Indian Territory
Indian Territory refers to the lands west of the Mississippi River that were designated for the relocation of Indigenous Nations from the eastern United States, primarily during the 19th century. This area, centered in present-day Oklahoma, became a result of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which was enacted under President Andrew Jackson's administration. The Act aimed to forcibly relocate tribes—such as the Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Seminole—leading to significant cultural disruption and loss of life, epitomized by the harrowing Trail of Tears.
Initially proposed as a vast expanse that included parts of several states, Indian Territory gradually shrank as the U.S. government ceded large portions to white settlers. Despite the challenges, many Indigenous Nations established their own governance, educational systems, and cultural practices within this territory. However, the impacts of events such as the Civil War and subsequent treaties further complicated the landscape, leading to the eventual partitioning of Indian Territory. By 1907, the remaining lands were incorporated into the state of Oklahoma, marking the end of Indian Territory as a defined area for Indigenous peoples. This historical narrative reflects the profound changes endured by Native communities and highlights the enduring significance of this region in the context of U.S. history.
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Indian Territory
SIGNIFICANCE: The removal of eastern Indigenous Nations to the lands west of the Mississippi River, known as Indian Territory (centered in present-day Oklahoma), had devastating and profound effects on Indigenous populations and cultures.
Terms such as “Indian country” and “Indian territory” had different meanings at different times in the history of relations between the United States and various Indian nations. The concept of a defined Indian territory developed alongside the policy of the Indian Removal Act of 1830—removing eastern Nations to lands west of the Mississippi River—created by the administration of Andrew Jackson in the late 1820s and early 1830s. It was first proposed as a large area west of the Mississippi that would include present-day Kansas and Oklahoma, as well as parts of Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming. The land area considered Indian Territory soon shrank, however, as the government gave large parts of it away to White settlers until it assumed the size it maintained until Oklahoma became a state in 1907. It is this area, essentially modern-day Oklahoma, that is most often meant by Indian Territory.
Indian Removal
In 1828, President Jackson recommended Indian removal legislation to Congress, and the Indian Removal Act was passed on May 28, 1830. The Choctaw were the first to cede their homeland and consent to removal to Indian Territory. The main body of the Choctaw moved between 1830 and 1833. The Creek were moved second as a military measure. In 1836, 2,495 Creek peoples were transported to Indian Territory and left to live or die without clothes, weapons, or cooking utensils. The Chickasaw removal proceeded without resistance during the winter of 1837–38. They paid the Choctaw for the right to settle on Choctaw land. The Cherokee were divided over the question of removal, but those who were against it outnumbered those in favor of removal, who became known as the Treaty Party. Although the Treaty Party’s first negotiated treaty was rejected by the Cherokee Council, in December 1835, members of the Treaty Party drafted the Treaty of New Echota, which called for the voluntary removal of all Cherokee people by 1838. Once the treaty deadline passed, the main Tribe was forcibly removed during the bitter winter of 1838–39. So many died on what the Cherokee called the Trail of Tears that they finally agreed to manage their own removal. The Seminole resisted removal, were hunted down by the army and navy, and were taken to Indian Territory in chains. In 1856, the United States purchased land from the Creek for the Seminole and provided school funds. The Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations established governments, school systems, and churches as quickly as possible. The Creek did also, but more slowly. The Seminole took steps to develop a government and a school system, but progress was interrupted by the US Civil War.
The Osage received a large tract along the border of southern Kansas. The Quapaw were removed from Arkansas, and a small reservation was acquired northeast of the Cherokee. The Seneca and the Shawnee were also moved into Indian Territory. By the end of the 1830s, the American Indians owned land in Nebraska, a solid block of reservations along the eastern and most of the southern boundary of Kansas, and all of Oklahoma except the panhandle. This region was known as Indian Territory, although a territorial government was never established. Also seeking refuge in Indian Territory were bands of Shawnee, Delaware (Lenni Lenape), and fragments of other Nations from the Old Northwest. Around 1839, more Shawnee, Delaware, and some Kickapoo fled Texas and came to Indian Territory. In 1846, a peace treaty was made with the Caddo, the Tonkawa, and the Penateka (or Southern) Comanche; two reservations in Indian Territory were set aside for them in 1854. When the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) created Kansas and Nebraska, the Native Americans were moved southward, and the term Indian Territory became restricted to Oklahoma.
The Civil War (1861-1865) created great divisions among and within Indigenous peoples in Indian Territory. In 1866, the Five Civilized Tribes—Indigenous peoples of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole nations—signed treaties forced on them by the United States government for having allied with the Confederacy, which relinquished a large part of their western land, thus dividing Indian Territory into two parts. The eastern half belonged to the Five Civilized Tribes, and the remainder became part of the Oklahoma Territory. This western land was to be used as homes for western Nations to settle on reservations as part of the consolidation policy. In 1907, the remaining Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory became the state of Oklahoma.
Bibliography
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"Indian Territory." Library of Congress, guides.loc.gov/native-american-spaces/cartographic-resources/indian-territory. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.
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VanDevelder, Paul. “1826—Establishing Indian Territory.” Savages and Scoundrels. Yale UP, 2012.
Warde, Mary Jane. When the Wolf Came: The Civil War and Indian Territory. U of Arkansas P, 2013.