Thomas Jefferson was one of the Americans who envisioned removing all Indians from American soil and placing them in a confined territory west of the Mississippi River. In the early nineteenth century, many Indian nations were forcibly removed, often using military force, and resettled in Indian Territory which would later become Oklahoma. Here they were to live and to govern themselves unhindered by federal or state forces.
Indian Territory was to be Indian land forever, but it was soon evident that the United States government had lied or lacked the political will to enforce its own laws as expressed in the removal treaties. Mary Jane Warde, in article in the Chronicles of Oklahoma, writes:
“Intruders not only flouted Indian law and authority but also illegally exploited the resources of Indian Territory. They mined coal, collected salt, quarried stone, and dug snakeroot.”
Non-Indian cattle were allowed to graze on Indian lands, often over-grazing it and providing no compensation to the Indians. Many non-Indians also felt that they had a right to hunt, fish, and camp in the area. Mary Jane Warde writes:
“Indian officials complained and petitioned for stiffer laws against intrusion, but they received little satisfaction from the federal government.”
Briefly described below are a few of the Indian events in Oklahoma in 1874.
Five Civilized Tribes
While there are many American Indian tribes in Oklahoma, the term Five Civilized Tribes referred to the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole. The designation “civilized” is an indication that they had acquired many elements of European cultures and were the most acculturated Indian tribes during the nineteenth century.
In 1874, the Board of Indian Commissioners met with representatives of the Five Civilized tribes to discuss with them federal control over their land in order to combat lawlessness. While the tribes were opposed to this, the Board had already made up its mind and was not willing to listen. Cherokee leader Elias C. Boudinot, representing a minority viewpoint among the Cherokee, presented an agreement for allotment and for U.S. citizenship for Indians.
In 1874, the United States established a single Indian agency for the Five Civilized Tribes and dismissed the agents who were assigned to each of the tribes. The new agency was located at Muskogee, in the Creek Nation.
In 1874, the Cherokees constructed a new national prison.
Indian Fair
The first Indian International Fair was organized in 1874. The fair was organized primarily by non-Indian merchants and entrepreneurs. Historian Andrew Denson, in an article in the Western Historical Quarterly, reports:
“While its organizers expected Indian people to visit the fair, the event’s main purpose was to serve the economic interests of a group of men many Creeks considered interlopers.”
The fair ran for four days on the outskirts of Muskogee.
Kickapoos
The Kickapoos had been living in the Great Lakes area prior to the European invasion and had been removed to Indian Territory by the United States. The Kickapoo language belongs to the Algonquian language family and is closely related to Sac and Fox.
In 1874, the Kickapoos were placed under the jurisdiction of the Sac and Fox Agency. The establishment of the new Kickapoo reservation had an impact on the surrounding tribes. In his book The Kickapoos: Lords of the Middle Border, A.M. Gibson reports:
“Sac, Fox, and Shawnee families joined the Kickapoos in religious rites, became disdainful of the missionaries laboring among them, rejected Christian teachings, and neglected their fields and livestock herds to participate in the Kickapoo dances, festivals, and games.”
A.M. Gibson also writes:
“Indian officials became distressed at the carefree Kickapoo attitude toward life, and they resented the ‘time wasted’ by the warriors and their families in native religious observances, tribal festivals, dances, and games.”
The Kickapoo Removal Commission traveled to Coahuila, Mexico to meet with the scattered bands of Mexican Kickapoos and to persuade them to return to the United States. While Cheeno was seen as the principal Mexican Kickapoo chief, the Commission met with Mosquito in Cheeno’s absence. The Commission fed the assembled Kickapoo, gave them blankets, and told them about the pleasant life on the Oklahoma reservation.
Osages
The Osages, a Siouan-speaking people, had once lived in the Ohio River Valley and then migrated into the eastern Plains in what is now Missouri. They call themselves Ni-U-Ko’n-Ska meaning “children of the middle waters.” Their reservation in Indian Territory was established in 1870.
In 1874, the superintendent for the Osage reservation sent a letter to the governor of Kansas complaining about thefts of Indian herds by American settlers. He feared that unless this was stopped, it would lead to serious trouble.
Absentee Delawares
The Delawares (Lenni Lenape) had been an eastern Algonquian-speaking group of tribes which had been pushed west by the European invasion. Many Delawares resettled in Kansas and then were moved to Indian Territory in 1867. In 1874, the Absentee or Western Delawares merged with the Caddos and placed themselves under the leadership of a Caddo chief.
Quapaws
The Quapaws, a Siouan-speaking people, had once lived in the Ohio River Valley and then migrated west, eventually establishing their villages in what is now southeastern Arkansas. In 1867, the United States forced them to move to Indian Territory. In 1874, Quapaw chief Kihecahteda died and Tallchief became the principal chief.
More American Indian histories
Indians 101: American Indians and Christianity 150 years ago, 1874
Indians 101: A very short overview of Indian removal
Indians 201: The Indian Removal Act
Indians 201: The Removal of the Chickasaw Indians
Indians 101: The Choctaw Removal
Indians 101: Kansas Land Sharks and the Kickapoo
Indians 101: The Indian Journal
Indians 101: Greed, Corruption, and the Foundation for Oklahoma Statehood, 1893 to 1894
