Learning Goals  The students will have an understanding the Cherokee

Learning Goals The students will have an understanding the Cherokee Outlet and Kickapoo openings.

The Jerome Commission The opening of the Unassigned Lands was just the beginning for Oklahoma Territory. The non-Indian public hoped that all the Indian reservations would be opened for settlement and the government did its best to oblige. In July 1889 President Benjamin Harrison appointed the Jerome Commission also known as the Cherokee Commission to negotiate with tribes in the western territory. Each man, woman, and child on the tribal rolls was to receive 160 acres of land. The remainder of the tribal lands would be purchased by the US Government and opened to settlement by non-Indians

The Second Opening On September 22, 1891 in a run similar to the one conducted on the Unassigned lands, 900,000 acres of Sac and Fox, Pottawatomie, Iowa, and Shawnee lands were opened. Twenty thousand people competed for 5600 claims. The area became Lincoln and Pottawatomie Counties.

Opening the Cherokee Outlet Since the first opening of Indian lands to nonIndian settlement the lands many people had been waiting for were in the Cherokee Outlet. The Cherokee Strip Livestock Association had worked long and hard to prevent the opening and to retain its lease of those lands. However, in 1890 the President declared their lease invalid and ordered them to remove their livestock from the area. The Jerome Commission made an agreement with the Cherokee Nation after long months of deliberation and the Outlet was opened for settlement on September 16,1893

Prettyman’s Photograph The Cherokee Outlet opening also included lands which had belonged to the Tonkawa's and Pawnees. It was perhaps the most famous of all openings thanks the William S. Prettyman a frontier photographer from Kansas. With his experience at the first opening Prettyman devised a scheme whereby he might produce the best possible picture of the beginning of the land run.

The Race The Cherokee Outlet opening was operated somewhat differently from the other openings. The Racers were required to register before the race, and anyone who later filed a claim was required to show his registration paper. No claim could be filed without it. It was hoped that this would impair the Sooners from claiming so much land. In fact there were probably more Sooners participating in this run than in any previous. They simply registered before they entered the area. Pawnee, Kay, Grant, Garfield, Noble, Woodward, and Woods counties were created by the opening of the Cherokee Outlet.

Opening the Kickapoo Reservation The last area to be opened by run was the Kickapoo Reservation. The Kickapoo land area was small. Opened in 1895 the land area was attached to existing counties.

Greer County Greer County had been in dispute with Texas for several years. The Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 had declared the Red River the boundary between the two areas, but at the western corner of the area the North Fork of the Red River separated a triangular section of land totaling 1,500,00 acres. Texas claimed that the North Fork was the dividing line and moved into the area. The Oklahoma Organic Act of 1890 ordered a lawsuit to determine the actual boundary. On May 4, 1896 an act of Congress declared Greer County to be part of Oklahoma Territory

Ethnic Groups People of other ethnic origins often settled in groups, according to race, religion, or occupation. Many Germans made their homes in El Reno, Enid, Muskogee, and Leedy. Ukrainian settlement was in Hartshorne Czechs settled in Bison and Prague One religious group whose members did cluster together were the Mennonites. There were Mennonite settlements in Gotebo, Bessie, Corn, Geary, Canton, Fairview, Meno, Enid, Medford, Perry, Hooker, and Turpin. African Americans made up the largest ethnic group in Oklahoma Territory and there were several all African American towns. A few were Langston, Lima, bailey, Ferguson, Tatums, and Lincoln City.

Oklahoma’s AfricanAmerican Communities

African Americans created around 30 towns and settlements in Oklahoma.

.

Some of the towns died, but 13 are still here.

Towns like: Boley, Brooksville, Clearview, Grayson, Langston, Lima, Redbird, Summit, Taft, Tatums, Tullahassee, and Vernon.

Entrepreneurs (business owners) in these communities started newspapers, banks, and grocery stores.

Edward P. McCabe, from Kansas, helped build the town of Langston. He encouraged more African Americans to settle there.

Today, although only 13 towns still survive, we remember the pioneering spirit of those communities.

Chapter 15 Quiz 1.) What commission was put together to negotiate with the Western Tribes about opening up Indian Reservations for settlement a.) Reservation Commission b.) Settlement Commission c.) Jerome Commisssion 2.) How much land was each man, women and child going to get if they opened up their land for settlement? a.) 160 acres b.) 80 acres c.) 40 Acres 3.) What counties were formed as a result of the 2nd Land Opening? a.) Payne and Logan Counties b.) Lincoln and Pottawatomie Counties c.) Oklahoma and Logan Counties 4.) Which lands were the most coveted for opening? a.) Cherokee Strip b.) No Man’s Land c.) The lands along the Red River 5.) Why were Racers required to register before the Cherokee Outlet opening and not after as in previous land openings? a.) They were trying to reduce the amount of people who entered the race b.) They were trying to reduce the amount of Sooners in the race c.) They were trying to increase the amount of people who entered the race. 6.) Name two of the seven counties that were opened during the Cherokee Outlet opening. 7.) What was the last area to be opened up by landrun? a.) The Kickapoo Reservation b.) The Cherokee Strip c.) No Man’s Land 8.) Although there were several different ethnic groups that got land in the openings, which was the largest ethnic group in Oklahoma territory at this time? a.) Germans b.) Irish c.) African Americans 9.) Who became the first territorial governor of Oklahoma? a.) George Washington Steele b.) Stand Watie c.) Charles Haskell 10.) What system was set up to give away the rest of the land after the government stopped using the land rushes system? a.) Purchasing the land from the government b.) Lottery system c.) No further land was given away after the land rush system was abolished

Chapter 15 Quiz 1.) What commission was put together to negotiate with the Western Tribes about opening up Indian Reservations for settlement 2.) How much land was each man, women and child going to get if they opened up their land for settlement? 6.) Name two of the seven counties that were opened during the Cherokee Outlet opening. 7.) What was the last area to be opened up by landrun? 8.) Although there were several different ethnic groups that got land in the openings, which was the largest ethnic group in Oklahoma territory at this time? 3.) What counties were formed as a result of the 2nd Land Opening? 4.) Which lands were the most coveted for opening? 9.) Who became the first territorial governor of Oklahoma? 5.) Why were Racers required to register before the Cherokee Outlet opening and not after as in previous land openings? 10.) What system was set up to give away the rest of the land after the government stopped using the land rushes system?