History of public land law development

page 464

464 HISTORY OF PUBLIC LAND LAW DEVELOPMENT reservations; the traders, local business interests, and politicians came into possession of the tracts which, it had been hoped, might aid the natives in becoming assimilated into a new life. Dawes General Allotment Act Despite the abundant evidence that distributing lands in severalty to Indians had failed of its objective of developing self-reliance, reformers and land hungry westerners combined to bring about the Dawes General Allotment Act of 1887.2 Its purpose was to break up the reserves by allotting land to individual Indians who might be expected to sell their tracts as soon as they had an alienable title and to provide for the sale of the surplus lands which were still extensive though much reduced. Land "advantageous for agricultural and grazing purposes" was to be allotted in 160-acre tracts to Indian heads of families, in 80-acre tracts to single persons over 18 and to orphan children under 18. Other children under 18 were to receive 40 acres. The allotments were to be held in trust for the Indians for 25 years. Surplus land not needed for allotments could be sold only with the consent of the tribes (the West had ways of convincing Indians that their surplus lands should be sold) and if adaptable to agriculture with or without irrigation was to be held solely for actual settlers in 160-acre tracts. Title was to pass only after 5 years of occupancy and no commutation or preemption was to be permitted.3 aIn 1875 Congress enacted that Indians should have the privilege of the Homestead Act but required that the land patented to them after 5 years of residence should be inalienable for an additional 5 years. 18 Stat., Part 3, p. 420. 8 For a general account of the allotment process see J. P. Kinney, A Continent Lost-A Civilization Won. Indian Land Tenure in America (Baltimore, 1937) , passim. For the story of allotments in Mississippi, Alabama, Indiana and Kansas see Mary E. Young, Redskins Ruffleshirts and Rednecks. Indian Allotments in Alabama and Mississippi, 1830-1860 (Norman, Okla., 1961); Paul W. Gates, Introduc- Because of strong opposition from the Five Civilized Tribes in present Oklahoma, they and other smaller tribes in that territory were exempted from the provisions of the Dawes Act.4 The rapid settlement of Texas and Kansas on both sides of the Indian Territory caused many individuals, railroads, and other economic interests to wish the surplus Indian lands opened to settlement. In 1889 heavy pressure from these sources caused the government to persuade the Creeks and Seminoles to surrender a portion of their unused lands in the central part of the territory. In line with the provisions of the Dawes Act, Congress stipulated that the lands were to be open only to homesteaders, 5 years' residence was required, and there was to be no commutation.5 There followed the classic "run." Fifty thousand people, it was estimated, dashed across the starting line in almost savage competition to seize choice locations. Continued pressure upon other Oklahoma Indians brought them to accept allotments also and to sell their surplus lands to the United States. A series of "runs" took place in 1891, 1892, 1893, 1895 and 1901 when tens of thousands of landseekers rushed into the ceded territory as it was opened. On the last of these occasions, the authorities decided to employ a lottery to choose who should have the privilege of selecting quarter-section tracts in place of the exciting but troublesome run. Although there were only 13,000 tracts avail- tion, The John Tipton Papers (3 vols., Indianapolis, 1942) , pp. 3-53; and id., Fifty Million Acres. Conflicts over Kansas Land Policy, 1854-1890 (Ithaca, N. Y., 1954) . Loring B. Priest, Uncle Sam's Stepchildren. The Reformation of United States' Indian Policy, 1865-1887 (New Brunswick, 1942) is the best general treatment of severalty before 1887. 4 Act of Feb. 8, 1887, 24 Stat. 388. 5 Kappler, Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties, I, 322-24. Edwin C. McReynolds, Oklahoma. A History of the Sooner State (Norman, Okla., 1954) , p. 289, says that commutation was permitted after 14 months.