USA > Oklahoma > A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume I > Part 20
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Besides effecting the preliminary treaty
questions have arisen as to the status of the na- 'tions, tribes, and bands that have made treaties with the enemies of the United States, which are now being discussed, and our relations settled by treaty with the United States commissioners now at Fort Smith for that purpose:
The undersigned do hereby acknowledge them- selves to be under the protection of the United States of America, and covenant and agree, that hereafter they will in all things recognize the gov- ernment of the United States as exercising ex- clusive jurisdiction over them and will not enter into any allegiance or conventional arrangement with any state, nation, power or sovereign whatso- ever; that any treaty of alliance for cession of land, or any act heretofore done by them, or any of their people, by which they renounce their allegiance to the United States, is hereby revoked, cancelled and repudiated.
In consideration of the foregoing stipulations, made by the members of the respective nations and tribes of Indians present, the United States, through its commissioners, promises that it will re-establish peace and friendship with all the na- tions and tribes of Indians within the limits of the so-called Indian country; that it will afford ample protection for the security of the persons and property of the respective nations or tribes, and declares its willingness to enter into treaties to arrange and settle all questions relating to and growing out of former treaties with said na- tions, as affected by any treaty made by said nations with the so-called Confederate States, at this council now convened for that purpose, or at such times in the future as may be appointed.
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above mentioned, the commission made valuable progress towards the consumma- tion of treaties with some of the important tribes, treaties that in the following year were signed by properly accredited dele- gates in the city of Washington. Such treaties were drawn up with the Osages, the Creeks, and the Choctaws and Chicka- saws, to be signed later in Washington. The proceedings at Washington in the fol- lowing year were not, therefore, in the nature of a general council, but rather a meeting of delegates to give official sanc- . tion to the work which had been outlined and in several instances drafted during the conference at Fort Smith.
The close of the Civil war brought mo- mentous changes to Indian Territory. The treaties made between the United States commissioners and the civilized tribes in 1866 contained the elements of dissolution for the Indian nations, and with the sign- ing of those documents the influence of the whites rapidly became ascendant over the declining Indians. It requires only a read-
' Art. 4. Who may within two years elect not to reside northeast of the Arkansas river, and southeast of Grand river, shall have the right to settle in and occupy the Canadian district southwest of the Arkansas river, and also all that tract of country lying northwest of Grand river, and bounded on the southeast by Grand river and west by the Creek reservation to the northeast corner thereof; from thence west on the north line of the Creek reservation to the ninety-sixth degree of west longitude; and thence north on said line of longitude so far that a line due east to Grand river will include a quan- tity of land equal to one hundred and sixty acres for each person who may so elect to reside in the territory above described in this article.
""Said sum to be held in trust until the legisla- tures of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations re- spectively shall have made such laws, rules, and regulations as may be necessary to give all per- sons of African descent, resident in the said nation at the date of the treaty of Fort Smith, and their descendants heretofore held in slavery among
ing of the principal provisions of these treaties to understand that a new era had dawned for the Indian nations.
First, and as a natural result of the war, came the provisions for the freeing of the slaves, which was hardly less a "peculiar institution" of the Indians than of the south- ern whites. In the treaty with the Chero- kees (July 19, 1866), after reference had been made to the alliance with the Con- federate states, which was repudiated by the Indians February 18, 1863, it was pro- vided with regard to former slaves and free negroes who had resided in the Cherokee nation prior to June 1, 1861, that those who chose might settle in a district to them- selves, which district was to be an integral part of the Cherokee nation, but with local officials and regulations.8
In the treaty with the Choctaw and Chickasaw it will be noticed that the pro- visions for the freedmen do not designate a separate district for their home, but allow them to settle anywhere among their former owners and receive all the privileges of citizenship.“ The Cherokee Nation alone
said nations, all the rights, privileges, and immuni- ties, including the right of suffrage of citizens of said nations, except in the annuities, moneys, and public domain claimed by, or belonging to, said nations respectively; and also to give to such persons who were residents as aforesaid, and their descendants, forty acres each of the land of said nations on the same terms as the Choc- taws and Chickasaws, to be selected on the survey of said land, after the Choctaws and Chickasaws and Kansas Indians have made their selections as herein provided; and immediately on the en- actment of such laws, rules, and regulations, the said sum of three hundred thousand dollars shall be paid to the said Choctaw and Chickasaw Na- tions in the proportion of three-fourths to the former and one-fourth to the latter-unless such sum, at the rate of one hundred dollars per cap- ita, as shall be sufficient to pay such persons of African descent before referred to as within ninety days after the passage of such laws, rules, and regulations shall elect to remove and actually remove from the said nations respectively."
