Indian Territory

The Golden Years, the Civil War and Reconstruction

The Five Republics

The Southeastern Tribes begin to rebuild their society in Oklahoma

Choctaw

• Constitution had 3 branches (similar to U.S. model)

• Voting rights for all males 16 years or older; contained a Bill of Rights

• First constitution written in Oklahoma

Chickasaw

• They were assigned a specific district of the Choctaw nation and were given equal rights in the Choctaw government

• They were treated as minorities • In 1855 they negotiated for their own

independent government and drafted a constitution the next year

Cherokee

• Ross and his followers were not interested in the government of the Western and Treaty party Cherokees

• Ross wanted the old settlers and the Western Cherokee to join with him and forming new government– They refused– Members from the Treaty Party were

murdered and it started a blood feud (think Hatfield’s and McCoy’s)

Cherokee

• John Ross again call the people together to form a new government

• In 1839 the convention declared that the Eastern and Western Cherokee were one

• There Constitution was ratified in 1840

Creek

• Then come into separate groups the Lower (treaty party group) in 1826 and the Upper in 1836

• They adopted a constitution 1856

Seminole

• And served as a basic government units each of the 25 towns had its own chiefs and Council of Warriors

• They never had any intentions of being absorbed into the creek as the Chickasaw had done with the Choctaw

• The town she said that annually in the summer with the chief would speak to the Seminole nation as a whole

Life in Indian Territory

• The Golden Years is the time period after removal and before the Civil War

• The Creek Chickasaw and Cherokee all herded cattle in addition to farming and hunting

• Indian merchants use their annuity payments from the government to buy goods and trade with other tribes – they set a commercial trade centers all over

Indian territory – since there was no formal transportation network

they followed Wagon roads and military Trails

Indian Territory and the Civil War

• Six reasons to connect the Five Tribes with the South1. Geography Arkansas and Texas are

Confederate2. History They’d previously lived there3. Slavery all five tribes owned slaves4. Trust the Union government had moved

them5. Economy they were largely agricultural6. Confederacy promised to follow all treaties

Battle of Round Mountain

• Full-blood Creeks led by Opothleyahola, tried to remain neutral. Confederate troops tried to force them to join resulted in Indian territories first battle (November 19, 1861). Neutrals forced into Kansas.

• John Ross also led neutral group of Cherokee

Battle of Pea Ridge

• The unions first attempt to invade Indian territory fails (March 6-8, 1862).

Battle of Honey Springs

• The union second attempt to invade Indian territory (July 1863) was a major victory for the union and serves as a turning point in the western region of the war.

Battle of Honey Springs

• This battle is the most ethnically diverse in the whole war:

1. Whites on both sides 2. Indians on both sides 3. Black “buffalo soldiers” with Union4. Texas Hispanics with Confederacy

Remainder of War

• Mostly “guerrilla warfare quote for remainder of war.

SURRENDER:• Gen. Lee surrenders April 1865 but

“continues” until surrender of General Stand Watie (of the Cherokee) in July 1865.

Rebuilding Tribal Life After War

• Lee surrenders at the Appomattox Courthouse and the tribal chiefs also surrender

• Most Native Americans had never been supplied well enough to make a huge impact on the war

• The Battle of Honey Springs is the most significant battle in Indian territory

Reconstruction

• The period after the Civil War in which the country tried to put itself back together– The 13th 14th and 15th amendments

• US officials called Tribes to Fort Smith for peace conference – the tribes were told they fought and

unprovoked war against the United States and they forfeited their lands and annuities

Response to Threat

• The tribes were told Pres. Johnson would forgive them for their hostilities

• The tribes were quick to point out that many had fought for the Union and because of their sovereign status they were free to negotiate with the Confederate states

Treaties

• The tribes had to abolish slavery and left the freed slaves have citizenship and property rights

• They also had to allow for the construction of two railroads through Indian territory one going east to west and the other north to south

• They were also forced to give up the western half of Oklahoma for other Native Americans

Factionalism

• This is the separation into groups within a larger group or government; a division

• The tribe suffered the evils of factionalism following removal in the Civil War

• Cherokee chief John Ross fell from favor as the tribes divided by factionalism

Rebuilding Social and Economic Lives

• The tribes focused on rebuilding schools and reestablishing education in Indian territory

• They also rebuilt churches and the missionaries came back to their congregations

• Now that slave labor was no longer an option, black and white tenants were recruited to work the farms

