Treaty with The Chocktaw
April 28, 1866
Articles of agreement and convention between the United
States and the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations of Indians, made
and concluded at the City of Washington the twenty-eighth
day of April, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-six,
by Dennis N. Cooley, Elijah Sells, and E. S. Parker, special
commissioners on the part of the United States, and Alfred
Wade, Allen Wright, James Riley, and John Page, commissioners
on the part of the Choctaws, and Winchester Colbert, Edmund
Pickens, Holmes Colbert, Colbert Carter, and Robert H. Love,
commissioners on the part of the Chickasaws.
Article 1.
Permanent peace and friendship are hereby established between
the United States and said nations; and the Choctaws and Chickasaws
do hereby bind themselves respectively to use their influence
and to make every exertion to induce Indians of the plains
to maintain peaceful relations with each other, with other
Indians, and with the United States.
Article 2.
The Choctaws and Chickasaws hereby covenant and agree that
henceforth neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, otherwise
than in punishment of crime whereof the parties shall have
been duly convicted, in accordance with laws applicable to
all members of the particular nation, shall ever exist in
said nations.
Article 3.
The Choctaws and Chickasaws, in consideration of the sum
of three hundred thousand dollars, hereby cede to the United
States the territory west of the 98° west longitude, known
as the leased district, provided that the said sum shall be
invested and held by the United States, at an interest not
less than five per cent., in trust for the said nations, until
the legislatures of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations respectively
shall have made such laws, rules, and regulations as may be
necessary to give all persons of African descent, resident
in the said nation at the date of the treaty of Fort Smith,
and their descendants, heretofore held in slavery among said
nations, all the rights, privileges, and immunities, including
the right of suffrage, of citizens of said nations, except
in the annuities, moneys, and public domain claimed by, or
belonging to, said nations respectively; and also to give
to such persons who were residents as aforesaid, and their
descendants, forty acres each of the land of said nations
on the same terms as the Choctaws and Chickasaws, to be selected
on the survey of said land, after the Choctaws and Chickasaws
and Kansas Indians have made their selections as herein provided;
and immediately on the enactment of such laws, rules, and
regulations, the said sum of three hundred thousand dollars
shall be paid to the said Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations in
the proportion of three-fourths to the former and one-fourth
to the latter, less such sum, at the rate of one hundred dollars
per capita, as shall be sufficient to pay such persons of
African descent before referred to as within ninety days after
the passage of such laws, rules, and regulations shall elect
to remove and actually remove from the said nations respectively.
And should the said laws, rules, and regulations not be made
by the legislatures of the said nations respectively, within
two years from the ratification of this treaty, then the said
sum of three hundred thousand dollars shall cease to be held
in trust for the said Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, and be
held for the use and benefit of such of said persons of African
descent as the United States shall remove from the said Territory
in such manner as the United States shall deem proper, - the
United States agreeing, within ninety days from the expiration
of the said two years, to remove from said nations all such
persons of African descent as may be willing to remove; those
remaining or returning after having been removed from said
nations to have no benefit of said sum of three hundred thousand
dollars, or any part thereof, but shall be upon the same footing
as other citizens of the United States in the said nations.
Article 4.
The said nations further agree that all negroes, not otherwise
disqualified or disabled, shall be competent witnesses in
all civil and criminal suits and proceedings in the Choctaw
and Chickasaw courts, any law to the contrary notwithstanding;
and they fully recognize the right of the freedmen to a fair
remuneration on reasonable and equitable contracts for their
labor, which the law should aid them to enforce. And they
agree, on the part of their respective nations, that all laws
shall be equal in their operation upon Choctaws, Chickasaws,
and negroes, and that no distinction affecting the latter
shall at any time be made, and that they shall be treated
with kindness and be protected against injury; and they further
agree, that while the said freedmen, now in the Choctaw and
Chickasaw Nations, remain in said nations, respectively, they
shall be entitled to as much land as they may cultivate for
the support of themselves and families, in cases where they
do not support themselves and families by hiring, not interfering
with existing improvements without the consent of the occupant,
it being understood that in the event of the making of the
laws, rules, and regulations aforesaid, the forty acres aforesaid
shall stand in place of the land cultivated as last aforesaid.
Article 5.
A general amnesty of all past offences against the laws of
the United States, committed before the signing of this treaty
by any member of the Choctaw or Chickasaw Nations, is hereby
declared; and the United States will especially request the
States of Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, and Texas to grant the
like amnesty as to all offences committed by any member of
the Choctaw or Chickasaw Nation. And the Choctaws and Chickasaws,
anxious for the restoration of kind and friendly feelings
among themselves, do hereby declare an amnesty for all past
offences against their respective governments, and no Indian
or Indians shall be proscribed, or any act of forfeiture or
confiscation passed against those who may have remained friendly
to the United States, but they shall enjoy equal privileges
with other members of said tribes, and all laws heretofore
passed inconsistent herewith are hereby declared inoperative.