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set aside a district for the home of the negro freedmen. Furthermore, the Cherokees passed laws forbidding the intermarriage of Indians and blacks. The Seminoles, as mentioned on a previous page, while they did not hold slaves, practiced marriage with the negroes. After the war the Creek Na- tion received the freedmen on equal terms of citizenship, and marriage between the Creeks and former slaves became quite com- mon. The result is seen at the present time when the native citizenship of the old Creek Nation shows a much greater number, and greater variety of degrees, in mixed negro and Indian blood, than in the Cherokee Na- tion, for instance, where the races have intermarried less freely.
But of more importance than the aboli- tion of slavery within the limits of the na- tions were the provisions inserted in the various treaties allowing the settlement of friendly tribes on the lands that had been guaranteed as the lasting home of the tribe. The Choctaw and Chickasaw (treaty of April 28, 1866) ceded to the United States for the sum of $300,000 the "leased dis- trict," including all the country lying west of the 98th degree of longitude, and furth- ermore consented that not more than 10,000
'Art. 15. The United States may settle any civilized Indians, friendly with the Cherokees and adjacent tribes, within the Cherokee country, on unoccupied lands east of 96°, on such terms as may be agreed upon by any such tribe and the Cherokees, subject to the approval of the presi- dent of the United States, which shall be consis- tent with the following provisions, viz: Should any such tribe or band of Indians settling in said country abandon their tribal organization, there being first paid into the Cherokee national fund a sum of money which shall sustain the same proportion to the then existing national fund that the number of Indians sustain to the whole number of Cherokees then residing in the Cherokee country, they shall be incorporated into and ever after remain a part of the Cherokee Nation, on equal terms in every respect with native citizens. And should any such tribe, thus settling in said
"civilized Indians from the tribes known by being Indians to the north of Indian Ter- the general name of the Kansas Indians, ritory," should be received into the Choctaw and Chickasaw country east of the 98th meridian, as fellow citizens.
The treaty with the Cherokee (July 19, 1866) gave consent to similar settlement" east of the 96th meridian, and permitted settlement west of that meridian under cer- tain conditions.
The history of the original Oklahoma might be said to begin in the treaty which was concluded with the Creek Nation on the 14th of June, 1866. The preamble recites that the treaty with the Confederate States, July 10, 1861, by ignoring their allegiance to the United States, had "unsettled the treaty relations," and rendered them "liable to forfeit to the United States" all the bene- fits of lands, etc. Thus menaced, the Creeks submitted to military occupation, to aboli- tion of slavery, acceptance of freedom on equal terms of citizenship and tribal rights, and "in view of said liabilities [because of Confederate alliance] the United States require of the Creeks a portion of their lands whereon to settle other Indians." Then, as described in article 3 of the treaty,"
country, decide to preserve their tribal organiza- tions, and to maintain their tribal laws, cus- toms, and usages, not inconsistent with the consti- tution and laws of the Cherokee Nation, they shall have a district of country set off for their use by metes and bounds equal to one hundred and sixty acres, if they should so decide, for each man, woman and child of said tribe, and shall pay for the same into the national fund such price as may be agreed on by them and the Cherokee Na- tion, subject to the approval of the president of the United States, and in cases of disagreement the price to be fixed by the president.
