Curtis Act of 1898
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Long title | An Act for the protection of the people of the Indian Territory, and for other purposes. |
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Nicknames | Curtis Act (1898) |
Enacted by | the 55th United States Congress |
Effective | June 28, 1898 |
Citations | |
Public law | Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 55–517 |
Statutes at Large | 30 Stat. 495 |
Legislative history | |
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The Curtis Act of 1898 was an amendment to the United States Dawes Act; it resulted in the break-up of tribal governments and communal lands in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) of the Five Civilized Tribes of Indian Territory: the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee (Creek), Cherokee, and Seminole. These tribes had been previously exempt from the 1887 General Allotment Act (Dawes Act) because of the terms of their treaties.[1] In total, the tribes immediately lost control of about 90 million acres of their communal lands; they lost more in subsequent years.
The act also transferred the authority to determine members of tribes to the Dawes Commission as part of the registration of members. Thus, individuals could be enrolled as members without tribal consent.[2] By effectively abolishing the remainder of tribal courts, tribal governments, and tribal land claims in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma, the act enabled Oklahoma to be admitted as a state, which followed in 1907.[3]
History
Officially titled the "Act for the Protection of the People of Indian Territory", the Act is named for former Vice President Charles Curtis, a Republican congressman from Kansas and its author. He was of mixed Native American and European descent: on his mother's side Kansa, Osage, Potawatomi, and French; and on his father's side three ethnic lines of British Isles ancestry. Curtis was raised in part on the Kaw Reservation of his maternal grandparents, but also lived with his paternal grandparents and attended Topeka High School. He read law, became an attorney, and later was elected to the United States House of Representatives and Senate.[4] He served as Vice-President under Herbert Hoover.[5]
In the usual fashion, by the time the bill HR 8581 had gone through five revisions in committees in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, there was little left of Curtis' original draft. In his hand-written autobiography, Curtis noted having been unhappy with the final version of the Curtis Act.[6] He believed that the Five Civilized Tribes needed to make changes. He thought that the way ahead for Native Americans was through education and use of both their and the majority cultures, but he also had hoped to give more support to Native American transitions.
Major provisions
Abolition of tribal governments
The Curtis Act called for the abolition of tribal governments on March 6, 1906.[7] In 1924, it declared all Indians to be citizens of the United States. [8] Due to the nature of the lands in Indian Territory and the dry climate, the 160-acre allotments were often too small to permit profitable farming, and many Indian families had to give up and lost their lands in future years.[9]
Land allotments modification
The Act incorporated the basic points regarding land allotments and termination of tribal governments that had earlier appeared in the Atoka Agreement between the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations. The Atoka Agreement had been rejected by a popular vote of the Chickasaw, but accepted by the Choctaw. The Curtis Act required that the Atoka Agreement be resubmitted to a vote of both nations. The agreement was approved in a joint election on August 24, 1898.[10]
Registration of tribal members
The Curtis Act also scrapped the registration of tribal members that had been conducted under the Dawes Act and ordered new enrollments.[11] This Act extended all provisions of the Dawes Act to the lands of the Five Civilized Tribes. In the end, the large parts declared by the government to be "surplus" to their needs were made available for sale, including to non-Natives. An estimated 90 million acres of land formerly reserved for Native Americans were removed from their control.[12]
Incorporation of towns
The Curtis Act also authorized the incorporation of towns in Indian Territory. This meant that towns had a legal basis for being laid out, surveyed, and plotted. Any individual could obtain title to the lot in fee simple. The title owner of a lot had the legal right to sell or mortgage the property. An incorporated town or city had the right to self-regulation and levy taxes, allowing them to establish public services. By 1900, the largest towns in Indian Territory had incorporated. These included: Ardmore, with 1,500 residents; Muskogee, 4,200; McAlester, 3,500; Wagoner, 2,300; Tulsa, 1,300; and Eufaula, 800.[13]
Provision for vote by residents
Residents could not vote for the President or Congress in Indian Territory. The U.S. President appointed territorial government officials, so the question of voting for these officials was irrelevant. However, under the Curtis Act, male residents of Indian Territory, including American Indians, who met voter qualifications were permitted to vote. After Oklahoma was admitted as a state in 1907, residents could also vote for state officials.[13][14]
See also
- Dawes Act
- Dawes Commission
- Dawes Rolls
- Atoka Agreement
- Aboriginal title in the United States
- Eminent domain in the United States
- Diminishment
References
- ^ Wright, Muriel H. A Guide to the Indian Tribes of Oklahoma. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. 1968
- ^ Tatro, M. Kaye. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. "Curtis Act."[1] Archived 2010-07-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Prucha, Francis Paul. Indian Policy in the United States, Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, 1981.