The people of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations stipulate
and agree to deliver up to any duly authorized agent of the
United States all public property in their possession which
belong to the late "so-called Confederate States of America,"
or the United States, without any reservation whatever; particularly
ordnance, ordnance-stores, and arms of all kinds.
Article 6.
The Choctaws and Chickasaws hereby grant a right of way through
their lands to any company or companies which shall be duly
authorized by Congress, or by the legislatures of said nations,
respectively, and which shall, with the express consent and
approbation of the Secretary of the Interior, undertake to
construct a railroad through the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations
from the north to the south thereof, and from the east to
the west side thereof, in accordance with the provisions of
the 18th article of the treaty of June twenty-second, one
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, which provides that
for any property taken or destroyed in the construction thereof
full compensation shall be made to the party or parties injured,
to be ascertained and determined in such manner as the President
of the United States shall direct. But such railroad company
or companies, with all its or their agents and employés
shall be subject to the laws of the United States relating
to intercourse with Indian tribes, and also to such rules
and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the
Interior for that purpose. And it is also stipulated and agreed
that the nation through which the road or roads aforesaid
shall pass may subscribe to the stock of the particular company
or companies such amount or amounts as they may be able to
pay for in alternate sections of unoccupied lands for a space
of six miles on each side of said road or roads, at a price
per acre to be agreed upon between said Choctaw and Chickasaw
Nations and the said company or companies, subject to the
approval of the President of the United States: Provided,
however, That said land, thus subscribed, shall not be sold,
or demised, or occupied by any one not a citizen of the Choctaw
or Chickasaw Nations, according to their laws and recognized
usages: Provided, That the officers, servants, and employés
of such companies necessary to the construction and management
of said road or roads shall not be excluded from such occupancy
as their respective functions may require, they being subject
to the provisions of the Indian intercourse law and such rules
and regulations as may be established by the Secretary of
the Interior: And provided also, That the stock thus subscribed
by either of said nations shall have the force and effect
of a first-mortgage bond on all that part of said road, appurtenances,
and equipments situated and used within said nations respectively,
and shall be a perpetual lien on the same, and the said nations
shall have the right, from year to year, to elect to receive
their equitable proportion of declared dividends of profits
on their said stock, or interest on the par value at the rate
of six per cent. per annum.
2. And it is further declared, in this connection, that as
fast as sections of twenty miles in length are completed,
with the rails laid ready for use, with all water and other
stations necessary to the use thereof, as a first-class road,
the said company or companies shall become entitled to patents
for the alternate sections aforesaid, and may proceed to dispose
thereof in the manner herein provided for, subject to the
approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
3. And it is further declared, also, in case of one or more
of said alternate sections being occupied by any member or
members of said nations respectively, so that the same cannot
be transferred to the said company or companies, that the
said nation or nations, respectively, may select any unoccupied
section or sections, as near as circumstances will permit,
to the said width of six miles on each side of said road or
roads, and convey the same as an equivalent for the section
or sections so occupied as aforesaid.
Article 7.
The Choctaws and Chickasaws agree to such legislation as
Congress and the President of the United States may deem necessary
for the better administration of justice and the protection
of the rights of person and property within the Indian Territory:
Provided, however, Such legislation shall not in anywise interfere
with or annul their present tribal organization, or their
respective legislatures or judiciaries, or the rights, laws,
privileges, or customs of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations
respectively.
Article 8.
The Choctaws and Chickasaws also agree that a council, consisting
of delegates elected by each nation or tribe lawfully resident
within the Indian Territory, may be annually convened in said
Territory, to be organized as follows:
1. After the ratification of this treaty, and as soon as
may be deemed practicable by the Secretary of the Interior,
and prior to the first session of said assembly, a census
of each tribe, lawfully resident in said Territory, shall
be taken, under the direction of the Superintendent of Indian
Affairs, by competent persons, to be appointed by him, whose
compensation shall be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior
and paid by the United States.
2. The council shall consist of one member from each tribe
or nation whose population shall exceed five hundred, and
an additional member for each one thousand Indians, native
or adopted, or each fraction of a thousand greater than five
hundred being members of any tribe lawfully resident in said
Territory, and shall be selected by the tribes or nations
respectively who may assent to the establishment of said general
assembly; and if none should be thus formally selected by
any nation or tribe, it shall be represented in said general
assembly by the chief or chiefs and head-men of said tribes,
to be taken in the order of their rank as recognized in tribal
usage in the number and proportions above indicated.
3. After the said census shall have been taken and completed,
the superintendent of Indian affairs shall publish and declare
to each tribe the number of members of said council to which
they shall be entitled under the provisions of this article;
and the persons so to represent the said tribes shall meet
at such time and place as he shall designate, but thereafter
the time and place of the sessions of the general assembly
shall be determined by itself: Provided, That no session in
any one year shall exceed the term of thirty days, and provided
that the special sessions may be called whenever, in the judgment
of the Secretary of the Interior, the interests of said tribes
shall require it.