Treaty with the Creeks, June 14, 1866 .- Art. 3. In compliance with the desire of the United States to locate other Indians and freed- men thereon, the Creeks hereby cede and convey to the United States, to be sold to and used as homes for such other civilized Indians as the
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the Creeks ceded to the United States the entire western half of their possessions divided by a north and south line. The nominal purpose for which this cession was to be used was for the location of other Indians and freedmen thereon, but as his- tory proves, the region became the bone of contention between the cattlemen and the boomers, and was eventually opened to set- tlement as the original Oklahoma.
One of the most interesting of the various provisions of the treaties of 1866 were those pertaining to the inter-tribal council of the civilized tribes. These provisions were in the nature of an enabling act, sanctioning the formation of an Indian confederate gov- ernment, by which the various tribes would be knit together under a general governing council, to which should be delegated cer- tain powers and functions similar to those possessed by the governing bodies of the
United States may choose to settle thereon, the west half of the entire domain, to be divided by a line running north and south; the western half of said Creek lands, being retained by them, shall, except as herein otherwise stipulated, be forever set apart as a home for said Creek Nation; and in consideration of said cession of the west half of their lands, estimated to contain three million two hundred and fifty thousand five hundred and sixty acres, the United States agree to pay the sum of thirty (30) cents per acre, amounting to nine hundred and seventy-five thousand one hun- dred and sixty-eight dollars, in the manner here- inafter provided, to wit: two hundred thousand dollars shall be paid per capita in money, unless otherwise directed by the president of the United States, upon the ratification of this treaty, to enable the Creeks to occupy, restore and improve their farms, and to make their nation independent and self-sustaining, and to pay the damages sus- tained by the mission schools on the North Fork and the Arkansas rivers, not to exceed two thou- sand dollars, and to pay the delegates such per diem as the agent and Creek council may agree upon, as a just and fair compensation, all of which shall be distributed for that purpose by the agent, with the advice of the Creek council, under the direction of the Secretary of the In- terior. One hundred thousand dollars shall be paid in money and divided to soldiers that enlisted in
territories of the Union. Clearly, the design was that this inter-tribal council should accustom, in time, the Indians to a central- ized form of government, and eventually fit the Indian Territory for admission among the states.
An inter-tribal council was by no means a new feature of the Indian policy, as the previous chapter has shown. But taken just at this time, when the government was bent on concentrating the Indians within the boundaries of the Indian Territory, it is a further proof of the intention to con- stitute the Indians a body politic which, while maintaining its own peculiar customs and institutions, would eventually be pre- pared for the duties and privileges of a separate state.
The full details of this plan are stated in the treaty with the Choctaws and Chicka- saws, as given below.7 In the council at
the Federal army and the loyal refugee Indians and freedman who were driven from their homes by the rebel forces, to reimburse them in pro- portion to their respective losses; four hundred thousand dollars be paid in money and divided per capita to said Creek Nation, unless otherwise di- rected by the president of the United States, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, as the same may acerue from the sale of land to other Indians. The United States agree to pay to said Indians in such manner and for such purposes as the Secretary of the Interior may direct, interest at the rate of five per cent per annum from the date of the ratification of this treaty, on the amount hereinbefore agreed upon for said ceded lands, after deducting the said two hundred thousand dollars; the residue, two hundred and seventy-five thousand one hundred and sixty-eight dollars, shall remain in the treas- ury of the United States, and the interest there- on, at the rate of five per centum per annum, be annually paid to said Creeks as above stipulated.
