jerome

David Jerome

David Howell Jerome was an American politician. He served as the 18th Governor of Michigan -Early life:...

of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

was appointed to fill the chairman vacancy. The lone Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

on the Commission was Judge Alfred M. Wilson of Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

. John F. Hartranft

John F. Hartranft

John Frederick Hartranft was the 17th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1873 to 1879 and a Union Major General who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...

, recipient of the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

and former Governor of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, became the initial third person on the committee. Hartranft died on October 17, 1889. President Harrison appointed his friend Warren G. Sayre of Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

to replace Hartranft.

Iowa – May 20, 1890

The Iowa tribe is believed to have originated in Wisconsin

Wisconsin

. To avoid white settlers on their lands, the tribe moved to Iowa and Missouri, but later ceded their land and relocated to the Kansas-Nebraska border. In 1878, the full-bloods of the tribe moved to Indian Territory.

In the August 1890 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, submitted by Indian Agent Col. S.L. Patrick, the total Iowa

Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma

The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma is one of two federally recognized Iowa tribes. The other is the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska. Traditionally Iowas spoke the Chiwere language, part of the Souian language family...

reservation population was counted at 102. Reservation acreage was reported as 225000 acre (910.5 km²; 351.6 sq mi), west of the Sac and Fox reservation with comparable land. The population had members who were conversant in the English language, and some wore what was termed "citizens' clothes". Income was estimated at $50 per capita annually.

Lucius Fairchild and the Commission approached the Iowa on October 18, 1889, and were rebuffed. In May 1890, the Commission under David H. Jerome returned for negotiations, notifying the tribe of an October cessation to cattle grazing leases. Jerome told them the President was offering individual homesteads, and offering to take the resulting surplus land off their hands. Chief William Tohee stood firm that the Iowa preferred to keep their entire reservation for future generations. Jerome warned that failure to acquiesce would force the government to employ the Dawes Act . The Iowa felt that allotment and money was not good for the tribe, and they were still awaiting past government monies owed them. Many Iowa expressed concern about their children's forced assimilation in white schools, and were distrusting of the government. The Commission reiterated the threat of forced Congressional allotments. Jefferson White Cloud announced that the Iowa would sign the agreement.

On May 20, 1890, at the Iowa Village on their reservation, the tribe signed the agreement to cede all their land, in return for $60,000 (less than 27 cents per acre) divided per capita and paid in five installments, spread out over a 25-year period. The allotment was 80 acre (0.3237488 km²; 0.125000110521743 sq mi) per person. Land patents to the individual land allotted were to be held in a tax-free trust for the benefit of the allottees, for a period of twenty-five years. The allotments were to be selected by the individual tribal members within 60 days of government agents initiating the process. If any member failed to make the selection within that time frame, the selection would be made for them by the special agent. Article IX of the agreement addressed the frail situation with Chief William Tohee and his wife Maggie. Due to his blindness and advanced age, the childless couple were to be paid $350 for their care and well-being. Tribal member Kirwan Murray acted as interpreter. Congress ratified the agreement on February 13, 1891.

In 1929, the United States Court of Claims

United States Court of Claims

The Court of Claims was a federal court that heard claims against the United States government. It was established in 1855 as the Court of Claims, renamed in 1948 to the United States Court of Claims , and abolished in 1982....

rendered a judgment that the tribe had been underpaid, due to irregularities. The tribe was awarded $254,632,59.

Sac and Fox – June 12, 1890

The Sac and Fox Nation

Sac and Fox Nation

The Sac and Fox Nation is the largest of three federally recognized tribes of Sac and Meskwaki Native Americans. They are located in Oklahoma and are predominantly Sac....

in Oklahoma. also called Sauk and Fox, were moved to Indian Territory as a result of Article 6, in the Treaty with the Sauk and Foxes (1867). In the August 1890 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, submitted by Indian Agent Col. S.L. Patrick, the total Sac and Fox reservation population was counted at 515. Reservation acreage was reported as 479667 acre (1,941.1 km²; 749.5 sq mi), juxtaposed between the Cimarron, North Fork and Canadian

Canadian River

The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and most of Oklahoma....

rivers. It was in use as grazing, farming and orchards. Living conditions were reported as tipis

Tipi

A tipi is a Lakota name for a conical tent traditionally made of animal skins and wooden poles used by the nomadic tribes and sedentary tribal dwellers of the Great Plains...

or bark houses, with their main clothing being blankets. The Fox and Sac National Council was credited with uplifting the morality of the tribe by prohibiting polygamy

Polygamy

Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...

, and requiring lawful marriages.

The Commission under Lucius Fairchild first met Moses Keokuk and the Sac and Fox in October 1889. Fairchild offered the tribe its choice of land for the allotments, and $1.25 per acre for surplus land. When Jerome assumed the Chairmanship, the Commission returned for negotiations on May 28, 1890. Principal chief Maskosatoe was in attendance, but Keokuk, who spoke no English, led the tribal negotiations through an interpreter. Keokuk inquired about the allotment acreage and how much land the Commission wanted them to cede. Jerome cited the Dawes Act allotment directive of 160 acre (0.6474976 km²; 0.250000221043486 sq mi) to heads of household, 80 acre (0.3237488 km²; 0.125000110521743 sq mi) for single persons over 18 years of age, and 40 acre (0.1618744 km²; 0.0625000552608714 sq mi) for persons under 18 years of age. Keokuk countered with 200 acre (0.809372 km²; 0.312500276304357 sq mi) per person and a cession at $2.00 per acre. Jerome balked at the suggestion. Keokuk and the Sac and Fox National Council forced the Commission to agree to 160 acre (0.6474976 km²; 0.250000221043486 sq mi) per person, regardless of age or marital status. The twist was that the Commission required land patents for only half the per person acreage to be held in trust for 25 years, with the other half held in trust for only 5 years. The deal would allow tribal members to sell half their acreage after 5 years.