4. The general assembly shall have power to legislate upon
all subjects and matters pertaining to the intercourse and
relations of the Indian tribes and nations resident in the
said Territory, the arrest and extradition of criminals escaping
from one tribe to another, the administration of justice between
members of the several tribes of the said Territory, and persons
other than Indians and members of said tribes or nations,
the construction of works of internal improvement, and the
common defence and safety of the nations of the said Territory.
All laws enacted by said council shall take effect at the
times therein provided, unless suspended by the Secretary
of the Interior or the President of the United States. No
law shall be enacted inconsistent with the Constitution of
the United States or the laws of Congress, or existing treaty
stipulations with the United States; nor shall said council
legislate upon matters pertaining to the legislative, judicial,
or other organization, laws, or customs of the several tribes
or nations, except as herein provided for.
5. Said council shall be presided over by the superintendent
of Indian affairs, or, in case of his absence from any cause,
the duties of the superintendent enumerated in this article
shall be performed by such person as the Secretary of the
Interior shall indicate.
6. The Secretary of the Interior shall appoint a secretary
of said council, whose duty it shall be to keep an accurate
record of all the proceedings of said council, and to transmit
a true copy thereof, duly certified by the superintendent
of Indian affairs, to the Secretary of the Interior immediately
after the sessions of said council shall terminate. He shall
be paid five hundred dollars, as an annual salary, by the
United States.
7. The members of the said council shall be paid by the United
States four dollars per diem while in actual attendance thereon,
and four dollars mileage for every twenty miles going and
returning therefrom by the most direct route, to be certified
by the secretary of said council and the presiding officer.
8. The Choctaws and Chickasaws also agree that a court or
courts may be established in said Territory with such jurisdiction
and organization as Congress may prescribe: Provided, That
the same shall not interfere with the local judiciary of either
of said nations.
9. Whenever Congress shall authorize the appointment of a
Delegate from said Territory, it shall be the province of
said council to elect one from among the nations represented
in said council.
10. And it is further agreed that the superintendent of Indian
affairs shall be the executive of the said Territory, with
the title of "governor of the Territory of Oklahoma," and
that there shall be a secretary of the said Territory, to
be appointed by the said superintendent; that the duty of
the said governor, in addition to those already imposed on
the superintendent of Indian affairs, shall be such as properly
belong to an executive officer charged with the execution
of the laws, which the said council is authorized to enact
under the provisions of this treaty; and that for this purpose
he shall have authority to appoint a marshal of said Territory
and an interpreter; the said marshal to appoint such deputies,
to be paid by fees, as may be required to aid him in the execution
of his proper functions, and be the marshal of the principal
court of said Territory that may be established under the
provisions of this treaty.
11. And the said marshal and the said secretary shall each
be entitled to a salary of five hundred dollars per annum,
to be paid by the United States, and such fees in addition
thereto as shall be established by said governor, with the
approbation of the Secretary of the Interior, it being understood
that the said fee-lists may at any time be corrected and altered
by the Secretary of the Interior, as the experience of the
system proposed herein to be established shall show to be
necessary, and shall in no case exceed the fees paid to marshals
of the United States for similar services.
The salary of the interpreter shall be five hundred dollars,
to be paid in like manner by the United States.
12. And the United States agree that in the appointment of
marshals and deputies, preference, qualifications being equal,
shall be given to competent members of the said nations, the
object being to create a laudable ambition to acquire the
experience necessary for political offices of importance in
the respective nations.
13. And whereas it is desired by the said Choctaw and Chickasaw
Nations that the said council should consist of an upper and
lower house, it is hereby agreed that whenever a majority
of the tribes or nations represented in said council shall
desire the same, or the Congress of the United States shall
so prescribe, there shall be, in addition to the council now
provided for, and which shall then constitute the lower house,
an upper house, consisting of one member from each tribe entitled
to representation in the council now provided for - the relations
of the two houses to each other being such as prevail in the
States of the United States; each house being authorized to
choose its presiding officer and clerk to perform the duties
appropriate to such offices; and it being the duty, in addition,
of the clerks of each house to make out and transmit to the
territorial secretary fair copies of the proceedings of the
respective houses immediately after their respective sessions,
which copies shall be dealt with by said secretary as is now
provided in the case of copies of the proceedings of the council
mentioned in this act, and the said clerks shall each be entitled
to the same per diem as members of the respective houses,
and the presiding officers to doube that sum.
Article 9.
Such sums of money as have, by virtue of treaties existing
in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-one, been invested
for the purposes of education, shall remain so invested, and
the interest thereof shall be applied for the same purposes,
in such manner as shall be designated by the legislative authorities
of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, respectively.
Article 10.
