Oklahoma

Letter of Secretary E. A. Hitchcock, March 17, 1903

This letter from the Department of the Interior, dated March 17, 1903, addresses the eligibility of half-blood children of identified full-blood Mississippi Choctaws for enrollment. The Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes had previously opined that only full-blood individuals or those proving compliance with the 1830 treaty should be enrolled. However, the letter argues that descendants of identified full-blood Choctaws, regardless of mixed ancestry, should be entitled to the same rights. It concludes that excluding mixed-blood children of full-blood Choctaws would contradict the intent of the legislation. The letter is signed by E. A. Hitchcock.

The Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma

Há-tchoo-túc-knee, Snapping Turtle, a Half-breed, George Catlin, 1834

This manuscript has been extracted from Congressional records relating to relief of specific individuals of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma. If one of your ancestors was rejected or added to the rolls of any of the five civilized tribes in Oklahoma, you should peruse the information here. It contains a lot of case work involving specific Native Americans and those that attempted to prove themselves as part of the five civilized tribes in Oklahoma.