At the seat of government of the Sac and Fox Nation, the tribe signed the Agreement with the Sauk and Fox (1890) on June 12, 1890 to cede their land in return for $485,000 (slightly over $1 per acre). $300,000 of the total payment was to be placed in the United States Treasury, $5,000 to be paid to the local Indian agent to be expended under the direction of the National Council of the Sac and Fox, and the remaining $180,000 to be paid per capita within three months of Congressional ratification of the agreement. The allotments were to be selected by the individual tribal members within four months of allotting agents arriving to begin the process. If any member failed to make the selection within that time frame, the selection would be made for them by the local agent. The number of allotments was limited to 528, and any allotment over that limit would result in $200 per excess allotment being deducted from the $485,000. Congress ratified the agreement on February 13, 1891.

In 1964, in response to an of appeal the tribal claim, the United States Court of Claims ruled the tribe had been underpaid, and awarded them $692, 564.14.

Citizen Band of Potawatomi – June 25, 1890

The Citizen Band of Potawatomi

Potawatomi

The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...

were so named because of the Treaty with the Potawatomi (1887), which promised the band full citizenship in exchange for their agreement to move to a reservation. In 1872, the United States Congress authorized the Potawatomi reservation to be in Indian Territory.

In the August 1890 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, submitted by Indian Agent Col. S.L. Patrick, the total Citizen Band of Potawatomi reservation population was counted at 480. The reservation was reported at 575000 acre (2,326.9 km²; 898.4 sq mi), most of it between Little River and the South Canadian. The band were reported as having white blood, almost all conversant in both written and spoken knowledge of the English language. They were reported as a wealthy populace. Allotments assigned by N.S. Porter had been happening for two years.

On June 25, 1890, at Shawneetown, the tribe signed the Agreement with the Citizen Band of Potawatomi (1890) and ceded their 575870.42 acre (2,330.5 km²; 899.8 sq mi) for $160,000 (slightly less than 28 cents per acre) . An attorney had been engaged for the tribe during the negotiations. Many Potawatomi allotments had already been done in accordance with the Dawes Act. Land patents to the individual land allotted were to be held in a tax-free trust for the benefit of the allottees, for a period of twenty-five years. Those allotments, added to additional allotments were limited to a total of 1,400. The agreement stated that if additional allotments were needed, that $1 for each acre of land needed was to be deducted from the $160,000 paid the tribe, and divided per capita, for its land cession. After February 8, 1891, right to allotment ceased. Tribal member Joseph Moose acted as interpreter.Congress ratified the agreement on March 3, 1891.

In 1968, the Indian Claims Commission

Indian claims commission

The Indian Claims Commission was a judicial panel for relations between the United States Federal Government and Native American tribes. It was established in 1946 by the United States Congress to hear claims of Indian tribes against the United States...

awarded the Potawatomi $797,508.99, as part of its ruling that the land sold in 1890 had actually been worth $3 an acre.

Absentee Shawnee – June 26, 1890

The Treaty with the Shawnee (1825) provided for a reservation in Kansas. The Shawnee who were living on the Oklahoma Potawatomi reservation were given the name Absentee-Shawnee, because they were absent from the Shawnee reservation in Kansas.

In the August 1890 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, submitted by Indian Agent Col. S.L. Patrick, the total Absentee-Shawnee population was counted at 640. Their acreage was reported as being part of the Potawatomi reservation, on fertile ground between the North Fork and Canadian rivers. They were reported as having advanced to what was considered civilized clothing, living in log houses, and owning livestock. Populace was split between two bands. The Lower Shawnee under Chief White Turkey and the Upper Shawnee under Big Jim. Allotments assigned by N.S. Porter had been happening for two years.

On June 26, 1890, at Shawneetown, The Absentee-Shawnee signed the Agreement with the Absentee Shawnee (1890) and ceded 578870.42 acre (2,342.6 km²; 904.5 sq mi) for $65,000 (less than 11 cents an acre). Big Jim of the Upper Shawnee refused to sign the agreement. The Shawnee allotments were done in accordance with the Dawes Act, and limited to 650 allotments, including the allotments made prior to the agreement. If additional allotments over 650 were made, $1 for each acre of land therein was to be deducted from the $65,000 paid the tribe. Tribal members had until January 1, 1891 to select their allotments. If any member failed to make the selection within that time frame, the selection would be made for them by the local agent by February 8, 1891. After that date, right to allotment ceased. Land patents to the individual land allotted were to be held in a tax-free trust for the benefit of the allottees, for a period of twenty-five years.Tribal member Thomas W. Alford acted as interpreter.Congress ratified the agreement on March 3, 1891.

In 1999, the Supreme Court of the United States

Supreme Court of the United States

ruled that only the Potawatomi had proprietary rights to the reservation land ceded on 1890, so the Absentee-Shawnee were unable to share in the 1968 award for under payment.

Cheyenne and Arapaho – October 1890

The 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie

Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851)

Although many European and European-American migrants to western North America had previously passed through the Great Plains on the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails, the California gold rush greatly increased traffic...

set the Cheyenne and Arapaho

Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes

The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma.-History:...

boundaries as between the North Platte and the Arkansas rivers in Colorado. The 1861 Treaty of Fort Wise

Treaty of Fort Wise

The Treaty of Fort Wise of 1861 was a treaty entered into between the United States and six chiefs of the Southern Cheyenne and four of the Southern Arapaho Indian tribes. A significant proportion of Cheyennes opposed this treaty on the grounds that only a minority of Cheyenne chiefs had signed,...

ceded most of the tribal land from the 1851 treaty. In the 1865 Treaty of Little Arkansas, the tribes were removed to the southern boundary of Kansas. The Treaty of Medicine Lodge, signed by the southern Arapaho and Cheyenne on October 28, 1867, assigned the two tribes to live on the same reservation within the Cherokee Outlet, and also stipulated that any land cession required the signature of three-fourths of all the adult males of the reservation population.