The United States re-affirms all obligations arising out
of treaty stipulations or acts of legislation with regard
to the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, entered into prior to
the late rebellion, and in force at that time, not inconsistent
herewith; and further agrees to renew the payment of all annuities
and others moneys accruing under such treaty stipulations
and acts of legislation, from and after the close of the fiscal
year ending on the thirtieth of June, in the year eighteen
hundred and sixty-six.
Article 11.
Whereas the land occupied by the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations,
and described in the treaty between the United States and
said nations, of June twenty-second, eighteen hundred and
fifty-five, is now held by the members of said nations in
common, under the provisions of the said treaty; and whereas
it is believed that the holding of said land in severalty
will promote the general civilization of said nations, and
tend to advance their permanent welfare and the best interests
of their individual members, it is hereby agreed that, should
the Choctaw and the Chickasaw people, through their respective
legislative councils, agree to the survey and dividing their
land on the system of the United States, the land aforesaid
east of the ninety-eighth degree of west longitude shall be,
in view of the arrangements herein-after mentioned, surveyed
and laid off in ranges, townships, sections, and parts of
sections; and that for the purpose of facilitating such surveys
and for the settlement and distribution of said land as hereinafter
provided, there shall be established at Boggy Depot, in the
Choctaw Territory, a land-office; and that, in making the
said surveys and conducting the business of the said office,
including the appointment of all necessary agents and surveyors,
the same system shall be pursued which has heretofore governed
in respect to the public lands of the United States, it being
understood that the said surveys shall be made at the cost
of the United States and by their agents and surveyors, as
in the case of their own public lands, and that the officers
and employés shall receive the same compensation as
is paid to officers and employés in the land-offices
of the United States in Kansas.
Article 12.
The maps of said surveys shall exhibit, as far as practicable,
the outlines of the actual occupancy of members of the said
nations, respectively; and when they are completed, shall
be returned to the said land-office at Boggy Depot for inspection
by all parties interested, when notice for ninety days shall
be given of such return, in such manner as the legislative
authorities of the said nations, respectively, shall prescribe,
or, in the event of said authorities failing to give such
notice in a reasonable time, in such manner as the register
of said land-office shall prescribe, calling upon all parties
interested to examine said maps to the end that errors, if
any, in the location of such occupancies, may be corrected.
Article 13.
The notice required in the above article shall be given,
not only in the Choctaw and Chicksaw Nations, but by publication
in newspapers printed in the States of Mississippi and Tennessee,
Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Alabama, to the end that such
Choctaws and Chickasaws as yet remain outside of the Choctaw
and Chickasaw Nations, may be informed and have opportunity
to exercise the rights hereby given to resident Choctaws and
Chickasaws: Provided, That before any such absent Choctaw
or Chickasaw shall be permitted to select for him or herself,
or others, as hereinafter provided, he or she shall satisfy
the register of the land-office of his or her intention, or
the intention of the party for whom the selection is to be
made, to become bona-fide resident in the said nation within
five years from the time of selection; and should the said
absentee fail to remove into said nation, and occupy and commence
an improvement on the land selected within the time aforesaid,
the said selection shall be cancelled, and the land shall
thereafter be discharged from all claim on account thereof.
Article 14.
At the expiration of the ninety days aforesaid the legislative
authorities of the said nations, respectively, shall have
the right to select one quarter-section of land in each of
the counties of said nations respectively, in trust for the
establishment of seats of justice therein, and also as many
quarter-sections as the said legislative councils may deem
proper for the permanent endowment of schools, seminaries,
and colleges in said nation, provided such selection shall
not embrace or interfere with any improvement in the actual
occupation of any member of the particular nation without
his consent; and provided the proceeds of sale of the quarter-sections
selected for seats of justice shall be appropriated for the
erection or improvement of public buildings in the county
in which it is located.
Article 15.
At the expiration of the ninety days' notice aforesaid, the selection
which is to change the tenure of the land in the Choctaw and Chickasaw
Nations from a holding in common to a holding in severalty shall
take place, when every Choctaw and Chickasaw shall have the right
to one quarter-section of land, whether male or female, adult or
minor, and if in actual possession or occupancy of land improved
or cultivated by him or her, shall have a prior right to the quarter-section
in which his or her improvement lies; and every infant shall have
selected for him or her a quarter-section of land in such location
as the father of such infant, if there be a father living, and if
no father living, then the mother or guardian, and should there
be neither father, mother, nor guardian, then as the probate judge
of the county, acting for the best interest of such infant, shall
select.
Article 16.
Should an actual occupant of land desire, at any time prior
to the commencement of the surveys aforesaid, to abandon his
improvement, and select and improve other land, so as to obtain
the prior right of selection thereof, he or she shall be at
liberty to do so; in which event the improvement so abandoned
shall be open to selection by other parties: Provided, That
nothing herein contained shall authorize the multiplication
of improvements so as to increase the quantity of land beyond
what a party would be entitled to at the date of this treaty.
