The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1899-03-31
CITIZENSHIP CASES
Decided by the Dawes Conn IssiOn Yes
terdsy at south McAIester.

cltlZeDSllp cases yeSCerUay dt
South McAlester. These cases are
of more than usual interest to
people in Ardmore, consequently
the Dallas News correspondent $
full account of the matter is given
below:
THE cases decided were those
of the Bacon family of Gale, 1T,
claiming citizenship by the adop-
ton of Harvey Bacon as a citizen
Of the Chickasaw Nation, and the
Goldsby family of Ardmore and
the Colbert family at Colbert, just
north Of Denison. The Colbert
and Goldsby families were op-
posed as Chickasaw citizens by
the Chickasaw commissioners on
the ground that they were Creeks
and not Chickasaws. This con-
tention was made under the Chick
asaw law that citizen takes his
inheritence right from his mother
and not from his father, there be-
ing no question that Frank Col
bert, the father Of the Colbert
family, was Chickasaw, it was
claimed that the mother was of
Greek blood, and therefore would
cause the citizenship to come from
the Greek Nation instead of the
Chickasaws. The contention in
the case Of the Goldsby family
was the same.
Heretofore the Dawes commits
sion has held that a citizen of the
Chickasaw Nation by right of
adoption can not confer citizenship
on his progeny, because his rights
are personal rights and not gen
jeral. This was the contention in
the case of the Bacon family. The
Dawes commission had indicated
that the family could not have any
of the rights of citizenship, because
Harvey Bacon obtained his rights
to citizenship by adoption, hence
these were personal rights and
could not be conferred by him
upon his children. After hearing
the argument and the decisions on
| this point the commission handed
down a decision that Il citizen who
was a citizen Of any one Of the
tribes by adoption could confer
the right of citizenship on his chill
dren, the same as a white man
conferred citizenship on his chill
dren. they holding under the rights
of intermarriage and blood. This
decision lets in all eases OF this
character, where a case is con
tested on account of the citizen
ship having been given by adop-
ton and the final decision of the
commission is that any adopted
citizen of the Chickasaw or any
Indian tribe can confer citizenship
on his issue.
In the cases of the members OF
the Goldsby and Colbert families,
although members of these families
have held office in the Chickasaw
Nation, have made valuable lm-
provements in the Nation and have
always been considered Chickasaws,
their admission was opposed by
the Chickasaw commissioners on
the ground that their mothers were
Greeks and not Chickasaws.
If the commission decided that
these families were Creeks and not
! Chickasaws, then it would follow
that they must lose their valuable
improvements on lands made in
he Chickasaw Nation, and in view
of the fact that such a decision
would deprive the contestants of
valuable property rights, that ii
would unsettle their claims to In
dian citizenship, and in view of the
fact that they have always been
considered as Chickasaws, and so
treated by that government for
more than a quarter of century,
that treatment and action Of the
Nation was taken as evidence thai