In the August 1890 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, submitted by Indian Agent Charles F. Ashley, the total reservation population was Cheyenne 2, 272 and Arapaho 1,100. There had been much trouble with the Dog Soldiers

Dog Soldiers

Dog Soldiers is a 2002 British horror film written and directed by Neil Marshall, and starring Kevin McKidd, Sean Pertwee and Liam Cunningham. It was a British production, set in the highlands of Scotland, and filmed almost entirely in Luxembourg....

preventing rations being issued to those who allowed their children to be enrolled in school. The Ghost Dance religion, as practiced by a Northern Paiute named Wovoka

Wovoka

Wovoka , also known as Jack Wilson, was the Northern Paiute religious leader who founded the Ghost Dance movement. Wovoka means "cutter" or "wood cutter" in the Northern Paiute language.-Biography:...

, made its influence felt among the Arapaho at this time. The prophesied "second Christ" was alleged to live near the Shoshone in Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

and would bring back the buffalo and remove the white people from tribal land. Arapahoes send Washee and Black Coyote to Wyoming, and they returned proselytising

Proselytism

Proselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...

the faith. Some abandoned their work in favor of the dancing. Agent Ashley tried to put a halt to it.

On July 5, 1890, the Commission held a preliminary meeting with Old Crow, Whirlwind and Little Medicine, all opposed to cession. Jerome received instructions from Noble to follow the Treaty of Medicine Lodge directive in getting three-fourths of adult males to sign the agreement. On July 7, the Commission opened negotiations with the 1887 Dawes Act, which empowered the President to make allotments. The tribes refused to negotiate, citing their land as having been given to them by the Great Spirit and by the terms of the Treaty of Medicine Lodge. At the July 9 meeting, Sayre presented the Commission's proposal and told the tribes they, "...will be the richest people on earth." The crowd balked. On July 14, Jerome threatened the government's right to cut off rations. The Cheyenne began boycotting the sessions on July 15. Both Jerome and Sayre threatened them with the Dawes Act. On July 21, the Arapaho Army scouts walked out of the negotiations.
Jerome, Sayre and Noble met in New York to agree on requests for the President: 1) Amend the Dawes Act to implement a time limit for acceptance; 2) Forbid outside cattle on the land; and 3) Cancel the attorney contracts if the attorneys were influencing the tribal resistance. Noble learned that Cheyenne chiefs Whirlwind, Old Crow, Little Medicine, Howling Wolf and Little Big Jake were in disagreement with the Commission over the attorney contract. On October 7, the Cheyennes boycotted the negotiations, and the Arapaho refused to continue.

Collecting of signatures began in Darlington, on October 13. By November 12, Noble declared sufficient signatures for the Agreement with the Cheyenne and Arapaho (1890). Tribal members complained of fraud, citing signatures of women and underage males counted. It was also alleged that rather than counting the number of signatures separately by tribe, the Commission had used the aggregate total halved. Under the terms of the agreement signed October 1890, the tribes were to receive $1,500,000. Two payments were to be $250,000 each, and the remaining $1,000,000 to be retained by the Treasury of the United States at five percent interest. Allotments of 160 acre (0.6474976 km²; 0.250000221043486 sq mi) per person were to be selected by the individual tribal members within 90 days of Congressional ratification of the agreement. Failed to make the selection within the time frame, would cede selection for them to the local agent. Land patents to the individual land allotted were to be held in a tax-free trust for the benefit of the allottees, for a period of twenty-five years. Congress ratified the agreement on March 3, 1891.

Tribal attorneys

Former Indian agents John D. Miles and D.B. Dwyer, Secretary Noble's law firm associate M.J. Reynolds, and former Kansas Governor Samuel J. Crawford were contracted by the tribes, and approved by Secretary Noble, to represent the Cheyenne and Arapho. Their original fees were 10% of the cession agreement, deducted from the second cash installment paid to the tribes. Jerome questioned the wisdom of having attorneys whom the tribes distrusted as acting solely in the government's interest. Noble and the attorneys revised their contracts to adjust the 10% commission to a sliding scale. When the tribes refused to deal with contracted attorneys, the team of lawyers mainly assisted with the gathering of signatures to approve the contract. The government deducted $67,000 for attorneys fees from the 1892 second installment payment to the Cheyenne and Arapaho.

Tribal claims

The deduction for attorney fees, led the tribes to address the grievance to the government. Among their supporters were John H. Seger, former Indian agent Captain J.M. Lee, and Charles Painter of the Indian Rights Association

Indian Rights Association

The Indian Rights Association was an American social activist group dedicated to the well being and acculturation of Native Americans...

. Painter's investigative findings were published by the Indian Rights Association in 1893 as Cheyennes and Araphos Revisited and a Statement of Their Contract with Attorneys. Therein, Captain Lee accused the contractual arrangement as being "...misrepresentation, fraud and bribery." Painter also accused the attorneys of bribery, and of causing the tribes to lose three-fourths of the value of their land. As a result of the investigation, Congress did nothing. In 1951, the tribes brought suit against the United States, through the Indian Claims Commission

Indian claims commission

. The findings were that the 51210000 acre (207,239.7 km²; 80,015.7 sq mi) involved were worth $23,500,000 at the time of the agreement. The tribes reached a settlement with the government in the amount of $15,000,000.

