Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1885-07-30
A GREATER QUEsTIoNTHAN A
SALE OF THE OUTLET.

cussed 10 some extent and referred
TO as "The Great Question. !"
While / think It is very import
ant question it is by no means
question that affects us so much
as the right of citizenship, or what
is called the intruder, as our laws
here are such that so far as taking
any legal action is concerned it is
just impossible to remove person
claiming to be a Cherokee citizen.
This problem needs TO be acted
upon in our coming council this
fall, and if ever we needed true
patriots and good. men u is now,
TO fight this intruder question to
settlement. We are losing our
lands at fearful rate by the en-
croachments of the so-called in
truder. 1t has reached that point
that all a person needs to do to
establish a right TO live in this
nation is to move in here and
claim Indian blood, file certain
papers with the Indian agent,
claiming to be a citizen of this ma
ton, and here he remains. We are
so addicted to old time customs we
fear to ask council to allot our
lands and give US patents therefor,
fearing its influence will in the
end break up our form of govern
ment; and so we drift on, no one
knowing what he has or what he
owns, and each year he owns less.
In few years there will be little
or no land left to divide. The
question of intrusion cannot be
settled but by one way, and that
way is to allot our lands and have
a patent for every foot we own is.
sued to us by the Cherokee nation.
1t is true the prosperity of this
nation has no equal in history and
thus we have failed to observe
the encroachmcnts Of the whites.
1t is however only within a year
or two that they have commenced
to come in by droves under the
name OF boomers" as they are
now coming. The Indian az a
whole is satisfied with very little.
His wants are few and when he is
satisfied he fails to see the inroads
made on his lands by the white
man. For this reason he should
demand Of his nation an allotment
of his lands and q patent for the
same. Then if he wishes TO take
the easy side of life he knows to
what extent he is able to do so,
and he knows that he is not being
further robbed of his lands; for the
white man is never satisfied how
ever much he may have. As
illustrative l quote the words of
Red Bear, a Sioux chief: "The
Great Spirit told me when a child,
IF you get strong and become rich
you cannot take your riches with
you when you die He must have
told a different thing to the wEite
man who is so grasping and who
piles up so much money. He
must have told him, when you
die you can take all into the next
world. :" also quote from Red
Clouds speech in 1870 when the
white man was beginning to over
run his valuable country. He says
to the president: "My father has
great many white children out
west with no ear, brain or heart. "
Again he said: "As TO the i'm
proyement of the red men 1 want
to send them here, delegates to
your congress. think it would
be better for the Cherokees could
they be admitted as delegates to
the United States congress and
have a right of appeal to the gu
preme court of the United States.
With this latter right would have
no fears for our treaties being for
ever kept; but whatever you in
struct your delegates to our next
council, do not fail to impress
them with the importance of the
intruder question. The settlement
to this can never be reached ex.
cept blythe allotment Of our land and
patent issued by the Cherokee
nation TO every individual citizen,
with the right to sell forever with
held, TO be exempt from debt Of
every nature whatever. / trust
this letter will not appear
arbitrary, for the meaning
is intended TO show the dangers
into which we are drifting and the
only possible. Opening to save our
land from these dangers. If our
nation extended over the whole
United States and we were all there
was to occupy it then it would be
only too beautiful TO drift along ia