" Art. 7. The Choctaws and Chickasaws agree to such legislation as Congress and the President of the United States may deem necessary for the better administration of justice and the protection of the rights of person and property within the Indian Territory: Provided, however, such legis- lation shall not in anywise interfere with or annul their present tribal organization, or their re-
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Fort Smith in the fall of 1865, as already noticed, the confederation of the tribes under a sort of territorial government had been one of the principal objects of the commission's labors. In the report of the president of the commission, he refers to the progress made in this direction, as fol- lows: "It became sufficiently evident, in the course of the council, that one great object in view by the government, the col- onization of such tribes or portions of tribes from the north as should desire a perma- nent home in the Indian country, would be secured when the policy of the govern- ment in regard to them was fully under- stood; and it was gratifying to notice that the subject of the organization of an In- dian territory, with provisions securing a spective legislation or judiciaries, or the rights, laws, privileges, or customs, of the Choctaws and Chickasaw Nations respectively.
Art. 8. The Choctaws and Chickasaws also agree that a council consisting of delegates elected by each nation or tribe lawfully resident within the Indian Territory, may be annually convened in said Territory, to be organized as follows:
1. After the ratification of this treaty, and as soon as may be deemed practicable by the Secretary of the Interior, and prior to the first session of said assembly, a census of each tribe, lawfully resident in said territory, shall be taken, under the direction of the superintendent of Indian af- fairs, by competent persons to be appointed by him, whose compensation shall be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior and paid by the United States.
2. The council shall consist of one member from each tribe or nation whose population shall exceed five hundred, and an additional member for . each one thousand Indians, native or adopted, or each fraction of a thousand greater than five hundred being members of any tribe lawfully resident in said Territory, and shall be selected by the tribes or nations, respectively, who may assent to the establishment of said general as- sembly; and if none should be thus formally se- lected by any. nation or tribe, it shall be repre- sented in said general assembly by the chief or chiefs and head-men of said tribes, to be taken in the order of their rank as recognized in tribal usage in the number and proportions above in- dicated.
certain degree of individuality to the vari- ous tribes-indeed, based upon the admir- able form of government of the United States, and with a representative delegate in Congress-although at first distasteful to the leading spirits among the Indians, gradually increased in favor by the study of the few copies at hand of the bill proposed by yourself in the senate last winter, until, near the close of the council, Mr. Boudinot, a man of education and ability, speaking on behalf of the Cherokees and others who had taken part in the rebellion, declared in a speech . .
that the plan was emi- nently satisfactory, and would entitle its pro- tectors to the everlasting gratitude of the Indians."
Similar provisions for the inter-tribal
3. After the said census shall have been taken and completed, the superintendent of Indian af- fairs shall publish and declare to each tribe the number of members of said council to which they shall be entitled under the provisions of this article; and the persons so to represent the said tribes shall meet at such time and place as be shall designate, but thereafter the time and place of the sessions of the general assembly shall be de- termined by itself: Provided, That no session in any one year shall exceed the term of thirty days, and provided, that the special sessions may be called whenever, in the judgment of the Sec- retary of the Interior, the interests of said tribes shall require it.
4. The general assembly shall have power to legislate upon all subjects and matters pertain- ing to the intercourse and relations of the Indian tribes and nations resident in the said Territory, the arrest and extradition of criminals escaping from one tribe to another, the administration of justice between members of the several tribes of the said Territory, and persons other than Indians and members of said tribes or nations, the con- struction of works of internal improvement, and the common defense and safety of the nations of the said Territory. All laws enacted by said coun- cil shall take effect at the times therein provided, unless suspended by the Secretary of the Interior or the President of the United States. No law shall be enacted inconsistent with the Constitu- tion of the United States or the laws of Congress, or existing treaty stipulations with the United States; nor shall said council legislate upon mat-
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council as those above quoted in the Choc-saws, Seminoles, Ottawas, Eastern Shaw- taw-Chickasaw treaty were incorporated in nees, Quapaws, Senecas, Wyandottes, Con- the other treaties made in 1866. Later Con- gress appropriated a certain sum to be used in defraying the expenses of this coun- cil while in session, and every encourage- ment was given to the carrying out of the plan. However, the history of the inter- tribal council may be told in a few words.