Wichita and affiliated bands – June 4, 1891

Article 9 of the Treaty with the Choctaw and Chickasaw (1855) provided for the United States to lease the area between the 98th and 100th Meridians and the South Canadian River and Red River, for the purpose of permanent settlement of the Wichita and other tribes, and became officially titled the Leased District. After the Civil War, Article 3 of the Treaty with the Choctaw and Chickasaw (1866) ceded the Leased District to the United States for the sum of $300,000. In 1867, the Kiowa and Comanche received reservations in the district. In 1868, the Wichita and Caddo received district reservations. The Cheyenne and Arapaho received district reservations in 1869. Because the Wichita felt threatened by having these other tribes so near to them, in 1872 the government negotiated an agreement with the Wichita to increase their own reservation to 743610 acre (3,009.3 km²; 1,161.9 sq mi). The agreement was never ratified by Congress, and the Wichita claim to the acreage would become a point of legal dispute with the Choctaw and Chickasaw upon the signing of the Commission agreement with the Wichita.

In the August 1890 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, submitted by Indian Agent Charles E. Adams, the total Wichita reservation population of 991 was divided into six bands: 174 Wichitas, 538 Caddo

Caddo

The Caddo Nation is a confederacy of several Southeastern Native American tribes, who traditionally inhabited much of what is now East Texas, northern Louisiana and portions of southern Arkansas and Oklahoma. Today the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma is a cohesive tribe with its capital at Binger, Oklahoma...

, 150 Tawakoni, 66 Kichai, 95 Delaware

Delaware Nation

The Delaware Nation, sometimes called the Absentee or Western Delaware, is one of two federally recognized tribe of Delaware Indians, along with the Delaware Indians based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma...

and 34 Waco

Waco tribe

The Waco tribe of the Wichita people is a Native American Southern Plains tribe that inhabited northeastern Texas. Today, they are enrolled members of the federally recognized Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, headquartered in Anadarko, Oklahoma.-History:...

.

The Commission opened negotiations with the Wichita on May 9, 1891, by presenting the dictates of the Dawes Act, and asking the Wichita to commit to cession. David Jerome was immediately challenged by Tawakoni Jim, who argued for an attorney to represent the tribes. Jerome tried to dissuade the idea as a waste of money and time. Tawakoni Jim also challenged the acreage being offered under allotments. Caddo Jake stated that the priority should be educating the children before any negotiations could take place. Comments from tribal members reflected on the distrust of the government's word, based on broken treaty promises of the past. Caddo Jake made reference to the indigenous people's experience with Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...

, which provoked a retort from Jerome that Christopher Columbus had never been on the north American continent. Caddo Jake would also draw the parallel between the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the American tribes. Sayre presented a Commission proposal that was the standard 160 acre (0.6474976 km²; 0.250000221043486 sq mi) allotment, and a payment of $286,000 for surplus land. The crowd pressed for the price per acre, and Sayre finally conceded they were offering the Wichita only 50 cents per acre. When it became evident that the Wichita would not negotiate without an attorney, the government produced Luther H. Pike to represent them.who had persuaded Eventually, Pike and the Wichita agreed to the Commission's terms, with the exception of the price per acre. Jerome agreed to allow Congress to set the price.

On June 4, 1891 at Anadarko

Anadarko, Oklahoma

Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County.-Early History:Anadarko got its name when its post office was established in 1873...

, the Agreement with the Wichita and Affiliated Bands (1891) ceded their surplus land, with Congress setting the price per acre. Allotments were 160 acre (0.6474976 km²; 0.250000221043486 sq mi), and limited to a total 1,060 allotments. Each allotments in excess of that amount was to reduce the total amount Congress approved for payment of the surplus land. The allotments were to be selected by the individual tribal members within 90 days of Congressional ratification of the agreement. If any member failed to make the selection within that time frame, the selection would be made for them by the local agent. Land patents to the individual land allotted were to be held in a tax-free trust for the benefit of the allottees, for a period of twenty-five years. Interpreters Cora West and Robert M. Dunlap attested to having fully interpreted the terms of the agreement to the tribes before signing began. Congress ratified the agreement March 2, 1895.

In 1899, the Court of Claims rendered a judgment, that only the Choctaw and Chicksaw were entitled to the payment for the surplus land. The Wichita appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which overturned the ruling. The Court of Claims awarded the Wichitas $673.371.91 ($1.25 an acre) for their surplus land. When Congress finally appropriated the funding in 1902, it deducted 43,332.93 from the total payment for attorney fees.

Kickapoo – September 9, 1891

The nomadic Kickapoo

Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma

The Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma is one of three federally recognized Kickapoo tribes in the United States. There are also Kickapoo tribes in Kansas, Texas, and Mexico. The Kickapoo are a Woodland tribe, who speak an Algonquian language.-Early history:...

were first known to inhabit Michigan

Michigan

, and by the 19th Century were split between Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The Texas band migrated to Mexico. In 1873, Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie

Ranald S. Mackenzie

Ranald Slidell Mackenzie was a career United States Army officer and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, described by General Ulysses S. Grant as its most promising young officer...

, under orders from General Philip H. Sheridan, raided the Kickapoo camps in Mexico. The captured Kickapoo were forceably removed to Indian Territory.

In the August 1890 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, submitted by Indian Agent Col. S.L. Patrick, the total Kickapoo reservation population was counted at 325. Reservation acreage was reported as approximately200000 acre (809.4 km²; 312.5 sq mi), west of the Sac and Fox reservation. It was reported that $5,000 was appropriated annually for basic medical care, supplies and farming implements. The population was reported as good farmers.

The Kickapoo were first approached by the Commission, with Lucius Fairchild as Chairman, in October 1889. The tribe was not interested in allotments. On June 27, 1890, the Commission under Jerome returned to negotiate with the Kickpoo. The tribe had since been under advisement by Cherokee Chief Joel B. Mayes, and once again rebuffed the Commission. In June 1891, the Commission returned to negotiate with the tribe. The Kickapoo refused to anger the Great Spirit by ceding their land..