Article 17.
No selection to be made under this treaty shall be permitted
to deprive or interfere with the continued occupation, by
the missionaries established in the respective nations, of
their several missionary establishments; it being the wish
of the parties hereto to promote and foster an influence so
largely conducive to civilization and refinement. Should any
missionary who has been engaged in missionary labor for five
consecutive years before the date of this treaty in the said
nations, or either of them, or three consecutive years prior
to the late rebellion, and who, if absent from the said nations,
may desire to return, wish to select a quarter-section of
land with a view to a permanent home for himself and family,
he shall have the privilege of doing so, provided no selection
shall include any public buildings, schools or seminary; and
a quantity of land not exceeding six hundred and forty acres,
to be selected according to legal subdivisions in one body,
and to include their improvements, is hereby granted to every
religious society or denomination which has erected, or which,
with the consent of the Indians, may hereafter erect buildings
within the Choctaw and Chickasaw country for missionary or
educational purposes; but no land thus granted, nor the buildings
which have been or may be erected thereon, shall ever be sold
or otherwise disposed of, except with the consent of the legislatures
of said nations respectively and approval of the Secretary
of the Interior; and whenever such lands or buildings shall
be sold or disposed of, the proceeds thereof shall be applied,
under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, to the
support and maintenance of other similar establishments for
the benefit of the Choctaws and Chickasaws, and such other
persons as may hereafter become members of their nations,
according to their laws, customs, and usages.
Article 18.
In making a selection for children the parent shall have
a prior right to select land adjacent to his own improvements
or selection, provided such selection shall be made within
thirty days from the time at which selections under this treaty
commence.
Article 19.
The manner of selecting as aforesaid shall be by an entry
with the register of the land-office, and all selections shall
be made to conform to the legal subdivisions of the said lands
as shown by the surveys aforesaid on the maps aforesaid; it
being understood that nothing herein contained is to be construed
to confine a party selecting to one section, but he may take
contiguous parts of sections by legal subdivisions in different
sections, not exceeding together a quarter-section.
Article 20.
Prior to any entries being made under the foregoing provisions,
proof of improvements, or actual cultivation, as well as the
number of persons for whom a parent or guardian, or probate
judge of the county proposes to select, and of their right
to select, and of his or her authority to select, for them,
shall be made to the register and receiver of the land-office,
under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the
Interior.
Article 21.
In every township the sections of land numbered sixteen and
thirty-six shall be reserved for the support of schools in
said township: Provided, That if the same has been already
occupied by a party or parties having the right to select
it, or it shall be so sterile as to be unavailable, the legislative
authorities of the particular nations shall have the right
to select such other unoccupied sections as they may think
proper.
Article 22.
The right of selection hereby given shall not authorize the
selection of any land required by the United States as a military
post, or Indian agency, not exceeding one mile square, which,
when abandoned, shall revert to the nation in which the land
lies.
Article 23.
The register of the land-office shall inscribe in a suitable
book or books, in alphabetical order, the name of every individual
for whom a selection shall be made, his or her age, and a
description of the land selected.
Article 24.
Whereas it may be difficult to give to each occupant of an
improvement a quarter-section of land, or even a smaller subdivision,
which shall include such improvement, in consequence of such
improvements lying in towns, villages, or hamlets, the legislative
authorities of the respective nations shall have power, where,
in their discretion, they think it expedient, to lay off into
town lots any section or part of a section so occupied, to
which lots the actual occupants, being citizens of the respective
nations, shall have pre-emptive right, and, upon paying into
the treasury of the particular nation the price of the land,
as fixed by the respective legislatures, exclusive of the
value of said improvement, shall receive a conveyance thereof.
Such occupant shall not be prejudiced thereby in his right
to his selection elsewhere. The town lots which may be unoccupied
shall be disposed of for the benefit of the particular nation,
as the legislative authorities may direct from time to time.
When the number of occupants of the same quarter-section shall
not be such as to authorize the legislative authorities to
lay out the same, or any part thereof, into town lots, they
may make such regulations for the disposition thereof as they
may deem proper, either by subdivision of the same, so as
to accommodate the actual occupants, or by giving the right
of prior choice to the first occupant in point of time, upon
paying the others for their improvements, to be valued in
such way as the legislative authorities shall prescribe, or
otherwise. All occupants retaining their lots under this section,
and desiring, in addition, to make a selection, must pay for
the lots so retained, as in the case of town lots. And any
Choctaw or Chickasaw who may desire to select a sectional
division other than that on which his homestead is, without
abandoning the latter, shall have the right to purchase the
homestead sectional division at such price as the respective
legislatures may prescribe.
Article 25.
During ninety days from the expiration of the ninety days' notice
aforesaid, the Choctaws and Chickasaws shall have the exclusive
right to make selections, as aforesaid, and at the end of that time
the several parties shall be entitled to patents for their respective
selections, to be issued by the President of the United States,
and countersigned by the chief executive officer of the nation in
which the land lies, and recorded in the records of the executive
office of the particular nation; and copies of the said patents,
under seal, shall be evidence in any court of law or equity.
