Allotment Act of 1887

To begin lets start with the allotment of land to the Cherokee people. It was in 1887 that the Allotment Act came into law. It as considered as a rope trick or hoax to place the larger reservations into the hands of white owners. This law required the tribes to surrender their reservations, which was divided into small parcels of land of 10 to 640 acres. This land was then allotted to individual Indians smaller farms. The excess land after the allotment of land was open and sold to the white man, and to the railroad developers.

The Allotment Act resulted in the separation of tribes, transforming them into God fearing small farmers. It is said that over 100 reservations were allotted. This land that was given to the Indian tribes via treaties was said to be almost 150 million acres in the year 1880. These land allotments only made it approximately 30 to 40 years before the it was taken from them. This resulted in hundreds of Indian families to become destitute.

Oklahoma Land Run

The Land Run of 1889, is significant in western history. This started the sale of the federal public land in Oklahoma. Illinois Rep William Springer made changes to the Indian Appropriations Bill that gave authorization to President Benjamin Harrison to declare the 2 million acres of land open for sale. The clauses under the Homestead Act of 1862 states that a legal settler can claim any 160 acres of public domain, and if they live and improve this land, they could receive title for this claim.

The Indian Territory land that was withheld from sale to be considered a great opportunity for the transient worker, tradesman, laborers, farmers, professionals, and politicians. These Unassigned Lands were left vacant to create reservations for the Plains Indians, and other tribes after the Civil War. These lands were thought of by many as the best valuable public domain in the United States. These lands were including the Cherokee Outlet which bordered Kansas and Iowa on the north, The Kickapoo and Pottawatomie on the east, Cheyenne and Arapaho on the west. All of these were later open for sale.

The springtime of 1889 drew massive numbers of settlers to Kansas, and Arkansas. Even though the people were being restricted, the large number of transient worker camps were growing at an alarming rate. To the south people were traveling with their covered wagons from Texas to the southern line of the Unassigned Lands in the Chickasaw Nation, while others moved north to the southern boundary of the area.

Frustrations grew in the over crowed Arkansas City, and Caldwell, people were demanding permission to continue their travels which crossed the Cherokee Outlet, and on April 18, they received it. The United States troops led the settlers through rain drenched trails crossing the Cherokee Outlet to their “Promised Land”. The sole purpose of opening these lands was for agricultural use, but many had their dreams of creating towns and community government.

Though the government tried to monitor the rush of people for land, they were not equipped with man power to do so, which resulted in some people in heading into the area earlier to stake their claim in choice properties. These people were known as sooners. This resulted in large numbers of legal disputes over legal entry times.

On April 22, 1889 it is said that some 50,000 people had surrounded the Unassigned Lands. As soon as the clock striked noon, signals went off at the entry points. People rushed forward with their horses and wagons, as their families that stayed behind cheered for their fathers and spouses as they dashed off to claim their 160 acres. The people who arrived by train in Guthrie and Oklahoma Station after noon, arrived to find small cities being developed, with people roaming about. Many people had legal arguments as two families try to stake a claim in the same land. April 22, 1889 became an important day in history giving new hope for thousands of families in search of a new begining.

By setting the stage for non-Indian settlement of other sections of Indian Territory, the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889 quickly led to the creation of Oklahoma Territory under the Organic Act of 1890 and ultimately to formation of the forty-sixth state of the Union, Oklahoma, in 1907.

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  By ken naves, September 27, 2009 @ 5:16 pm

  Could u send us about deaf school history in fort gibson Cherokee oklahoma

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