Dawes Roll

Martha J. Williams Dawes Application

On July 19, 1900, Martha J. Williams, a 58-year-old resident of the Goingsnake District, applied for enrollment as a Cherokee citizen for herself and her two children, Ellen and Fred. During her examination by Commissioner Breckinridge, she confirmed her Cherokee heritage and longstanding residence in the district. Martha’s name and her children’s names appeared on previous enrollment rolls from 1880 and 1896, validating their claims. The commissioner approved their enrollment as Cherokees by blood.

Decision Rendered Wiley Adams

On May 11, 1903, the Office of Indian Affairs considered Wiley Adams’ application for citizenship in the Choctaw Nation, which had previously been denied by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes. Adams, a white man married to a Creek woman, had been recognized as a Choctaw citizen since 1884. The Commission determined it lacked authority to remove his name from the tribal rolls, confirming his citizenship status under existing laws. Consequently, Wiley Adams’ application for citizenship was granted.

Decision Rendered William C. Thompson

On April 7, 1905, the Office of the Secretary confirmed the enrollment of William C. Thompson and his family as citizens of the Choctaw Nation. Their applications stemmed from a 1904 decision that denied claims of identity as Mississippi Choctaws. However, a review found Thompson qualified by bloodline, derived from Margaret McCoy. Legal opinions supported his rights, indicating previous misclassification by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes. Thompson’s wife, Sarah, and nephew, William R., also gained enrollment, establishing their rightful connections to the Choctaw Nation.

Decision Rendered William Durant

On July 21, 1905, Assistant Attorney-General Frank L. Campbell responded to a request regarding the enrollment of William Durant as a freedman citizen of the Creek Nation. Despite his father’s pending enrollment application, Campbell concluded that Durant was not entitled to enrollment under the act of March 3, 1905, which limited eligibility to children whose parents’ enrollment had been approved by the Secretary of the Interior before that date. He advised delaying final action on similar cases pending Congressional review.

Decision Rendered Stonewall J. Rogers

On March 25, 1905, Assistant Attorney-General Frank L. Campbell addressed the application of Stonewall J. Rogers for his children’s enrollment as Cherokee citizens. Rogers, initially enrolled in 1887, faced denials based on his late return to the Cherokee Nation and previous appeals. The opinion asserted that his children could claim citizenship if born before a stipulated expatriation act, while the younger children lacked eligibility due to their father’s loss of citizenship. The denial of enrollment was deemed non-barrier to their case’s merits.

Decision Rendered Thomas J. Lasley

On June 19, 1905, the Assistant Attorney-General reviewed the case of Thomas J. Lasley, who claimed Cherokee citizenship through alleged parentage. The Cherokee Nation contested the claim, presenting evidence of fraud related to Lasley’s parents’ marriage and identity. Despite the United States court’s previous judgment in favor of Lasley, the Commission failed to reassess the evidence of fraud. The Attorney-General concluded that the Commission had jurisdiction to deny enrollment based on fraudulent claims, emphasizing the necessity of integrity in tribal rolls.

Decision Rendered in Richard B. Coleman, et al

The Office of the Secretary affirmed the decision of August 8, 1904, regarding the enrollment of Richard B. Coleman and his family as citizens of the Choctaw Nation. The majority of the Commission found them entitled to enrollment by blood, dismissing allegations of fraud related to their admission. Legal opinions confirmed the validity of the 1889 act granting citizenship, stating that the original claims of descent were not substantiated by sufficient evidence of deceit. The decision allows the applicants to be enrolled and is upheld despite motions for reconsideration.

Decision Rendered Rosella Lewis

On October 4, 1905, the Assistant Attorney-General reviewed the eligibility of Rosella Lewis for enrollment in the Creek Nation. Born on March 8, 1901, to parents already listed on partial rolls, her case was assessed under the acts of June 30, 1902, and March 3, 1905. Ultimately, it was determined that Rosella did not qualify for enrollment due to failing to apply before the September 1, 1904 deadline established by the Secretary of the Interior.

Mary Elizabeth Martin Decision Rendered

On March 30, 1905, the Secretary of the Interior requested that the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes reconsider Mary Elizabeth Martin’s application for Chickasaw citizenship. Originally denied in 1896 and 1903, the case was reopened due to questions about her parents’ marriages to former Indian spouses under tribal law. Legal opinions indicated that if these marriages were valid, Martin was entitled to citizenship. The case was returned for additional investigation, emphasizing the importance of her parents’ legal status in determining her eligibility for enrollment.

Decision Rendered Mary and Roy Strickland

On December 28, 1905, Assistant Attorney-General Frank L. Campbell addressed issues surrounding Cherokee citizenship for Mary and Roy Strickland. The report from the Commissioner noted difficulties reconciling decisions regarding applicants who were minors before September 1, 1902, and their rights to enrollment based on tribal or Dawes Commission admissions. Campbell concluded there was no distinction between the two groups in application and emphasized that both adults and minors who failed to establish permanent residence would not be eligible for citizenship, following the provisions of relevant acts.

