The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1899-10-22
instructions issued to the commits
sion will undoubtedly be of interest.
They are as follows:


DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR.
OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS,
Washington, July %, 1899.
The Commission to the Five Civil
zed Tribes, Muskogee, Indian Ter
ritory.
GENTLEMEN-After informal con-
ference between the department, this
office and Mr.. McKennon of your
commission, and after further care
full consideration of the several acts
of congress confering authority
upon the commission and prescrib-
ing your duties, as con strued in
the opinion of the assistant attorney
general for this department, dated
March IL, 1899, relative to the en-
rollment OF the citizens of the five
civilized tribes, in the Indian Terri
tory, the conclusion is reached, and
YOU are instructed as follows:
FIRsT-The authority of your COM
mission to enroll persons making
application for the first time, and
not previously recognized as citizens
in any of said nations, expired with
the time limited in the act of June
10, 1896, and there exists no author
ity in the commission to enroll any
person as a citizen of any OF said
nations whose name does not appear
upon some roll of the nation in which
such person may claim rights of citi-
zenship land in the Cherokee nation
such persons must show that they
had been enrolled on the rolls desig-
mated as being confirmed IN the act
of June 2s, 1s9s) and such as may
show that they are decended from
parties whose names appear on such
rolls, born after the preparation
thereof; also such as may have been
admitted by the commission to en-
rollment under the authority grant
ed it over the subject in the act Of
1896, above referred to, or by the
courts on appeal from the commits
sion.
SECoND.-The commission has au-
thority to remove from any tribal
roll all persons whose names are
placed thereon by fraud or without
authority of law, and is authorized
TO senroll only such as have lawful
right thereto, among whom are those
white persons who are entitled to
Choctaw and Chickasaw lcitizenship
under the laws and treaties of such
| tribes.
TRIRD.-In addition to your re-
port of Mississippi Choctaws identi-
| fed by you, all eady submitted, you
will. where Mississippi Choctaw In
dians or their desendents, may have
removed from the state of Missis-
sippi, and settled within the bounds
of the Choctaw and Chickasaw
country, before completion of the
rolls, and appear before you for
Identification, make a record of the
facts upon their testimony, taken
before you, and that of other wit
| nesses when deemed necessary, with
list of their names and the names OF
their children living with them and
| born in lawful wedlock, and such
description of them as may be nee
essary for their Identification under
act of congress of June %, 1888,
and report same through this office,
together with your decision as to
their right of identification as per-
sons coming within the provisions OF
article IA of the treaty of 1880. be
| teen the Choctaws and the United
States for determination by the de-
partment.
The foregoing outlines your author
ity to enroll persons in the five civil
lied tribes as citizens thereof and
describes the classes of persons who,
under the law, as interpreted by this
department, are entitled to enroll
ment.
The rolls as made up by our com
mission must, to become final, re-
ceive the approval of the SECRETARY
of the interior. 1t will therefore be
necessary for you to make a record
in all cases sufficient to enable this
Office and the department to take
intelligent action in the premises
and especially in those cases where
your decision either for or against
the right of any person to have his
name appear upon the rolls is com
planned of.
For the purpose of the record yoU
will require each applicant for en-
rollment to present himself in per
son before the commission at one Of
its appointments within the tribe in
which such applicant claims right tC
enrolment, for examination under
oath, his statements to be taker
down by the commission, upor
which the commission will deter
mine his right to enrolment, anc
raoorI orl oofian af &Aa oor,