Article 26.
The right here given to the Choctaws and Chickasaws, respectively,
shall extend to all persons who have become citizens by adoption
or intermarriage of either of said nations, or who may here-after
become such.
Article 27.
In the event of disputes arising in regard to the rights
of parties to select particular quarter-sections or other
divisions of said land, or in regard to the adjustment of
boundaries, so as to make them conform to legal divisions
and subdivisions such disputes shall be settled by the register
of the land-office and the chief executive officer of the
nation in which the land lies, in a summary way, after hearing
the parties; and if said register and chief officer cannot
agree, the two to call in a third party, who shall constitute
a third referee, the decision of any two of whom shall be
final, without appeal.
Article 28.
Nothing contained in any law of either of the said nations
shall prevent parties entitled to make selections contiguous
to each other; and the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations hereby
agree to repeal all laws inconsistent with this provision.
Article 29.
Selections made under this treaty shall, to the extent of
one quarter-section, including the homestead or dwelling,
be inalienable for the period of twenty-one years from the
date of such selection, and upon the death of the party in
possession shall descend according to the laws of the nation
where the land lies; and in the event of his or her death
without heirs, the said quarter-section shall escheat to and
become the property of the nation.
Article 30.
The Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations will receive into their
respective districts east of the ninety-eighth degree of west
longitude, in the proportion of one-fourth in the Chickasaw
and three-fourths in the Choctaw Nation, civilized Indians
from the tribes known by the general name of the Kansas Indians,
being Indians to the north of the Indian Territory, not exceeding
ten thousand in number, who shall have in the Choctaw and
Chickasaw Nations, respectively, the same rights as the Choctaws
and Chickasaws, of whom they shall be the fellow-citizens,
governed by the same laws, and enjoying the same privileges,
with the exception of the right to participate in the Choctaw
and Chickasaw annuities and other moneys, and in the public
domain, should the same, or the proceeds thereof, be divided
per capita among the Choctaws and Chickasaws, and among others
the right to select land as herein provided for Choctaws and
Chickasaws, after the expiration of the ninety days during
which the selections of land are to be made, as aforesaid,
by said Choctaws and Chickasaws; and the Choctaw and Chickasaw
Nations pledge themselves to treat the said Kansas Indians
in all respects with kindness and forbearance, aiding them
in good faith to establish themselves in their new homes,
and to respect all their customs and usages not inconsistent
with the constitution and laws of the Choctaw and Chickasaw
Nations respectively. In making selections after the advent
of the Indians and the actual occupancy of land in said nation,
such occupancy shall have the same effect in their behalf
as the occupancies of Choctaws and Chickasaws; and after the
said Choctaws and Chickasaws have made their selections as
aforesaid, the said persons of African descent mentioned in
the third article of the treaty, shall make their selections
as therein provided, in the event of the making of the laws,
rules, and regulations aforesaid, after the expiration of
ninety days from the date at which the Kansas Indians are
to make their selections as therein provided, and the actual
occupancy of such persons of African descent shall have the
same effect in their behalf as the occupancies of the Choctaws
and Chickasaws.
Article 31.
And whereas some time must necessarily elapse before the
surveys, maps, and selections herein provided for can be completed
so as to permit the said Kansas Indians to make their selections
in their order, during which time the United States may desire
to remove the said Indians from their present abiding places,
it is hereby agreed that the said Indians may at once come
into the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, settling themselves
temporarily as citizens of the said nations, respectively,
upon such land as suits them and is not already occupied.
Article 32.
At the expiration of two years, or sooner, if the President
of the United States shall so direct, from the completion
of the surveys and maps aforesaid, the officers of the land-offices
aforesaid shall deliver to the executive departments of the
Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, respectively, all such documents
as may be necessary to elucidate the land-title as settled
according to this treaty, and forward copies thereof, with
the field-notes, records, and other papers pertaining to said
titles, to the Commissioner of the General Land Office; and
thereafter grants of land and patents therefor shall be issued
in such manner as the legislative authorities of said nations
may provide for all the unselected portions of the Choctaw
and Chickasaw districts as defined by the treaty of June twenty-second,
eighteen hundred and fifty-five.
Article 33.
All lands selected as herein provided shall thereafter be
held in severalty by the respective parties, and the unselected
land shall be the common property of the Choctaw and Chickasaw
Nations, in their corporate capacities, subject to the joint
control of their legislative authorities.
Article 34.
Should any Choctaw or Chickasaw be prevented from selecting
for him or herself during the the ninety days aforesaid, the
failure to do so shall not authorize another to select the
quarter-section containing his improvement, but he may at
any time make his selection thereof, subject to having his
boundaries made to conform to legal divisions as aforesaid.