Jerome moved the negotiations to Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. Okanokasie, Keshokame and five headmen were authorized to represent the tribe. A white man named John T. Hill acted as tribal advisor. On September 9, 1891 in Washington, D.C., the Kickapoo signed the Agreement with the Kickapoo (1891) to cede their lands for $64,650 (about 32 cents per acre). Their allotments were 80 acre (0.3237488 km²; 0.125000110521743 sq mi) per person. and not to exceed a total of 300 allotments. Each allotment over the 300 limit would result in $50 being deducted from the $64,650 paid to the tribe. The allotments were to be selected by the individual tribal members within 90 days of Congressional ratification of the agreement. If any member failed to make the selection within that time frame, the selection would be made for them by the local agent. Land patents to the individual allotments land were to be held in a tax-free trust for the benefit of the allottees, for a period of twenty-five years. Joseph Whipple, testified that he was chosen by the Kickapoo as interpreter because of his fluency with the tribal language. He also attested that he was neither able to read nor write, and that what he conveyed to the Kickapoo was a translation of what had been read to him by Sayre. Congress ratified the agreement March 1893.

Quaker field matron Elizabeth Test reported in August 1894, that most Kickapoo did not understand that the agreement meant they were giving up their land. With the assistance of advocate Charles C. Painter

Charles C. Painter

Charles C. Painter was an American abolitionist, Native American advocate and Congregational minister. The son of a Virginia planter who freed his slaves prior to the Civil War, Painter served on the faculty of Fisk University, dedicated to the education of African Americans...

of the Indian Rights Association

Indian Rights Association

The Indian Rights Association was an American social activist group dedicated to the well being and acculturation of Native Americans...

, the Kickapoo presented their case to the House Committee on Indian Affairs Painter alleged the Commission had used, "trickery, coercion, threats and cunning," and had also, "over-reached and defrauded" the Kickapoo. In 1908, Congress appropriated another $215,000 for the tribe, but deducted $26, 875 for payment of the services of a Martin J. Bentley.

Tonkawa – October 21, 1891

Originally a Texas tribe, the Tonkawa came close to extinction with the dwindling herds of buffalo. In 1859, the United States government moved them to the Leased District in Indian Territory. During the Civil War, the tribe aligned with the Confederacy. In 1862, the Tonkawa Massacre

Tonkawa Massacre

The Tonkawa Massacre occurred after an attack at the Confederate held, Wichita Agency located at Fort Sill near Anadarko in Oklahoma, when a force of pro-Union tribes attacked the agency home to 300 members of the Tonkawa, a tribe sympathetic to the Confederacy...

decimated the tribe. In 1885, the Tonkawa relocated to the Outlet in the area currently known as Kay County

Kay County, Oklahoma

Kay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 48,080. Its county seat is Newkirk. The largest city in Kay County is Ponca City.-19th century:...

and served as scouts for the United States Army. The land had been conveyed by the Cherokee Nation in 1883 to the United States, to be held in trust for the Nez Perce, and later abandoned by the Nez Perce when they returned to their homeland..

In the August 1890 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, submitted by Indian Agent D.J.M. Wood, the total Tonkawa reservation population was counted at 76. Of this number, 14 were school children. They were described as a group who dressed in the white society's attire and attempted to speak only English. Many in the populace were identified as retired Government scouts and their wives. The agent stipulated these people should be cared for, in recognition of their government service. The only problem reported was alcohol and mescal bean addiction. The report called the Tonkawa "ready and anxious" to accept allotments.

On October 21, 1891 at the Ponca Indian Agency, the Tonkawa signed the Agreement with the Tonkawa (1891) to cede their entire 90710.89 acre (367.1 km²; 141.7 sq mi) to the United States government, in return for $30, 600 (approximately 34 cents an acre). $25 was to be paid in cash to each person within sixty days of ratification by Congress. An additional $50 was to be paid to each tribal member within six months of ratification.The remainder of the money was to be held in trust at the United States Treasury at 5% per annum, payable annually. Sixty-nine allotments of land were agreed to, plus a like allotment for any future tribal member born after the agreement was signed, but alive by the date of Congressional ratification. Land patents to the individual land allotted were to be held in a tax-free trust for the benefit of the allottees, for a period of twenty-five years. Peter Dupee, adopted member of the Tonkawa tribe, acted as interpreter. Congress ratified the agreement on February 3, 1893.

The Tonkawa hired legal counsel and claimed they had been pressured into signing the agreement, under the threat that all their allotments would be canceled if they failed to capitulate. They claimed they had demanded $1.25 per acre. Congress failed to act on their claim.

Cherokee – December 1891

During the 1836-1839 Cherokee removal

Cherokee removal

Cherokee removal, part of the Trail of Tears, refers to the forced relocation between 1836 to 1839 of the Cherokee Nation from their lands in Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina to the Indian Territory in the Western United States, which resulted in the deaths of approximately...

from all tribal lands west of the Mississippi

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

, the tribe signed the 1835 Treaty of New Echota

Treaty of New Echota

The Treaty of New Echota was a treaty signed on December 29, 1835, in New Echota, Georgia by officials of the United States government and representatives of a minority Cherokee political faction, known as the Treaty Party...

that created their reservation in Oklahoma, "including the Outlet" specifically named as part of the Cherokee reservation. The acreage west of the 96th Meridian

Meridian (geography)

A meridian is an imaginary line on the Earth's surface from the North Pole to the South Pole that connects all locations along it with a given longitude. The position of a point along the meridian is given by its latitude. Each meridian is perpendicular to all circles of latitude...

was known as the Cherokee Outlet

Cherokee Outlet

, or Cherokee Strip. When cattlemen began leasing grazing land on the Outlet, the Cherokees levied taxes on the cattlemen. Some of the cattlemen ignored the levies, and began building fences made of Outlet timber. In 1883, the Interior Department forced removal of the fences. The cattlemen formed the Cherokee Strip Livestock Association to work with the tribes.

