Rock Island Argus., 1902-11-01
INDIANS IN A new ROLE.
Nearly 200, 900 Becoming Tnde-
pendent Landowners.
SPECIAL ALLoTMENTs BEING MADE


Gigantic Task of Closing Up the
Tribal Government System Begun
Fifty Years Ago-What Secretary
Hitchcock Has Done.
1t will be n strange experience for
the congress of the United States to
meet without having some phase of
the Indian question demanding consid
Grafton. Yet that is prospect for the
near future, according to Washing
ton dispatch to the st. Louis Globe
Democrat. The ratification by the
Creeks, Cherokees and Chickasaws
and Choctaws OF the treaties recently
negotiated and adopted by congress
has made the way clear for rapid set
tlement of the affairs of the Indians,
by which the individual members OF
the tribe will receive their allotments
and become citizens, dependent upon
their own eXertions for their support
and relieved of the guardianship of the
nation. This is the plan TO which Off
clals of the interior department and
the Indian bureau have been working
for years, and Mr. Hitchcock, secre-
tary of the interior, will probably see
its conSummation. The secretary has
devoted much of his personal time and
attention TO the question for several
years, and to his efforts is largely due
the credit for the unusual progress that
he has made toward the final solution
of the problems that have been veXing
congress in connection with Indian af-
fairs for more than 100 years.
1t is expected that within a few
months at least two-thirds of the 240,-
600 Indians still remaining in the Unit
ed States will be independent land
owners, each holding a title TO plot
of good grazing and agricultural land.
Uncle Sam is acting in the capacity
of real estate broker in this distribu-
ton and is making the special allot-
ments, but without exacting the usual
commission.
The process of land division has been
going on for several years now, and it
is only matter of a short time before
practically all the territory owned by
the Indians will have been parceled out
among the numerous tribes. The big
gest job of this kind undertaken by the
government will soon be completed.
Some six or seven years ago the men,
bers of the five civilized tribes decided
that they would abolish their tribal
possessions, consisting chiefly of land,
among those embraced in the five ma
tions. These include the Cherokees,
Creeks, SeminOieS, ChoctawS and
Chickasaws, the five most intelligent
and advanced tribes in the country.
All their land is located in the Indian
Territory, and a special commission
was created by congress to make the
allotments. This was done on a basis
different from that established with
other tribes. An enrolment was made
of the members in the five nations, in
Guiding something like $500 men. and
the division was made on the ground of
value rather than area.
The idea of having the tribes aban-
don their holdings of land and divide
it among their respective members was
first taken up more than fifty years
ago, but it has only been within COM
paratively recent years that it has been
carried out to any extent. 1t has al
ways been recognized that the custom
of tribal government and ownership
was one of the chief drawbacks to the
civilization of the North American In
dian. 1t has consequently been the
aim of the federal government to break
it up and fix the status of the Indian on
nearly the same basis of his white
brother as possible. Accordingly trea-
ties were negotiated between certain
tribes and the government providing
for the allotment of lands among the
members of the respective tribes and
the sale Of the, balance TO the United
States. These treaties were sent by
the people to the senate for ratiflca-
ton, just as the treaty of peace with
Spain was.
For long time there was a strong
prejudice on the part of the Indians
against surrendering the tribal owner
ship to the possessions, and, in fact.
this still continues in many quarters.
But outside of the lands owned by the
FIVE civilized tribes the government has
divided into severalty more than $500
600 acres. Sixty-five thousand claims
have been adjusted. giving to each in
an average of 100 acres.