- ^ Yoho, Carol. "Curtis Cemetery: Topeka, Kansas." Washburn University: Department of Art. 2003-2010 (26 Jan 2011)
- ^ "U.S. Senate: Senate Leaders". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
- ^ Colvin manuscript, Kansas State Historical Society
- ^ Wilson, Linda D. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. "Statehood Movement." Retrieved May 6, 2013.[2] Archived 2012-11-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Adams, David Wallace. Education for Extinction : American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928 Lawrence, Kan: University Press of Kansas, 1995.
- ^ "Curtis Act Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc". definitions.uslegal.com. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
- ^ "The Curtis Act of 1898". Time. Accessed December 4, 2016.
- ^ "About the 1896 Applications for Enrollment", Oklahoma Historical Society]
- ^ " America 1900: The General Allotment Act.", The American Experience, National Public Radio.
- ^ a b Muskogee Phoenix. "Curtis Act brought changes to towns in Indian Territory." October 27, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2013."Curtis Act brought changes to towns in Indian Territory", Muskogee Phoenix
- ^ "Fifty-fifth Congress Session II. Chpt. 503, 504,517. 1898" (PDF). Library of Congress. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
External links
- Curtis Act Information & Video, Chickasaw.TV
- Charles Curtis; Native-American Indian Vice-President; a biography Archived 2021-08-13 at the Wayback Machine
- "Curtis Act (1898)", Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
- Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
- "Dawes Act", Our Documents.gov website
- "The Curtis Act of 1898". Time. Accessed December 4, 2016.
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- Johnson v. McIntosh (1823)
- Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)
- Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
- Fellows v. Blacksmith (1857)
- New York ex rel. Cutler v. Dibble (1858)
- Standing Bear v. Crook (D. Neb. 1879)
- Ex parte Crow Dog (1883)
- Elk v. Wilkins (1884)
- Seneca Nation of Indians v. Christy (1896)
- Talton v. Mayes (1896)
- Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock (1903)
- United States v. Santa Fe Pacific Railroad Co. (1941)
- Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States (1955)
- Williams v. Lee (1959)
- Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation (1960)
- Menominee Tribe v. United States (1968)
- McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Commission (1973)
- Oneida Indian Nation of New York v. County of Oneida (1974)
- Bryan v. Itasca County (1976)
- United States v. Antelope (1977)
- Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez (1978)
- Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe (1982)
- Solem v. Bartlett (1984)
- County of Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York State (1985)
- South Carolina v. Catawba Indian Tribe, Inc. (1986)
- Hodel v. Irving (1987)
- Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield (1989)
- Duro v. Reina (1990)
- South Dakota v. Bourland (1993)
- Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho (1997)
- Idaho v. United States (2001)
- United States v. Lara (2004)
- City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York (2005)
- Cobell v. Salazar (D.C. Cir. 2009)
- Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl (2013)
- Sharp v. Murphy and McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020)
- Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta (2022)
- Blood quantum laws (1705 onwards)
- Nonintercourse Act (1790,1793,1796,1799,1802,1834)
- Civilization Act (1819)
- Indian Removal Act (1830)
- Dawes Act (1887)
- Curtis Act (1898)
- Burke Act (1906)
- Indian Citizenship Act (1924)
- Indian Reorganization Act (1934)
- Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act (1936)
- Nationality Act (1940)
- Public Law 280 (1953)
- Indian Relocation Act (1956)
- Indian Civil Rights Act (1968)
- Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (1971)
- Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (1975)
- American Indian Religious Freedom Act (1978)
- Indian Child Welfare Act (1978)
- Diminishment (1984)
- Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (1988)
- Native American Languages Act (1990)
- Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990)
- Indian Arts and Crafts Act (1990)
- Cherokee Nation Truth in Advertising for Native Art (2008)
State recognition
- Aboriginal title
- Bureau of Indian Affairs
- Cherokee Commission
- Dawes Rolls
- Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Eagle feather law
- Hunting license
- In the Courts of the Conqueror
- Indian reservations
- Long Walk of the Navajo
- National Indian Gaming Commission
- Native American civil rights
- Native American gaming
- Native American Rights Fund
- Recognition of sacred sites
- Seminole Wars
- Survivance
- Trail of Tears
- Treaty rights
- Tribal sovereignty
- United States Congressional Joint Special Committee on Conditions of Indian Tribes