Tribal chief Joel B. Mayes

Joel B. Mayes

Joel Bryan Mayes was Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.-Early life and education:He was born in present-day Bartow County, Georgia on October 2, 1833, of mixed Cherokee and white ancestry...

was a graduate of Cherokee Male Seminary

Cherokee Male Seminary

The Cherokee Male Seminary was a tribal college, established by the Cherokee Nation, and one of first institutions of higher learning established west of the Mississippi River.-Creation:...

, a former school teacher, and a veteran of the Confederate First Indian Regiment during the Civil War. Before and after the war, Mayes ran a farm, oversaw his fruit orchards, and raised livestock. In 1883, he was elevated to Chief Justice of the Cherokee Supreme Court, and became Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1888. Mayes was responsible for renegotiation of the grazing lease on the Outlet. He was re-elected as Chief in 1891, and died on December 14 of that year. Upon his death, Colonel Johnson Harris was elected chief.

At the Commission's organizational meeting on July 1, 1889, Interior Secretary Noble directed the Commission to begin negotiations with the Cherokees for cession of the Outlet. The majority of Cherokees did not want to sell the Outlet land, and Chief Mayes was focused on potential increase in tribal income by hiking taxes to cattlemen. Lucius Fairchild and the Commission first arrived in Tahlequah

Tahlequah, Oklahoma

Tahlequah is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, United States located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It was founded as a capital of the original Cherokee Nation in 1838 to welcome those Cherokee forced west on the Trail of Tears. The city's population was 15,753 at the 2010 census. It...

on July 29, and made an offer for the Outlet on August 2. Commission efforts did not bear fruition, and the Cherokees were notified on December 27, 1889, that the Commission's offer was to be withdrawn. At the urging of Noble and Fairchild, President Harrison issued a proclamation on February 17, 1890 banning all cattle and livestock from the Outlet, and ordering removal of any existing cattle and livestock no later than October 1, 1890, eliminating Cherokee income from the Outlet.

In November 1890, with Jerome as Chairman, the Commission returned to resume negotiations. Empowered by the Cherokee National Council, Mayes appointed a nine-member committee: Stan W. Gray as Chairman, William P. Ross, Johnson Spade, Rabbit Bunch, L.B. Bell, Stephen Tehee, John Wickliffe, Arch Scrapper and George Downing. E. C. Boudinot acted as clerk , and Captain H. Benge acted as interpreter. By December 26, 1890, the negotiations once again aborted with no results.

The United States House Committee on Territories

United States House Committee on Territories

recommended in February 1891 bypassing negotiations and annexing the Outlet, paying the Cherokees $1.25 an acre as a settlement. In the Oklahoma Territory, judges ruled that the Cherokees had no legal ownership of the Outlet. Cherokee delegates submitted documentation as proof of Outlet ownership. The Commission re-opened negotiations with the Cherokees on November 1891. The Commission presented its basic proposal to the tribe. The Cherokees requested the boundary of the Outlet be moved from the 96th to the 100th Meridian, and that the government estimate the acreage involved in the negotiations. A main point of contention in the negotiations was the question of intruders, outside workers residing on Cherokee land, and the history of the United States failing to handle the problem. The Cherokee Nation presented a counter proposal that called for $3 an acre. Both Jerome and Sayre ridiculed the Cherokee proposal. The Commission threatened that Congress could remove the tribe from Trade and Intercourse acts. On December 11, the Commission and the tribe came close to terms, with the Cherokees asking for $2 an acre. E. C. Boudinot continued to debate with the Commission over details, and said the tribe had a copy of the 1889 Indian Office's instructions to the Commission.

On December 19, a compromise was reached. The Agreement with the Cherokee (1891) was ratified by the Cherokee National Council at Talequah on January 4, 1892. The Cherokees ceded 8144682.91 acre (32,960.4 km²; 12,726.1 sq mi), for $8,595,736.12. Congress ratified the agreement on March 4, 1893.

In 1961, the Indian Claims Commission awarded the Cherokee Nation $14,364,476.15 compensation for underpayment by the government. The commission ruled that the land had actually been worth $3.75 an acre in 1892.

Comanche, Kiowa and Apache – October 6-21, 1892

On October 21, 1867, the Kiowa and Comanche

Comanche

The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...

tribes signed the Treaty of Medicine Lodge, which removed them to a shared reservation in Indian Territory, and also stipulated that any land cession required the signature of three-fourths of all the adult males of the reservation population. Not all tribal members immediately went to the reservation. Many continued to live on the plains, only brought to conformity by the Red River War

Red River War

The Red River War was a military campaign launched by the United States Army in 1874, as part of the Comanche War, to remove the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Native American tribes from the Southern Plains and forcibly relocate them to reservations in Indian Territory...

campaign. Quanah Parker

Quanah Parker

Quanah Parker was a Comanche chief, a leader in the Native American Church, and the last leader of the powerful Quahadi band before they surrendered their battle of the Great Plains and went to a reservation in Indian Territory...

and his Quahada Comanche band surrendered near Fort Sill on June 2, 1875. Two years later, Parker was responsible for bringing a renegade band of Comanches to surrender. Once on the reservation, Parker became wealthy through cattle leasing. He was paid $35 a month by cattlemen as their spokesperson, and sent to Washington D.C. to represent them. The cattlemen also helped finance the building of Parker's eight-bedroom two-story reservation Star House

Quanah Parker Star House

The Quanah Parker Star House, with stars painted on its the roof, is located in the city of Cache, county of Comanche, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Comanche County, Oklahoma in 1970....

