The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-12-10
Why |I TAKES ALWAYS
For the Dawes Commission
to Get in Its Work.
ENROLMENT OF INDIANS
Has Caused a Rapid Rise in
the Birth Rate.

4
try has a situation, so completely filed
with bizarre and outlandish features,
come up to equal the transitory period
| now prevailing in the Five Civilized
| tribes.
| As a single feature it is fact that
| the baby industry in the tribes among
the lower classes at this time is some
| thing as amusing as astounding. The
| family which has not produced an add
| tional member this year. or with pros
| poets of so doing within the early part
| of 1900, is in despair. The family, bless
| ed with twins. feels aristocratic The
reason for this is that the Dawes COM
mission in enrolling the citizens of the
| five tribes, must now include on the rolls
| of citizenship the baby, and each addi-
! ton to the family in this way entities
! the head of the family TO the selection Of
| an additional allotment, varying from
| approximately 500 acres in the Choctaw
| and Chickasaw nation to 120 in the Chero
| kee nation. The Dawes commissioners
say in their report: 1.-The opportunity
thus afforded for the acquisition rof wealth
! is readily seen and embraced by the
more degenerate classes and as result
| the Dlrtn rate Is nlsn-
Few people in Oklahoma, living as near
as they do to the scenes Of these trans
actions. appreciate what a fund Of odd
things this matter of enrolment is bring
ing to light, particularly among the Sem
inoles and the Creeks.
There is an intense interest in the
Dawes comEA sioners' narration Of their
work along this line among these two
tribes. Speaking of it, they say in their
report: "a very general impression ex-
lists among those unacquainted with con-
ditions in Indian Territory that the work
of making rolls of Indians is a cornpar
atively simple matter, susceptible of &C
complishment in a short space Of time
| Were Indian Territory merely a reserva-
| ton peopled by fulI-blood Indians, that
impression would have foundation in fact,
but Indian blood, unfortunately, is not
the sole qualification for citizenship in
Indian Territory; and, indeed, as will be
seen later, if other requisites are not
lacking it is not even an element. In
other words certain arbitrary laws and
decisions govern the commission in de-
termning who and who are not eligible
to enrolment. For example, were full
blood Cherokee Indian fom North Carroll
ma now to present himself for enrolment
to the commission, his application would
be rejected; whereas, were white man
to now contract marriage with ChoctaW
| or Chickasaw, conformable to the laws
of those nations, he would be entitled to
| enrolment When completed the citizen
ship rolls of the Five Tribes will be
foi n
Indians, negroes and white men, with
every Intervening degree of blood. Gen
orally stated, the right to enrolment as
citizens of the Five Tribes is derived
from one of six primary sources. First
Inheritance of Indian blood, coupled with
continuous utilization and residence with
one of the Five Tribes in Indian Terri
tory and duly recognized and enrolled as
a member thereof Second-Adoption by
act of national (tribaD council. Third
Treaty stipuations under which certain
classes of persons of African descent
commonly termed Freedmen become
vested with full or qualified property and
political rights. Fourth-Admission to
citizenship by the commission to the Five
Civilized Tribes of the United States
court in Indian Territory on appeal there
from. under act of congress, June 10, 1896.
Fifth-Admission TO citizenship by le-
gally constituted court, committee, or
commission designated by the several
tribes under the act Of June 10, 1896, OF
by the United States court on appeal
therefrom. Sixth-IEtermarriage
Neither this commission nor any
other tribunal has now authority to adj
nit applicants to citizenship. The doors
TO applicants have been permanently clos
ed and tribal membership can no longer
be augmented from any of the above
, ! named sources, save two, viz: intermar-
rage with Choctaw or Chickasaw citizens
and births Of children. 1t remains only
for the commission to determine what
claimants to enrolment in the various
nations have, in fact. acquired citizenship
through one of the sources above named
, These six primary sources Of citizenship
5 with the exception Of intermarriage, apply
: alike to all the FIVE tribes, but the trea-
? ties. laws. and customs under which
, they apply vary with each nation, save
as 10 that class whose citizenship was
/, established by this commission or tht
United States courts and no general rule
2
l ance Of the commission for enrolling cit
D liens Of the various tribes.
\ The act of June q. 1898 makes It th'
duty of the commission to prepare ter
separate rolls. viz: Cherokees, BY blood
intermarriage and adoption: Cherokee
: freedmen: Delawares lin Cherokee ma
toni: Creek Indians; Creek freedmen
= seminoles. Indians and freedmen; Chloe
taws. by blood, fntermarriage and adoP
ton; Choctaw freedmen; Chickasaws. .!
blood. inter.narriage aud adoption; Chick
! asaw freedmen.
ITO accomplish this work, the commits
sion j. authorized TO take a census O
= each Of said tribes or adopt any othe
: means BY them deemed necessary 70 en-
!, able them TO make such rolls" fur
tner provision OF the law makes st in
: curnbent upon the commission TO max
rolls descriptive OF the persons thereon
so that they may be thereby identified
Roughly estimated. the number OF citi
zens 10 be thus enrolled IN each natioi
NAV be stated as follows: Cherokees
a oan- Cherokee freedmen. 500: pe'a
wares. 100; Creeks I3.er5: Creek freed
= men. 6po; Choctavs. $500; Choctav
: freedmen. $50: Chockasaws. 6oJe: Chick
asaw freedmen. 4.5o0: seminoIss. 2,ooo.
; Immediately upon the passage % n
! Curtis Act the commission made prepar
alton TO enter actively upon me duty Q
making correct rolls of citizens
Though commonly termed a census 4
method pursued Is not to be compare
:, with the work which properly coEaes IN
Af.a ~