REJECTING AN APPLICATION FOR CITIZENSHIP IN THE CHEROKEE NATION, IN A TYPED LETTER, SIGNED BY THOMAS B. NEEDLES, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, COMMISSION TO THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES, 1901.

A 2 pp. typed letter, on letterhead stationery of the Dept. of the Interior, Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, dated Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, April 23rd, 1901. Accompanied by an envelope (soiled) addressed in type to Mrs. M.A. Shaw, Jewel, Alabama. The letter acknowledges Mrs. Shaw's letter regarding her citizenship in the Cherokee Nation, and states that her name was not found on the tribal rolls. "The Commission is without authority to hear and determine original applications for citizenship at the present time." The letter goes on to quote from two different acts of Congress, from 1898 and 1900, regarding applications for tribal citizenship. If she still wishes to apply she must appear in person at the general office of the Commission in Muskogee, I.T., after September 1901. Signed in ink by T.B. Needles, Commissioner. Item #67388

The Dawes Severalty Act, passed in 1887, was a federal government attempt at assimilating the Native American tribes into mainstream society and citizenship. The Act divided tribally held lands into individual holdings and required tribal members to apply for enrollment on tribal lists in order to receive their allotment of acreage. This allowed the federal government to sell off any unassigned "surplus" land to non-native U.S. citizens. Effectively this stripped a vast amount of land from tribal control. It also allowed the federal government to control access to the tribal rolls once made, and apparently Mrs. Shaw of Jewel, Alabama ended up on the wrong side of things.

Price: $50.00