The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1901-11-22
DEEDs FoR cReeks.
interior Department VIII Have Them
Issued at once.

Musseses, :. T., Nov. 22--The Mus
gee Phoenix publishes letter gritten to
that newspaper hy Secretary Hitchcock
IN reply to letter Of inquiry as to the
time the Creek deeds will be ready. The
letter Is as follows:
Gentlemen: The department IS In re-
celpt OF your communication of Novem-
Der S. 1901, stating that much dissatisfac-
tion and discomfort prevails among the
Creek citizens on account Of the -deliv-
cry Of deeds to their properties, which
according TO section %, Of the treaty rat
flied May 2ith OF this year was promised
them You inclose said section %
You also state that the principal Chief.
the members OF the Dawes commission,
and In fact all of the officials who have
any connection with the affairs are charg-
ed with bad faith, and the lack Of infor-
nation Is having a very demoralizing cf-
feet upon the e-tire Creek nation
In reply you are Informed that the
department has recently received a com
munication from the Dawes commission,
forwarding a letter addressed TO tho COM
mission by the principal chief, making a
similar complaint
-'grhe department has recently called
the attention Of the commission TO the
fact that on October l6, 1901, 1t was I'd
vised, that under the act ratifying he
Creek agreement, approved March D., 1901,
(3i Stat. S6l,) no allotment was intend
ed TO be made final by the Issuance n a
deed therefor until the citizenship Of the
allottee has been finally determined.
The attention of the commission was
specially called to section &, of the agree
ment, which reads IN part as follows;
The rolls so made by said commission,
when approved by the secretary Of the
Interior. shall be the final rolls OF citizen
ship Of said tribe, upon which the allOt-
ment Of all lands and the distribution OF
all moneys and other property Of the tribe
shall be made, and to no other persons
The commission was further advised
that 1T Is the purpose OF the department
to expedite as speedily as practicable the
Issuance Of deeds to the Creek Indians
who may be entitled thereto" and 1t was
directed to forward 70 the department. in
blocks of five hundred, the names Of
those entitled to be enrolled as Greek
citizens, and that as soon as the same
were returned TO the commission after
approval by the department, the COM
mission should immediately fill dut deeds
for the lands to which said parties are en-
titled and forward the some to the prin-
cipa chief. The commission was also In.
structed to advise the principal chief Of
the views Of the department.
Any further Information you may de.
sire will doubtless be furnished you by the
commission upon application
Respectfully,
&c. A. HITCHCOCK"
Secretary
Upon receinpt of this a call vas made
on Mr.. BixDy who was shown the letter
and In substance said;
You VIII notice that II was only about
thirty days ago that the commission was
advised OF the action Of the department
that no allotment was intended TO be
made final by the Issuance Of n deed
therefor until the citizenship Of the allot-
tee has been finally determined. Sipce
that time the commission has been stead-
lily working on the lists and great progress
has been made. Ipside OF ten days there
VIII be four thousand names sent to the
SECRETARY of the interior and from that
time on the list sent to him Will be fully
one thousand per week. These lists will
Of course be of those citizens whose
claims for citlzenship, no contest has
been lentered. The list at present stand
9,S02 Indians, with $50 classed as doubt
ful and 590 Freedmen with 103 classcd
as doubtful