Like the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole, the Choctaw had interacted and intermarried with whites for centuries. These “Civilized Tribes” were farmers, plantation owners, and educated professionals. Snapping Turtle, also known as Peter Pitchlynn, was a graduate of the University of Nashville and George Catlin’s source for “much curious and valuable information, of the history and traditions of his tribe.” Catlin painted his portrait at Fort Gibson, Arkansas Territory, in 1834. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 49, 1841; reprint 1973)
A BILL For the relief of certain members of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma. 1
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in congress assembled. That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to-
First. Add to the rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes the names of minors living March fourth, nineteen hundred and six (1906) either of whose parents is on said rolls or would have been entitled to have been enrolled, if living, at the date fixed for determining the right to enrollment, and also the names of Indians incarcerated, insane, or otherwise incompetent, Including those who would be in the restricted class if enrolled for whom no application was made or proper proof submitted within the time limit provided by law, but who were otherwise entitled to enrollment under the laws governing such matters.
Second. To consider and determine all claims for enrollment in any of said tribes which were favorably decided by the commissioner to the Five Civilized Tribes, but which did not reach the Secretary of the Interior in time for consideration and decision on or before March fourth, nineteen hundred and seven, (1907) adding to the rolls of said tribes the names of those he may find entitled to enrollment.
Third. To prepare n special roll which shall contain the names of all persons identified as Mississippi Choctaws prior to March fourth, nineteen hundred and seven, (1907) as well as those entitled to such identification but who did not remove to and make bona fide settlement In the Choctaw or Chickasaw Nation within the time prescribed by law.
Fourth. To review and determine, In conformity with the laws governing such matters at the time applications were made and upon the records as made up, all citizenship cases in said tribes decided by the Secretary of the Interior January first, nineteen hundred and seven, (1907) or subsequently thereto, adversely to the claimants and to add to the rolls of said tribe the name of any person he may find entitled to enrollment, excluding, however, those cases involving applications for transfer of names from the freedmen’s roll to the rolls of citizens by blood.
Fifth. To review and determine the right to enrollment upon the existing records and under the law under which application was made of any person found by the commission to the Five Civilized Tribes or the United States courts in Indian Territory to be entitled to enrollment, but who were prevented from being enrolled by any finding, judgment, or decree of the Choctaw-Chickasaw citizenship court, and to enroll such as-may be found to he so entitled upon the proper tribal roll.
Sixth. To determine the right to enrollment of persons whose applications were denied under the act of May thirty-first, nineteen hundred, (1900) because of lack of tribal enrollment who are shown by existing records to be otherwise prima facie entitled to enrollment because of Indian blood and residence, said determination to be irrespective of the act of May thirty-first, nineteen hundred (1900).
Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma
- Report of Assistant Secretary Adams, dated April 22, 1912 Exhibits accompanying report,
- Report of Commissioner J. George Wright, dated November 15, 1907, containing list of claimants who were found to be entitled to be enrolled, but who were not enrolled as result of mistake of Government officers
- Cherokee by Blood and Newborn, July 1, 1902
- Creeks by Blood, Act of March 1, 1901
- Mississippi Choctaw, July 1, 1902
- Choctaw and Chickasaw Citizens
- Choctaw Freedmen Newborn
- Report of Assistant Secretary Adams, dated July 17, 1912. on H. R. 22334, being a bill for the final disposition of the affairs of the Five Tribes
- Report of Assistant Secretary Adams, dated July 2, 1912, on H. R. 19123, being a bill for the relief of Choctaw-Chickasaw Tribe claimants
- Letter of Secretary E. A. Hitchcock, dated March 17, 1903, relative to rights of children of an enrolled full-blood parent
- Report of W. C. Pollock, dated January 15, 1912
- Exhibit 1. containing list of Seminoles whose names were omitted from final rolls because no application was made or by reason of mistake or oversight
- Exhibit 2. containing list of Creeks and Creek Freedmen, whose names were omitted from final rolls because no application was made or by reason of mistake or oversight
- Exhibit 3. containing list of Cherokees and Cherokee Freedmen whose names were omitted from final rolls because no application was made or by reason of mistake or oversight
- Exhibit 4. list of Chickasaws whose names were omitted from final rolls because no application was made or by reason of mistake or oversight
- Exhibit 5. list Choctaws whose names were omitted from final rolls because no application was made or by reason of mistake or oversight
- Exhibit 6, list Mississippi Choctaw by Blood and Intermarried
- Exhibit 7. list of Choctaw Freedmen whose names were omitted from final rolls because no application was made or by. reason of mistake or oversight
- Letter of Dixon H. Bynum, dated Jan. 27, 1911, relative to Indians in penal or eleemosynary institutions not enrolled
- Report of Secretary Ballinger, dated Feb. 12, 1910, relative to enrollment matters
- Report of J. George Wright, commissioner, on bill proposing to extend provisions of act of Feb. 6, 1901, to Choctaws and Chickasaws
- Report of Joseph W. Howell, dated Mar. 3, 1909
- Conditions in Indian Territory Prior to the Making of the Rolls.