Nominally the plan for the council was carried out for several years. The call was issued, and each autumn representatives of the various tribes assembled in the old coun- cil house at Okmulgee.8 In 1870 a con- gressional committee appointed to visit the grand council reported :9 "Delegates were in attendance from Cherokees, Muskokees or Creeks, Choctaws, Chicka- ters pertaining to the legislative, judicial, or other organizations, laws, or customs of the several tribes Qr nations, except as herein provided for.
5. Said council shall be presided over by the superintendent of Indian affairs, or, in case of his absence from any cause, the duties of the superintendent enumerated in this article shall be performed by such person as the Secretary of the Interior shall indicate.
6. The Secretary of the Interior shall appoint a secretary of said council, whose duty it shall be to keep an accurate record of all the proceed- ings of said council, and to transmit a true copy thereof, duly certified by the superintendent of Indian affairs, to the Secretary of the Interior immediately after the sessions of said council shall terminate. He shall be paid five hundred dollars, as an annual salary, by the United States.
7. The members of the said council shall be paid by the United States four dollars per diem, while in actual attendance thereon, and four dol- fars mileage for every twenty miles going and returning therefrom by the most direct route, to be certified by the secretary of said council and the presiding officer.
8. The Choctaws and Chickasaws also agree that a court, or courts, may be established in said Territory with such jurisdiction and organi- zation as Congress may preseribe: Provided, That the same shall not interfere with the local judiciary of either of said nations.
9. Whenever Congress shall authorize the ap- pointment of a delegate from said Territory, it shall be the province of said council to elect one
federate Peorias, Sacs and Foxes, Great and Little Osages, and Absentee Shawnees. We found that the committee on the per- manent organization of the territory into an Indian government had made unanimous report in favor of the measure. The report was adopted by a vote
of 48 to 5. . After the adoption of the report a committee of 12 was appointed to draft a constitution."
The constitution drafted in this year has always been known as the "Okmulgee con- stitution." It provided a plan of federal government for the tribes inhabiting Indian Territory. Unfortunately, the copies of this instrument, if in existence, are rare, and it from among the nations represented in said council.
10. And it is further agreed that the superin- tendent of Indian affairs shall be the executive of the said Territory, with the title of "governor of the Territory of Oklahoma," and that there shall be a secretary of the said Territory, to be appointed by the said superintendent; that the duty of the said governor, in addition to those already imposed on the superintendent of Indian affairs, shall be such as properly belong to an executive officer charged with the execution of the laws, which the said council is authorized to enact under the provisions of this treaty; and for this purpose he shall have authority to appoint a mar- shal of said Territory and an interpreter; the said marshal to appoint such deputies, to be paid by fees, as may be required to aid him in the ex- ecution of his proper functions, and be the marshal of the principal court of said Territory that may be established under the provisions of this treaty.
'A writer in Lippincott's Magazine, in 1879, describes his visit to Okmulgee during a session of the grand council. "Before us was the town, of some fifty log cabins, straggling here and there in the brush, with two or three large stores of Indian traders and a tumble-down council-house of logs in the center of a cleared square. Ok- mulgee also has a hotel, which is a large farm house, with a passage-way through the center and a wide piazza."
'Dec. 23, 1870, House Misc. Doc. No. 49, 3d Sess., 41st Cong.
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has been impossible to secure one for pub- lication in this history. The value of the document, however, is that of a historical curiosity, since it never became the basic law of a permanent federal system. Inter- tribal jealousies and antipathies were stronger than the cohesive forces necessary for the operation of such a government, and though the friendly relations of the tribes with one another were doubtless promoted by this annual council, it was not productive of the results which its promoters had cherished.
In connection with this plan for an inter- tribal council we come upon the first spe- cific mention of the word "Oklahoma," and so far as investigation reveals, the word is first officially used in article 8, paragraph 10, of this treaty with the Choctaws and Chickasaws, where it says: "And it is fur- ther agreed that the superintendent of In- dian affairs shall be the executive of the said territory, with the title of 'governor of the Territory of Oklahoma.'"
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