.

In the August 1892 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, submitted by Indian Agent George D. Day, the total reservation population was counted as Kiowa 1,014, Comanche 1,531 and Apache 241.Commissioner of Indian Affairs (1892) p. 386

The Commission opened negotiations with the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache at Fort Sill on September 26, 1892. Jerome made an opening presentation, and Quanah Parker asked specifically how much money per acre, and what were the terms offered. Jerome stalled on the details of money. Other tribal members preferred to defer the negotiations until the Treaty of Medicine Lodge expired. At the next day's session, Parker continued to press Jerome for financial details, as Jerome avoided discussing the money. Sayre detailed the overall offer of $2,000,000 and per capita distribution. Parker once again asked how much per acre. Sayre didn't have an answer, and Parker asked him how he arrived at $2,000,000. To that, Sayre replied, "...we just guess at it." Parker stated that he had heard about price per acre differential between the various tribal agreements. Lone Wolf added that many wanted to defer until the expiration of the Medicine Lodge treaty.

On October 3, Wilson cited the 1887 Dawes Act, reminding the tribes that the government could force allotment on them. Parker proposed one elected representative from each tribe meet with an attorney of his choosing, with two months to prepare a tribal proposal. Indian agent George D. Day spoke on October 5, telling the assemblage that the commissioners were their friends, and they could either accept the Commission's offer, or be forced into allotment by the Dawes Act. Jerome pointed to Parker's wealth erroneously as an example of what allotment would bring to the average tribal member. Parker had proposed that $500,000 be added to the $2,000,000 offer, and that Congress make the decision about it. Kiowa chief Tohauson spoke on October 6, saying that neither he nor many in his tribe would sign the agreement. At the final Fort Sill meeting on October 11, the Commission pressed for signatures from reluctant Kiowas.

Anadarko

Anadarko, Oklahoma

was the location for the October 14, 15, 17 sessions, which were noted for the Kiowa reluctance to sign the document. On October 22 on Fort Sill

Fort Sill

Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...

, the Commission notified the President they had the required number of signatures for the Agreement with the Comanche, Kiowa and Apache (1892).

Protests began immediately that there had been irregularity in obtaining signatures, and that individuals had been mislead about the terms of the agreement. Lone Wolf and Quanah Parker joined others many times in Washington D.C. meetings to air their viewpoints. From 1893 each succeeding Congress attempted to amend the agreement before its final ratification in 1900.

Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock

Once the Commission laid claim to a sufficient number of signatures for passage, Lone Wolf and other Kiowa alleged fraud. In October 1899, a petition of a majority of Kiowa males was presented to Congress questioning the validity of the agreement. Upon the onset of the allotment process, Lone Wolf filed a complaint with the Supreme Court in the District of Columbia, seeking an injunction against the Department of Interior. Former Congressman William Springer acted as the tribal attorney. The Indian Rights Association also became involved. The complaint alleged that the agreement was unconstitutional on the grounds that it conflicted with the Treaty of Medicine Lodge requirement of signatures of three-fourths of all tribal adult males.

In the 1903 Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock decision, the Court ruled against Lone Wolf, stating that the Congress acted in good faith, and the judiciary branch of government should not question its motives. The Court ruled that Congress was within its plenary powers to abrogate treaties when it acts in the best interests of the tribes.

Pawnee – November 23, 1892

The Pawnee had four bands:Chaui (Grand Pawnee), Kitkahahki (Republican Pawnee), Pitahawirata (Tapage Pawnee) and Skidi (Loups). In 1876, the Pawnee ceded their reservation in Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

, sold by the United States government through a public sale. Proceeds of the sale of the Nebraska reservation were used to relocate the tribe to Indian Territory, on land purchased from the Cherokee. Surplus funds remaining after the purchase and relocation were to be credited to the Pawnee at the United States Treasury. The Pawnee owned 230014 acre (930.8 km²; 359.4 sq mi) in the Outlet, and 53006 acre (214.5 km²; 82.8 sq mi) south of there.

In the August 1892 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, submitted by Indian Agent D.J.M. Wood, the total Pawnee reservation population was counted at 798, of which 382 were male and 416 were female. Of the total population, 400 were considered of mixed blood. The number under the age of 24 who were considered literate was reported at 160. And 225 of the Pawnee were reported as being able to use the English language. Of 283020 acre (1,145.3 km²; 442.2 sq mi), 1986 acre (8 km²; 3.1 sq mi) were under cultivation. The report contains a section on the Pawnee participation in the Ghost Dance

Ghost Dance

The Ghost Dance was a new religious movement which was incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. The traditional ritual used in the Ghost Dance, the circle dance, has been used by many Native Americans since prehistoric times...

, which promised to bring a new messiah to force intruders off their land, and return the buffalo. The named prophet on the reservation was Frank White, whom the agent had arrested. The agent refers to having avoided a Wounded Knee

Wounded Knee Massacre

The Wounded Knee Massacre happened on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, USA. On the day before, a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment commanded by Major Samuel M...

disaster. The Ghost Dance religion took root among the Pawnee in 1891, after Frank White became a convert while participating in it with the Comanches and the Wichitas. By the date mentioned in the agent's report, two-thirds of the Pawnee had become participants. Many within the tribe had given up reservation labors in favor of serving the new messiah with the dancing. When the government objected, the Pawnee practiced their religion covertly. White's arrest was a government attempt to quash the religion.

