Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 94, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 August 1908 — Nine Million Acres for Sale in Oklahoma [ARTICLE]

Nine Million Acres for Sale in Oklahoma

Washington, July 29.—According to the terms of an act of the last session of Congress removing restrictions on the alienation of land owned by memV bers of the five civilized tribes of Itt'diafis id Oklahoma which went into efreet Monday last, about nine million acres of land which has been tied up has become available to purchasers. Acting Secretary Pierce, of the Interior Department, today gave out the t following statement showing the effect of the law: “The act removes all restrictions from the alienation of,the land 0f,63,011 members of the civilized tribes and also removes the restrictions, from, all of toe lands except the homesteads of 6,108 more Indians of ( those ribea The first item of 65,017 includes all Indians having, less than one-half Indian blood and, also the freedmen and intermarried whites. "The. second item of 6,103 are the members of the triheSjwhich have from one-half to three-fourths Indian blood. The entire population of the five civilized tribes,, according to the approved enrollment, is 101,227, which leaves only 30,107 unaffected. , “The restrictions on these 30,107 Indians may be removed in individual cases by the Secrtary of the Inferior on proper showing that the Indf*# is qualified to take care of his own affairs. There are only about 1,500 Indians in Oklahemd outside of' tod five civilized tribes,” The law will go-far toward putting the lands, owned by the Indian portion of the population of Oklahoma om a footing with that of other residents of the Territory.