Article 35.
Should the selections aforesaid not be made before the transfer
of the land records to the executive authorities of said nations,
respectively, they shall be made according to such regulations
as the legislative authorities of the two nations, respectively,
may prescribe, to the end that full justice and equity may
be done to the citizens of the respective territories.
Article 36.
Should any land that has been selected under the provisions
of this treaty be abandoned and left uncultivated for the
space of seven years by the party selecting the same, or his
heirs, except in the case of infants under the age of twenty-one
years, or married women, or persons non compos mentis, the
legislative authorities of the nation where such land lies
may either rent the same for the benefit of those interested,
or dispose of the same otherwise for their benefit, and may
pass all laws necessary to give effect to this provision.
Article 37.
In consideration of the right of selection hereinbefore accorded
to certain Indians other than the Choctaws and Chickasaws,
the United States agree to pay to the Choctaw and Chickasaw
Nations, out of the funds of Indians removing into said nations
respectively, under the provisions of this treaty, such sum
as may be fixed by the legislatures of said nations, not exceeding
one dollar per acre, to be divided between the said nations
in the proportion of one-fourth to the Chickasaw Nation and
three-fourths to the Choctaw Nation, with the understanding
that at the expiration of twelve months the actual number
of said immigrating Indians shall be ascertained, and the
amount paid that may be actually due at the rate aforesaid;
and should still further immigrations take place from among
said Kansas Indians, still further payments shall be made
accordingly from time to time.
Article 38.
Every white person who, having married a Choctaw or Chickasaw,
resides in the said Choctaw or Chickasaw Nation, or who has
been adopted by the legislative authorities, is to be deemed
a member of said nation, and shall be subject to the laws
of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations according to his domicile,
and to prosecution and trial before their tribunals, and to
punishment according to their laws in all respects as though
he was a native Choctaw or Chickasaw.
Article 39.
No person shall expose goods or other articles for sale as
a trader without a permit of the legislative authorities of
the nation he may propose to trade in; but no license shall
be required to authorize any member of the Choctaw or Chickasaw
Nations to trade in the Choctaw or Chickasaw country who is
authorized by the proper authority of the nation, nor to authorize
Choctaws or Chickasaws to sell flour, meal, meat, fruit, and
other provisions, stock, wagons, agricultural implements,
or tools brought from the United States into the said country.
Article 40.
All restrictions contained in any treaty heretofore made,
or in any regulation of the United States upon the sale or
other disposition of personal chattel property by Choctaws
or Chickasaws are hereby removed.
Article 41.
All persons who are members of the Choctaw or Chickasaw Nations,
and are not otherwise disqualified or disabled, shall hereafter
be competent witnesses in all civil and criminal suits and
proceedings in any courts of the United States, any law to
the contrary notwithstanding.
Article 42.
The Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations shall deliver up persons
accused of crimes against the United States who may be found
within their respective limits on the requisition of the governor
of any State for a crime committed against the laws of said
State, and upon the requisition of the judge of the district
court of the United States for the district within which the
crime was committed.
Article 43.
The United States promise and agree that no white person,
except officers, agents, and employés of the Government,
and of any internal improvement company, or persons travelling
through, or temporarily sojourning in, the said nations, or
either of them, shall be permitted to go into said Territory,
unless formally incorporated and naturalized by the joint
action of the authorities of both nations into one of the
said nations of Choctaws and Chickasaws, according to their
laws, customs, or usages; but this article is not to be construed
to affect parties heretofore adopted, or to prevent the employment
temporarily of white persons who are teachers, mechanics,
or skilled in agriculture, or to prevent the legislative authorities
of the respective nations from authorizing such works of internal
improvement as they may deem essential to the welfare and
prosperity of the community, or be taken to interfere with
or invalidate any action which has heretofore been had in
this connection by either of the said nations.
Article 44.
Post-offices shall be established and maintained by the United
States at convenient places in the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations,
to and from which the mails shall be carried at reasonable
intervals, at the rates of postage prevailing in the United
States.
Article 45.
All the rights, privileges, and immunities heretofore possessed
by said nations or individuals thereof, or to which they were
entitled under the treaties and legislation heretofore made
and had in connection with them, shall be, and are hereby
declared to be, in full force, so far as they are consistent
with the provisions of this treaty.
Article 46.
Of the moneys stipulated to be paid to the Choctaws and Chickasaws
under this treaty for the cession of the leased district,
and the admission of the Kansas Indians among them, the sum
of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars shall be advanced
and paid to the Choctaws, and fifty thousand dollars to the
Chickasaws, through their respective treasurers, as soon as
practicable after the ratification of this treaty, to be repaid
out of said moneys or any other moneys of said nations in
the hands of the United States; the residue, not affected
by any provisions of this treaty, to remain in the Treasury
of the United States at an annual interest of five per cent.,
no part of which shall be paid out as annuity, but shall be
annually paid to the treasurer of said nations, respectively,
to be regularly and judiciously applied, under the direction
of their respective legislative councils, to the support of
their government, the purposes of education, and such other
objects as may be best calculated to promote and advance the
welfare and happiness of said nations and their people respectively.
