Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 November 1902 — WILL SOON CEASE TO BE WARDS. [ARTICLE]

WILL SOON CEASE TO BE WARDS.

Nearly 200,000 Indiana to Become Independent Land Owners. Onb of the great problems which hare perplexed Congress for more than 100 years will soon be settled. Many of the Indians will soon cease to bo wards of the government and will become imlependent land owners and citizens, dependent upon their own exertions for support. There are 240.000 red mon in the United States to-day. Nearly 200,000 will be self-supporting under the new order of tilings. They are all members of <he Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes, the officials of which have recently ratified a treaty negotiated and adopted by Congress. The government will mnke the distribution of land and each Indian will hold a title to a plot of good grazing nnd agricultural ground. When the members of the tribes above referred to have been taken care of, other Indians capable of self-maintenance will be given lauds. Some six or seven years ag<r the members of tlie five civilized tribes decided that they would abolish their tribal form of government and would also divide their tribal possessions, consisting principally of hind, among those embraced in the five nations. These include the Cherokees, Creeks, Setninoles, Choctnws and Chickasaws, (he five imst intelligent end advanced tribea in the country. All their hind is located in the Indian Territory, and a special commission wua created by Congr<*sH to make the allotments. Tlilk was done on a basis different from that established witli other trilies. An enrollment was mildr of the members in the five nations including something like 84,509 nirii, ami the division was made on the ground of value rather than area. I’or n long time there wna n strong prejudice <>n the part of the Indians ngalnst surrendering the tribal ownership to the possessions, nnd, in fact, this (till tontini|es in runny quarters. But outside of the lands owned by the five civilized tribeg the government has divided into severalty more than 0,500,000 acres. Six-ty-five thousand claims have been adjusted, giving to each individual an average of 100 acres. Robbers stole SIOO,OOO from the underground strong rooms of the Pelurinho banking firm, Lisbon, Portugal.