Decision Rendered Lemuel Welcome

On November 12, 1904, the Assistant Attorney-General, Frank L. Campbell, reviewed Lemuel Welcome’s application for enrollment as a Cherokee freedman through marriage to Amanda Williams, a recognized Cherokee citizen. The assessment concluded that while the treaty of July 19, 1866 granted certain citizenship rights to freedmen, it did not extend the ability to confer citizenship upon spouses of non-Cherokees. Based on Cherokee law, the application was rejected, affirming the distinct classification of Cherokee freedmen from actual Cherokee citizens.

Decision Rendered Mary Ann Riley

The Assistant Attorney-General’s opinion on the case of Mary Ann Riley and others reveals that the applicants, seeking enrollment as Cherokee freedmen, do not qualify based on their historical compliance with stipulated residency and enrollment criteria. The Commission concluded that neither Mary Ann Riley nor her descendants met the necessary requirements set by previous legal definitions and decrees regarding Cherokee citizenship. The applications are officially denied, reaffirming the distinction between administrative and judicial processes in tribal enrollment.

Decision Rendered James S. Long et al

On February 23, 1906, the Assistant Secretary reversed a previous commission decision denying citizenship applications from James S. Long, Joseph Long, and Forbis Long as Choctaw Nation members. Although Lula F. Long’s application was dismissed due to her death before a pertinent date, the other three were deemed eligible owing to their status as descendants and residents of the nation. This decision followed interpretations of tribal law and historical precedents of recognizing absentee Choctaws who settled in the nation.

Decision Rendered Joe and Dillard Perry

On February 25, 1905, the Office of the Secretary announced that Joe and Dillard Perry were to be transferred from the roll of Chickasaw freedmen to citizens by blood of the Chickasaw Nation, based on a prior opinion by the Assistant Attorney-General. However, by November 11, 1905, a reconsideration reversed this ruling, citing a legal limitation that barred their application for citizenship as it was submitted after a specified deadline. Their allotments as freedmen, if canceled, were to be reinstated.

Decision Rendered Harry Still

On October 5, 1905, the Assistant Attorney-General addressed the Secretary of the Interior regarding Harry Still’s application for Cherokee freedman enrollment. The inquiry centered on a 1871 Cherokee Supreme Court ruling that acknowledged Still’s citizenship rights under a treaty. The Assistant Attorney-General emphasized that Congress holds ultimate authority over tribal membership matters, yet the court’s decision should be respected unless clearly proven flawed. The Commission was advised to assess the original court’s findings with great deference unless evidence of fraud or error was unmistakable.

Decision Rendered in James M. Buckholts, et al

On February 24, 1904, the Acting Secretary affirmed the decision of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes to enroll James M. Buckholts and his children, Rebecca and Alice Dwight, as citizens by blood of the Choctaw Nation. This decision was based on their lineage from William Buckholts, a recognized Choctaw citizen since 1872, despite protests from the Choctaw Nation regarding the initial application process. Evidence supported that the recognition of William’s citizenship implicitly included his descendants, leading to the approval of their enrollment.

Decision Rendered Frank London et al

On April 15, 1905, the Office of the Secretary addressed the Creek enrollment case of Frank London et al. The Commission had previously ruled against the applicants’ enrollment based on the lack of evidence proving their rights, despite their names appearing on the 1890 authenticated roll. However, the Department later determined that the applicants were entitled to enrollment as citizens of the Creek Nation, rescinding its earlier decision and instructing the Commission to register them accordingly.

Decision Rendered Clay McCoy

On August 3, 1904, the Secretary of the Interior addressed the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes regarding the application of Clay McCoy for enrollment as a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation through intermarriage. McCoy, married to an enrolled Chickasaw citizen since 1895, had previously been granted citizenship in 1896, affirmed by a U.S. court in 1898. However, a subsequent 1902 court ruling annulled that decision, leaving the Commission without jurisdiction to act on McCoy’s application, necessitating guidance for similar cases.

Decision Rendered Ella Jones

On August 9, 1904, the Acting Secretary of the Office of Indian Affairs directed the enrollment of Ella Jones as a citizen by intermarriage of the Choctaw Nation, despite an earlier rejection. The decision was based on a recommendation from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, which asserted that the applicant did not need to adhere to the Choctaw Nation’s marriage laws to gain citizenship. Notably, no arguments were filed by either the applicant or the Choctaw Nation regarding her case.

Decision Rendered Emma McMenamin

On February 3, 1905, the application of Emma McMenamin for citizenship in the Choctaw Nation was officially rejected. The decision, influenced by the opinion of the Assistant Attorney-General, highlighted that her rights could not be established through intermarriage, as both she and her husband were considered non-Indigenous. Existing laws and treaties indicated that citizenship required a connection by blood to the Choctaw Nation, which McMenamin lacked. This ruling reaffirmed the boundaries set by tribal citizenship laws.