Article 47.
As soon as practicable after the lands shall have been surveyed
and assigned to the Choctaws and Chickasaws in severalty as
herein provided, upon application of their respective legislative
councils, and with the assent of the President of the United
States, all the annuities and funds invested and held in trust
by the United States for the benefit of said nations respectively
shall be capitalized or converted into money, as the case
may be; and the aggregate amounts thereof belonging to each
nation shall be equally divided and paid per capita to the
individuals thereof respectively, to aid and assist them in
improving their homesteads and increasing or acquiring flocks
and herds, and thus encourage them to make proper efforts
to maintain successfully the new relations which the holding
of their lands in severalty will involve: Provided, nevertheless,
That there shall be retained by the United States such sum
as the President shall deem sufficient of the said moneys
to be invested, that the interest thereon may be sufficient
to defray the expenses of the government of said nations respectively,
together with a judicious system of education, until these
objects can be provided for by a proper system of taxation;
and whenever this shall be done to the satisfaction of the
President of the United States, the moneys so retained shall
be divided in the manner and for the purpose above mentioned.
Article 48.
Immediately after the ratification of this treaty there shall
be paid, out of the funds of the Choctaws and Chickasaws in
the hands of the United States, twenty-five thousand dollars
to the Choctaw and twenty-five thousand dollars to the Chickasaw
commissioners, to enable them to discharge obligations incurred
by them for various incidental and other expenses to which
they have been subjected, and for which they are now indebted.
Article 49.
And it is further agreed that a commission, to consist of
a person or persons to be appointed by the President of the
United States, not exceeding three, shall be appointed immediately
on the ratification of this treaty, who shall take into consideration
and determine the claim of such Choctaws and Chickasaws as
allege that they have been driven during the late rebellion
from their homes in the Choctaw [and Chickasaw] Nations on
account of their adhesion to the United States, for damages,
with power to make such award as may be consistent with equity
and good conscience, taking into view all circumstances, whose
report, when ratified by the Secretary of the Interior, shall
be final, and authorize the payment of the amount from any
moneys of said nations in the hands of the United States as
the said commission may award.
Article 50.
Whereas Joseph G. Heald and Reuben Wright, of Massachusetts,
were licensed traders in the Choctaw country at the commencement
of the rebellion, and claim to have sustained large losses
on account of said rebellion, by the use of their property
by said nation, and that large sums of money are due them
for goods and property taken, or sold to the members of said
nation, and money advanced to said nation; and whereas other
loyal citizens of the United States may have just claims of
the same character: It is hereby agreed and stipulated that
the commission provided for in the preceding article shall
investigate said claims, and fully examine the same; and such
sum or sums of money as shall by the report of said commission,
approved by the Secretary of the Interior, be found due to
such persons, not exceeding ninety thousand dollars, shall
be paid by the United States to the persons entitled thereto,
out of any money belonging to said nation in the possession
of the United States: Provided, That no claim for goods or
property of any kind shall be allowed or paid, in whole or
part, which shall have been used by said nation or any member
thereof in aid of the rebellion, with the consent of said
claimants: Provided also, That if the aggregate of said claims
thus allowed and approved shall exceed said sum of ninety
thousand dollars, then that sum shall be applied pro rata
in payment of the claims so allowed.
Article 51.
It is further agreed that all treaties and parts of treaties
inconsistent herewith be, and the same are hereby, declared
null and void.
In testimony whereof, the said Dennis N. Cooley, Elijah Sells,
and E. S. Parker, commissioners in behalf of the United States,
and the said commissioners on behalf of the Choctaw and Chickasaw
nations, have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and
year first above written.
- D. N. Cooley, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, [SEAL.]
- Elijah Sells, superintendent of Indian affairs, [SEAL.]
- E. S. Parker, special commissioner, [SEAL.]
- Commissioners for United States.
- Alfred Wade, [SEAL.]
- Allen Wright, [SEAL.]
- James Riley, [SEAL.]
- John Page, [SEAL.]
- Choctaw commissioners.
- Winchester Colbert, [SEAL.]
- Edmund (his x mark) Pickens, [SEAL.]
- Holmes Colbert, [SEAL.]
- Colbert Carter, [SEAL.]
- Robert H. Love, [SEAL.]
- Chickasaw commissioners.
- Campbell Leflore,
- Secretary of Choctaw delegation.
- E. S. Mitchell,
- Secretary of Chickasaw delegation.
In presence of-
- Jno. H. B. Latrobe,
- P. P. Pitchlynn,
- Principal chief Choctaws.
- Douglas H. Cooper.
- J. Harlan.
- Charles E. Mix.
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Native American Legends A-B