- Acts of Congress and Agreements with the Various Tribes under which the Work of Enrollment was Prosecuted
- Why the Acts of Congress Failed to Accomplish the Purpose for Which they were Intended
- Conditions which Arose During the Course of the Enrollment Work, Obtained At Its Close
- How the work was apportioned and the law administered by the Department of the Interior
- Condition of the tribal rolls used by the Commission and Commissioner to the Five Civilized Tribes in preparing the final roll
- List of Choctaw, Chickasaw, Choctaw-Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Creek Rolls
- Unproved decrees and judgments of the United States court upon which the Commission to the Fire Civilized Tribes based its decisions and reports in Cherokee and in Creek Citizenship cases
- Census cord records in the office of the Commissioner to the Fire Civilized Tribes
- Statistics Gathered from the Records of the Commission of the Five Civilized Tribes
- Choctaw and Chickasaw cases
- Choctaw freedmen
- Chickasaw freedmen
- Mississippi Choctaws
- Percentage of rejected Choctaw cases in which the heads of families claimed one-quarter or more Choctaw Blood
- Percentage of Mississippi Choctaw cases involving persons of mixed blood
- Practice of the Dawes Commission respecting applications for enrollment
- Field investigation in the 15 district Indian agencies in eastern Oklahoma
- Classes of cases meriting further consideration on equitable grounds
- Slavery in the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations
- Identified Mississippi Choctaws who were not finally enrolled because they failed to furnish proof of removal to and settlement in the Choctaw-Chickasaw country
- Action Which Should Be Taken To Complete Unfinished Work. To Correct Obvious Errors, And To Adjust Inequalities.
- Memorandum of Causes Resulting in Unfinished Conditions, Exhibit A
- Affidavit of W. J. Thompson, Exhibit A½
- Field Notes on Recently Discovered Roll of 1874, Exhibit B
- Schedule of Books, Papers and Records of the Choctaw Nation, Exhibit C
- Data Relative to the Rolls of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, Exhibit D
- Rolls Relating to Citizens of the Cherokee Nation, Exhibit E
- List of Persons Who claim to be Entitled to Enrollment, Exhibit F
- Surname Abbott to Austin
- Surname Bacon to Buzzard
- Surname Camp to Cummins
- Surname Da-nu-wa to Dunford
- Surname Edwards to Frenchman
- Surname Gamblin to Greenleaf
- Surname Hall to Hyden
- Surname Isaac to Johnson
- Surname Kelly to Love
- Surname Maharda to Mullie
- Surname Nickey to Owens
- Surname Paddy to Polk
- Surname Raiford to Russell
- Surname Sanders to Swimmer
- Surname Tables to Tustunuggee
- Surname Unknown to Vaughn
- Surname Wagoner to Young
- Exhibit G, Under separate binding, not in this book
- Letters of Interest, Exhibit H1, H2, I
- Letter of Tams Bixby, Exhibit J
- List of 729 claimants included in Howell report, not enrolled, whose cases are meritorious (same as List of Persons who claim to be entitled to Enrollment, listed above,)
- List of claims submitted by attorneys
- Facts Covering Meritorious Cases
- Class 1
- Anderson F. Cowling, Choctaw by Blood
- Frank P. Morgan, Intermarried Choctaw Citizen
- Frances E. Husbands, Choctaw
- Emily J. Zumwalt, et al, Choctaw
- Cases McPheteridge, Sledge, Gordon, Tapp, Choctaws
- Daniel Sledge, Choctaw
- Abraham H. Nail, Choctaw
- William T. Stephens, Choctaw
- Class 2
- Virginia Savage, Chickasaw
- F. K. West, Choctaw
- William E. Moore, Choctaw
- Napoleon B. Brashears, Choctaw
- Joseph C. Moore, Chickasaw
- Fannie Moore, Chickasaw
- Lou Bumgarner, Choctaw
- A. A. Spring, Choctaw
- Joseph W. Gamlin, Choctaw
- Nancy J. Cooper, Choctaw, Meritorious Case (135 Names)
- Franklin M. Harton, Choctaw (58 Names)
- Terry Thompson Stubblefield, M.C.R.