• Many also ran large herds of livestock

Indian Schools

• “Kill the Indian, and save the man.”– Captain Richard Pratt

• Capt. Pratt saw the horrible conditions of reservations while stationed and at Fort Sill in the 1860s

• He was transferred to oversee an Indian prison in Florida in 1875

• He worked with reformers to train prisoners for jobs upon their release

• Had the idea to start a school to train younger Indians—to “civilize” them

Carlisle Indian Industrial School

• Old Military barracks in Carlisle, PA• 1st students from Sioux, Kiowa and

Cheyenne tribes• Bureau of Indian Affairs failed to

provide necessary supplies• Children had their hair cut and wore

uniforms• ½ day in academics, ½ day in

trade/skills

Cattlemen

• The Cherokee Strip Livestock Association in Caldwell Kansas rented 60M acres of the outlet from the Cherokee and then leased it to others

• The cattle trails linked Texan cattle ranges to railroads in Kansas (Shawnee Chisholm and Great Western trails were among the most famous)

Purpose

• Transport cattle from Texas to railroad station in Kansas or Missouri so that cattle could be taken by train to large cities in the northeast

• (Where’s the beef?!)

Shawnee Trail

• Major rail stop in Kansas City, MO

• In the eastern part of Indian Territory (late 1860s)

Chisholm Trail

• Major rail stops are in Abilene and Wichita, KS

• Located in central Indian Territory (early 1870s)

Goodnight Loving Trail

• Went from the middle of Texas to Wyoming

Profitable

• A cattle rancher could earn $50-$200 per head when selling the cattle at the rail stations.

• Herds along the trails ranged from 2000 to 4000

• These trails were also profitable for Native Americans—they placed taxes on cattle crossings through their reservations– leased land for cattle to graze upon– Goods and services were sold to the cattle drovers

(cowboys)—hotels hot bath, warm meals, cold drinks and even prostitutes

End of an Era

• Railroad construction began further west and further south

• The Dawes Act gave American Indians individual plots of land for farming

• Barbed wire was used to protect farmland– Ended the open range

Railroads come through Indian Territory

• Transportation have been limited to coaches comments steamboats, and wagons

• The reconstruction treaties allowed for construction through Indian territory

• By 1905, Oklahoma had over 5,000 miles of track

The Good and Bad of Railroads

• Because of all the traffic, many people moved to be closer to the railroads

• The lumber industry grew out of the railroads because sawmills were built near tracks and it was used for railroad ties, telegraph poles, and lumber for construction projects

• Tribe members were reduced to minorities in their own lands and lawlessness grew

Flooded with intruders• People flocked to

Indian territory and only a few of them were in the area legally it soon became difficult for Native Americans to keep order in their own country

• Many former slaves were not granted citizenship among the tribes and some had resorted to stealing

• Many tribes resorted to sending vigilantes to find offenders and punish them (Either execution or whipping)

Law and Order Comes at a Price

• When things got out of hand, tribal leaders asked the United States for help

• Judge Isaac C. Parker, the “hanging judge” insisted on having authority in cases where whites were involved

• Sovereignty disappears

• Corporations ignored tribal laws

• Judge Parker had little respect for the Native Americans or their judicial system

Second Trail of Tears

• The tribes began moving from the Southern Plains to lands ceded in the Reconstruction treaties

• Each group had a dramatic story of displacement and dispossession and had cultures that were different form the Five Tribes and now they were to be neighbors

Indian Wars: The Battle of the Washita

• Cheyenne chief black cattle allows “wanted” Indians settle in his camp during the winter of 1868

• US Army Gen. Custer is committed to finding the “wanted” even during the winter

• He uses surprise attacks on peaceful camps killing many women and children

Ghost Dance Movement

• It religious movement among Indians during the 1860s to the 1890s

• A belief that an Indian “Messiah” figure would come forth to defeat the whites

• It’s a believe that God would protect Indian warriors in battle and prevent them from being wounded.

The Battle of Little Big Horn

• Sitting Bull and Sioux followers leave South Dakota reservation; flee to Montana in 1870

• They are chased down by Gen. Custer

• Sioux and other tribes outnumber and out maneuver Custer—they wipe out the 7th Cavalry

• Known as Custer’s Last Stand

The Battle of Wounded Knee

• And massive attack by the US Army on the Sue in South Dakota 1890

• Chief Sitting Bull and Wavoka are killed along with many women and children

• It is the last of the major battles between the United States and the Native Americans

• It ends the Ghost Dance Movement