In attendance at the first October 31, 1892 Commission session were Jerome, Wilson and Helen P. Clarke, of the Sioux

Sioux

The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...

tribe, to facilitate the allotments. Harry Coons acted as monitor on behalf of the Pawnee. Jerome began the sessions by referring to the dictates of the Dawes Act. Jerome told the Pawnee they had no option but to capitulate, and that leasing to cattlemen was forbidden. The Pawnee were concerned about being deprived of their livelihood, and about future generations of Pawnee not being beneficiaries of the agreement. Jerome threatened them with cutting off food rations, and told them their only protection from white intruders on their land was to cede the land to the government.

On November 2, Jerome presented the terms of the government's offer . Sticking points were the $1.25 per acre being proposed, and the stipulation that of the 160 acre (0.6474976 km²; 0.250000221043486 sq mi) person, only 80 acre (0.3237488 km²; 0.125000110521743 sq mi) could be used for agriculture. The Pawnee wanted the 160 acre (0.6474976 km²; 0.250000221043486 sq mi) with no restrictions, and $2.50 per acre for ceded land. Sun Chief had heard that Quanah Parker had negotiated $1.50 per acre, but Jerome said the Comanches only received 80 cents per acre. After five days, on November 9 and 10, the Pawnee decided to lower their price to $1.50 an acre. Jerome refused. Sun Chief offered to split the difference between the government's offer and the Pawnee demand. Jerome refused. When the tribal representatives expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of government clothing allotments, Warren Sayre offered to give the tribe half of the clothing allowance in cash. Brave Chief wanted assurances that the government would support the tribe's right to conduct the Ghost Dances. Sayre confirmed it vocally but refused to put it in writing.

Sun Chief announced that he had given his approval for the Commission agreement. On November 23, Agreement with the Pawnee (1892) was voted upon and signed. From the 283020 acre (1,145.3 km²; 442.2 sq mi) that made up the Pawnee reservation, 111932 acre (453 km²; 174.9 sq mi) were converted to individual allotments. 171088 acre (692.4 km²; 267.3 sq mi) ceded as surplus ($1.25 per acre). $80,000 was to be paid in cash upon Congressional ratification of the agreement. The remainder would be held in the United States Treasury at 5% per annum, with annual per capita distributions. The allotments were to be selected by the individual tribal members within four months of Congressional ratification of the agreement. If any member failed to make the selection within that time frame, the selection would be made for them by the local agent. Land patents to the individual land allotted were to be held in a tax-free trust for the benefit of the allottees, for a period of twenty-five years.Pawnee Ralph C. Weeks served as interpreter.Congress ratified the document on March 3, 1893.

In 1950, the Indian Claims Commission ruled the Pawnee had been underpaid for sale of its Nebraska reservation, and awarded the tribe more than $7,000.000.

Osage, Kaw and Otoe

In the August 1892 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, the Osage

Osage Nation

and Kaw

Kaw (tribe)

report was submitted by Indian Agent L.J. Miles. The population on the Osage the reservation numbered 1,644. The Osage were described as being a religious people who were honest and having pride in their heritage. The Kaw on the reservation were counted at 209. The Kaw populace was described as a generous people who gave away their own possessions to others.Commissioner of Indian Affairs (1892) pp. 390, 391 On June 22, 1893, the Commission attempted negotiation with the Osage, and the Kaw. Neither tribe was interested in negotiating. Section 8 of the Dawes act excluded the Osage, so they could not be compelled to accept allotments. The Osage had their own government with a written constitution. The Kaw refused to entertain the idea of allotments unless the Commission was able to secure an agreement with the Ponca.

In the 1892 Indian Affairs report, the Otoe

Otoe tribe

The Otoe or Oto are a Native American people. The Otoe language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family and closely related to that of the related Iowa and Missouri tribes.-History:...

report was submitted by Indian Agent D.J.M. Wood, and the population was counted as 362, living on 129113 acre (522.5 km²; 201.7 sq mi). Helen P. Clark had already made allotments to many Otoe. The Ghost Dance, which the agent refers to as "The Messiah Craze", was quashed by arresting one participant named Buffalo Black .Commissioner of Indian Affairs (1892) pp. 398, 399 The Otoe refused to meet with the Commission.

Ponca

Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma

Dakota Territory

The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...

land was given to the Sioux

Sioux

The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...

in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. In 1877, the Ponca were forceably removed to Indian Territory. President Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...

denied the appeal to stop the removal, filed by Chiefs Standing Bear

Standing Bear

Standing Bear was a Ponca Native American chief who successfully argued in U.S...

, Standing Buffalo, White Eagle and Big Chief. The Ponca

Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma

lived on 101894 acre (412.4 km²; 159.2 sq mi) in the Outlet, purchased for $50,000 in 1878. In the August 1892 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, submitted by Indian Agent D.J.M. Wood, the total Ponca reservation population was counted at 567. Two hundred of the Ponca were reported as being able to use the English language.Total tribal earnings during the previous year were reported as $325.71.

During October 1891 and spring 1892, the Commission met with the Ponca. The commissioners read the Dawes Act. White Eagle suggested the white homesteaders "..stay on their own reservation." The Ponca felt there was no evidence that allotments, or lack thereof, made any difference in a tribe's standard of living. On April 12, Sayre presented the government's proposal. The Commission threatened that Congress could cut off Ponca annual appropriations. A Ponca delegation visited the Cherokee Nation for advice, but the Cherokee were unable to help.

In April 1893, negotiations resumed, during which Jerome threatened that the government can do anything it wants. On April 10, Jerome told the Ponca that they would stay until the Ponca agreed to allotments. Sayre threatened with possible cancellation of grass lease money. The Ponca held firm that they owned the land, and reminded the Commission of what happened to the Ponca's land in Dakota Territory. Jerome responded that the government would force the allotment on the Ponca, and threatened one attendee with jail. The Commission threatened to cut off all government services unless the Ponca capitulated. The Commission gave up on June 6, 1893, twenty months after they began.

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