The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-01-29
CHEROKEE INDIANS
TO HAVE new Chief
Push n Clnina Against the Govern
ment for s29, 0OO, geo.

/ Tulsa, Okla, Jan. 2s.-Aithoueah
/ the governments of the Ave civilized
tribes OF the Indian territory came to
/ an end in 1898, when the treaty be-
tween the Dawes commission and the
I Indians went into effect, Cherokee In
I dams continued to maintain chief Of
the tribe until the death recently Of
/ William G. Rogers at his home in Ska
took. in Tulsa county
! That tribal relations may not be dis
continued entirely a successor to Chief
/ Rogers is to be selected at a meeting
which will soon be called by prominent
| representatives of the tribe and which
! In all likelihood will be held In Tulsa.
which city divides the Cherokee and
! Creek nations and borders on the
| Usage reservation. The honor is an
empty one, as no salary In now at
! ia ched to the office, yet there are sew
eral aspirants to the office OF chief
including number of the most promi-
neht Cherokees In Oklahoma.
The Cherokees were the first OF the
FIVE civilized tribes TO establish a con-
stitutional government. This was in
1897. One of the first acts Of the
Cherokee council was the establish
ment of free system of public schools
for Cherokees only. In addition to
| the district schools, seminaries for
both boys and girls were established
at Tablequah, capital of the Cherokee
nation, In 1889. BY the following
year the Cherokees were recognized
as the leaders in education west OF the
Mississippi river.
1 The Cherokees politically divided
| into two parties, the National and
Downing party. The Nationals were
| loyal to the union during the Civil
war and Chief John Ross, who pre-
sided over the destinies of the tribe
during that period. went to Philadel-
phia with the tribal records and re-
manned in that city until peace was
declared When statehood came the
Downing faction aniliated with the
Democrats and the Nationals with the
| Republicans.
The National faction of the Chero-
KEGS was responsible for the attempt
to create the state of Sequoyah out
! OF the Indian territory In 1905. Charles
| n Haskell first governor of Okla
homa, and Judge John II. Thomas. of
Muskogee, who represented an H.
linois district in congress for ten
years, were prominently identified
with this movement Judge Thomas
was one OF the four Sequoyah con-
gressmen elected. Congress refused
to recognize the sequoyah constitu-
ton, although strong effort for rec
ognition was made in both the sen-
ate and house OF representatives.
White persons were never allowed
to engage In business in the Cherokee
nation while the tribal government
was In effect In order to obtain en-
pioyment there. even farm hands
were compelled to pay monthly tax
of 81. The revenue from this source
went for the education OF Cherokee
orphans
Senator Robert Iowen ana Com
gresham r. A. Chandler and William
Hastings were long prominent figures
in Cherokee politics. Mr. Chandler
earned the title OF Warwick of the
Cherokees for the number OF chiefs
he assisted in getting into Office
The Cherokess are now attempting
to recover s29, 0o0, 900 from the gov
eminent, the alleged value of the
lands allotted to freedom of that tribe
who were slaves OF those Indians prior
TO the war. They claim the allo.tine
OF these lands to the negroes was the
outErowth Of a treaty with the gov
eminent, made under compuision in
1855, which never had the sanction of
the tribe as whole. Upon the chief
TO be named will devolve much OF the
responsibility of pushing the claim.