- Robert Goins, Choctaw
- David H. Folsom, Choctaw and Chickasaw
- James A. Cummins, Choctaw
- John R. Kirk, Choctaw
- Related Cases (53 Names)
- Crawford Marlow, Choctaw
- Andrew Beal, Choctaw
- Mariah Caldwell, Choctaw
- Jane Marrs, Choctaw
- Epsie Underwood, Choctaw
- George Lee White, Choctaw
- Z. T. Bottoms, Choctaw, Connected to Hill, and Humphrey Case
- Lewis Hill, Choctaw, Connected to Bottoms and Humphrey Case
- G. J. Humphrey, Choctaw, Connected to Bottoms and Hill Case
- Oscar Casey, Chickasaw
- Eliza Jane Pearce Et Al. (related family, included in Oscar Casey’s Case)
- John T. Williams, Choctaw
- Agnes O. Mallory, Choctaw
- Lizzie Henry, Choctaw
- Sallie Berryman, Choctaw
- Victoria Boyd, Choctaw-Chickasaw
- Frank H. Love, Choctaw
- Sarah A. Kelton, Choctaw
- Willie G. Patterson and Maggie Lee Glance, Mississippi Choctaw
- John Pickets, Choctaw
- J. W. Sparks, Choctaw-Chickasaw
- Consolidated Cases, Askew, Hill and Bennett, Choctaw (138 Names)
- Newt Askew
- William Quint Askew
- L. F. Rhoades
- J. H. Hill
- J. M. Hill
- Ella Bennett
- Vaughn – Duncan Consolidated Cases, M. C. R
- John and Anderson McCarty, Choctaw
- Henry Brown, Chickasaw
- John P. Holder, Chickasaw
- Amanda Coyle, Choctaw
- Aleck Brown, Chickasaw
- Edward J. Horne, Choctaw
- Kate Gamel, Choctaw
- Mary Huffman, Choctaw
- W. A. Clark, Choctaw
- M. W. McCarley, Chickasaws
- Evans Hill, Chickasaw (53 Names)
- Silas Sharp, Mississippi Choctaw (2 pages)
- R. Hager and S. Loman, Choctaw
- Sallie A. Vaughn and Cora M. Stotts, Mississippi Choctaw
- James M. Meeks, Choctaw
- James C. Johnson and James J. Bennight, Choctaw
- Sarah Palmer, Chickasaw
- T. D. Arnold, Chickasaw, (68 Names)
- W. R. Sessums, Choctaw (42 Names)
- Clemon Clay and Mary Stinnett, Chickasaw (13 Names)
- Elizabeth Hignight, Choctaw
- D. B. Vernon, Choctaw (20 Names)
- Mary A. Sanders, Choctaw (32 Names)
- John Mitchell, Choctaw
- Class 6 (Minor children of enrolled Indians whose names were omitted from the final roll,)
- Josephine Laflore Long, Choctaw Minor (2)
- Nicey and Sidney Arpealer, Chickasaw Minors
- Annie Ensharky, Chickasaw Minor
- Buster Orphan, Chickasaw Minor
- Peggy Coker, Choctaw (not a Minor)
- Sallie Colbert, Chickasaw Minor
- Class 7 (Half Indian blood or more and incompetent to look after their own interests.)
- Rosana Burton and Raymond Purdy
- Frazina Babstist, Acus Babstist, and Reener Gardner
- Joe Babstist. Louisa Babstist, Mattina Babstist, Sam Babstist, and Johnie Babstist
- Stella Brasetta
- Reno Gardner
- Annie Jesse
- Earnest Jesse, Winston Jesse, Willie Jesse. George Jesse. Phillistine Jesse, and Elissa Jesse
- Henry Fields. Albert Fields, and Hampton Fields
- Ann Booker, Claude Sanders, Rufus Sanders, Hollis Sanders, and Ray Sanders
- Nazile Barnes and Richard Barnes
- James Farve, Henry Farve, and Earnest Fayard
- Charlie Farve and Andrew Farve
- Annie Huff, Bennie Reed, Effie Reed. Pearley Reed, and Nareta Robins
- Albert Reece. Mack Reece, Annier Reece, Harry Reece, and Charlie Reece
- Jim Gowins, Nannie Gowins, Harry Gowins, Ellen Gowins, Hattie Gowins, Husie Gowins, Birder Gowins, James Gowins, Minnie Gowins, Francis Gowins, Roosevelt Gowins, and Maggie Gowins
- Alexander Dick, Zeno Dick, Leeper Dick
- Sallie Jackson
- Class 8 (Claimants enrolled as freedmen, should be placed upon the final roll by blood)
- Susan Brashears, Choctaw by Blood
- Annie McGee, Chickasaw
- Services of Ballinger and Lee
- S. 7625, Sixty-second Congress, third session.[↩]