The Drive for Statehood

Even before the Run of 1889 took place, whites wanted to take more Indian land. In 1887, Congress passed the Dawes Severalty Act. The act applied to the new Oklahoma Territory and, one year later, included the old Indian Territory . The Dawes Act allowed the federal government to divide all tribal lands into allotments (meaning that individual Indians became private land holders; there were no tribal lands left). The government gave an individual who was head of a household about 160 acres on the average. Women and children received smaller tracts. All "surplus land" not given to individuals were then opened to white settlement. The issue of the African-Native American Freedmen also complicated the issue. In order to be included in the allotments they had to be enrolled as members of one of the Five Civilized tribes. The Indian tribal governments tried to limit the number of Freedmen recognized as tribal members in order to save land for full blooded Indians.

In April of 1892, the Cheyenne-Arapaho land in western Oklahoma was opened, and another run took place. In September of 1893, the run for land in the Cherokee Outlet in Northern Oklahoma occurred. More and more Indians were forced to take individual allotments, and, piece by piece, whites took over most of the land in both Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory.

Many full-blood Indians refused to take allotments. To them the land was sacred, given by God to all the tribes. The Dawes Act also called for Indians to become citizens of the United States. Most full-bloods were insulted by that idea. They were already members of great Indian nations, be they Comanche, Kiowa, Cherokee or other tribes. A rebellion occurred among the Creeks. Leaders of it publicly whipped any Creeks taking allotments. The army ended the rebellion and put the leaders in jail. Guess what they had to do to get out of jail? They had to take allotments.

From 1890 until 1907, whites talked almost constantly about statehood. Some people thought that the Twin Territories should be joined and enter the Union as one state. The Native American leaders of old Indian Territory did not like that idea. In 1905, they wrote a constitution for the Indian state of Sequoyah in eastern Oklahoma. The constitution was most progressive and contained provisions that protected all people’s rights. But President Teddy Roosevelt vetoed the Sequoyah constitution. He did not want an all-Indian state to join the Union. He was also concerned about what might happen to the new Oklahoma Territory in western Oklahoma if it were left to develop on its own. However, the president was willing to allow statehood if the Twin Territories joined as one state. In June 1906, President Roosevelt signed the Enabling Act combining Oklahoma and Indian Territories, and ended all hope for a separate state for Indian Territory.

That led to the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention in Guthrie in November of 1906. Using the Sequoyah constitution as a model, delegates wrote the most progressive constitution in the nation. In 1907, the territory of Oklahoma became the 46th state. After the news that Roosevelt had signed Oklahoma’s official statehood proclamation, crowds in Guthrie celebrated. They cheered and watched a symbolic play of a wedding of a white farmer and a beautiful Indian princess. Most full-blood Indians remained unhappy. They believed that whites cheated them out of their land and homes. They did not attend the celebrations.

Additional Resources

Study Guide Questions:

1. What were the terms of the Dawes Severalty Act?
2. What were allotments?
3. What happened when the Creeks rebelled?
4. What was the proposed Indian state of Sequoyah?
5. When and where did the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention take place?
6. Why were many Indians unhappy with Oklahoma becoming a state?

Vocabulary

[ Help ] [ Table of Contents ] [ Biographies ] [ Oklahoma Today ] [ Resources ] [ Search ] [ Sights and Sounds ] [ Timelines ] [ Student Activities ] [ Crossword Puzzles ] [ Quizzes ]