The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1899-11-28

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| psdiency of tnstructing the Dawes
commission to preserve, for review
by the department, the record I'm slI
cases where the right to enrolment
Of any person is denied by the COM
mission or 10 contested by the nation
or by the applicant, so that when
the department comes to consider
the enrolment 1t will be enabled
to pass intelligently upon the work
of the commission, and to decide
whether the conclusions reached by
the commission In any particular
case are correct and just under the
law anu fact. This was done by de-
partment letter to the commission
dated August %, 1899. The commits
sion replied indicating that it under
stands that its jurisdiction is exclu-
sive and final In the matter Of enroll
ments, and the secretary IL merely
to perform the perfunctory act OF
approving. This view, however, the
department has 'overruled, and the
commission was definitely instructed
by letter dated July 81, 1899, spproy-
ed by the secretary on August 8, 1899,
to preserve q sufficient record of
each applicant for enrolment re-
iected by the commission for infor-
nation and use of the department
in its review of the enrolment. The
rolls of the Choctaw and Chickasaw
and the Seminole nations are about
completed. but have not yet been
submitted.
"The Mississippi Ohoctaws have
been identified by the commission
under a clause in the act. This roll
comprising nearly 1900 names, the
commission submitted with q report
dated March 10, 1899. The rolls were
not accompanied by any evidence
of the rights OF the parties, and when
they were received in this Office with
the letter of the department dated
June 6, for consideration and report,
the office replied June 13, inviting
the attention of the department to
the language used in the act under
which the commission was required
to identify these Choctaws, and sug-
gested that by this language the oom-
mission was given a special jurisdic-
ton over this particular question,
and the department would seem to
have no authority to supervise the
action of the commission in this re-
gard. The department, however, by
letter of August 10, 1899, decided
that under its jurisdiction to approve
the rolls of citizenship in the Choc-
taw nation, the department had au-
thority to investigate into the action
of the commission in Identifying the
Mississippi Choctaws, but that this
authority would not be exercised
until the rolls of the Choctaw citizen
ship came before the department
for approval, when, should any OF
these Mississippi Choctaws be en-
rolled thereon, the department would
review the action of the commission
and determine whether or not the
Identification as Mississippi Chcc-
taws of the persons thus enrolled
had been in accordance with law and
fact in each particular case.
"As to- the right of these Missis-
sippi Choctaws to enrolment in the
Choctaw nation, the department, in
letter of August %, concurred in
the views expressed by this office in
it's report of August %, 1899, and
held that they would be entitled to
such enrolment on their removal
and permanent settlement in the
Choctaw nation, Indian Territory.
This was based on the action taken
by congress and the Dawes commIs-
sion to investigate and report to con-
gress as to the right of the Missis-
sippi Choctaws, who remove to the
Indian Territory and take up their
residence in the Choctaw nation, to
enrolment as citizens of that nation
under the fourteenth article of the
treaty of 1880. In reporting pursu-
AAb " tAAo 0lIoCLlOA lu0 COu1ul5blOQ
expressed the opinion that the Mis-
sissippi Choctaws who removed to
the Indian Territory would be en-
titled to enrolment as citizens of the
nation and to participate in the ben
eft of the common property of the
nation, except they would not be en-
titled to receive any part of the an
nuities. Congress had this report
before it when it adopted the provis-
ion in the Curtis act requiring the
commission to identify these Missis-
sippi Choctaws, and the Curtis act,
therefore, was taken as the approval
by congress of the opinion of the
commission as to the rights of these
Indians"
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