Chitto Harjo
Chitto Harjo, also known as Crazy Snake, emerged as a significant leader among the Creek Nation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, advocating for the preservation of traditional Creek culture and resistance to White American encroachment. He led a faction of traditionalists who aimed to maintain their ancestral lifestyle and communal land ownership in the face of U.S. policies that promoted allotment, particularly the Dawes Commission's efforts to divide tribal lands among individual members. In 1901, Harjo spearheaded an anti-allotment uprising, establishing an alternative government that opposed the official Creek authorities and called for the U.S. to honor its treaties. His movement escalated into a rebellion that resulted in violent clashes, leading to his arrest alongside many followers. Following his release, Harjo shifted to more peaceful methods of protest, including lobbying against the allotment system and opposing Oklahoma's statehood in 1907. He later became involved in the Smoked Meat Rebellion, which further cemented his status as a fugitive. Harjo's legacy reflects the struggle of Indigenous peoples to uphold their traditions in the face of external pressures and changing political landscapes.
Chitto Harjo
- Born: 1846
- Birthplace: Muscogee (Creek) Territory, United States
- Died: c. 1911
Category:Activist, leader
Affiliation: Muscogee (Creek)
Significance: Leader of the traditionalist faction of the Creek Nation, Chitto Harjo led an unsuccessful uprising to prevent the allotment of Creek land in 1901
Chitto Harjo rose to prominence in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as leader of the traditionalist faction within the Creek Nation. Traditionalist Creeks sought to maintain the old tribal religion and lifestyle; in addition, they resisted assimilation and the settlement of White Americans on Creek land. A vital aspect of traditional life for the Creeks, namely the communal ownership of land, came under direct threat in the 1890s when Congress established the Dawes Commission to extend the policy of allotment (the division of Native American land among individual Native Americans) to the Creeks and the rest of the Five Civilized Tribes.
In opposition to the allotment system, Chitto Harjo and his followers (called “Snakes”) organized a rival government in opposition to the recognized tribal authorities, who were reluctantly cooperating with the federal government. Chitto Harjo’s government called on the United States to keep its treaty obligations. It issued decrees forbidding the acceptance of allotments, and organized its own tribal police (lighthorse) to enforce its policies. In 1901, this campaign of interference with allotment policy developed into a full-scale rebellion; Native Americans who had accepted allotments—as well as White settlers—were attacked. Chitto Harjo and sixty-six of his followers were arrested and convicted, but were allowed to return home under suspended sentences. Thereafter, Chitto Harjo generally utilized more peaceful ways—such as lobbying—to oppose allotment. He was also a vocal opponent of Oklahoma statehood.
In 1907, after Oklahoma became a state and the Creek government was dissolved, Chitto Harjo became involved in a skirmish known as the Smoked Meat Rebellion, in which traditionalist Creeks were accused by White Americans of sheltering a thief. Fighting erupted, and Chitto Harjo spent the rest of his life as a fugitive.
Bibliography
McIntosh, Kenneth W. “CRAZY SNAKE UPRISING." The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Oklahoma Historical Society, www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CR004. Accessed 24 May 2023
McIntosh, Kenneth W. “HARJO, CHITTO (1846–ca. 1911).” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Oklahoma Historical Society, www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=HA020. Accessed 24 May 2023