Choctaw & Chickasaw Descendants-Black History Day 8

Choctaw & Chickasaw Descendants Black History Day 8

Choctaw & Chickasaw Descendants Black History Day 8, #BlackHistory365 

Act of June 10, 1896 & Act of June 7, 1897

Hearings before the Committee on Indian Affairs House of Representatives (61-2) 

H.R. 192789, H.R. 19552 & H.R. 22830 pp 65 & 66

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Act of June 10, 1896

 

The first law conferring jurisdiction on the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes to determine the rights of persons to enrollment as citizens was the act approved June 10, 1896.That act directed the commission to receive applications for citizenship in the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations for a period of ninety days after the approval thereof, and then gave positive instruction to the commission how to determine the applications. It provided:

 

“That in determining all such applications, said commission shall respect all of the laws of the several nations or tribes, not inconsistent with the laws of the United States, and all treaties with either of said nations or tribes.”

 

The Assistant Attorney-General for the Department of the Interior, in a decision rendered March 24, 1905, in the case of Mary Elizabeth Martin, defined the powers of the omission and the rights of applicants under this law to be:

 

The commission had no authority to “deny citizenship to those entitled thereto under treaties and laws with, and of, the United States, or under Indian laws, usages, and customs not inconsistent therewith.”

 

These powers (referring to the powers of the commission under the above act) were to admit to citizenship persons whose right was denied or not recognized by the tribal authorities.

 

Act of June 7, 1897

 

Then followed the act of June 7, 1897, which defined “rolls of citizenship.” There having been numerous tribal rolls prepared by different tribal officials of the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations at different times, and for various purposes, the question arose as to what particular rolls were confirmed by the act of 1896. The act of 1897 defined them to be:

 

“The last authenticated rolls of each tribe which have been approved by the council of the nation and the descendants of those appearing on such rolls, and such additional names and their descendants as have been subsequently added.”

 

By operation of this law, as declared by the Assistant Attorney-General for the Department of the Interior, in the case of Mary Elizabeth Martin, descendants of persons on a confirmed roll were defined and regarded as on the roll where their parents were found, whether themselves actually on such rolls or not, and although born after the rolls were made.

 

No Rolls Confirmed

 

Inquiry disclosed the fact that the tribal rolls confirmed by the act of June, 1896 contained many names fraudulently placed thereon by the tribal authorities. It was discovered that no tribal rolls had been approved by any tribal council as required by the act of June 7, 1897 and therefore no tribal rolls were confirmed by that act. 

 

Only a small percentage of the persons legally entitled to enrollment in the nations had been enrolled by the commission under the act of 1896. The Choctaw and Chickasaw to one roll and allot lands in severalty; the tribal governments refused the commission access to the tribal records; the commission had no power to compel them to deliver up tribal record essential to a proper adjudication of applications for citizenship. In short, the commission was rendered powerless to prepare correct and complete tribal rolls.

1896 Application for Citizenship-Index (M-1650)

1896 Application for Citizenship in Chickasaw Nation #73 Bettie Ligon et al,,