Indian Territory

Indian Territory, also known as Indian Country, Indian territory or the Indian territories, was the land set aside within the United States for the use of American Indians. The general borders were set by the Indian Intercourse Act of 1834. It was more properly "Indian territory" (lower-case T) than "Indian Territory" (capital T) because the name referred to the unorganized lands set aside for Native Americans, as opposed to an organized territory meant for settlement by Easterners.

Related Topics:
United States - American Indians - Indian Intercourse Act - Unorganized - Organized territory

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The Indian Territory had its roots in the British Royal Proclamation of 1763, which limited white settlement to crown lands east of the Appalachian Mountains. Indian Territory was reduced under British administration and again after the American Revolution, until it included only lands west of the Mississippi River.

Related Topics:
British - Royal Proclamation of 1763 - Appalachian Mountains - American Revolution - Mississippi River

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At the time of the American Revolution, many Native American tribes had long-standing relationships with the British, but a less developed relationship with the American rebels. After the defeat of the British, the Americans twice invaded the Ohio Country and were twice defeated. They finally defeated a Native American confederacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, imposing the unfavorable Treaty of Greenville, which ceded most of what is now Ohio, part of what is now Indiana, and the present day sites of Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan to the United States.

Related Topics:
Ohio Country - Battle of Fallen Timbers - 1794 - Treaty of Greenville - Indiana - Chicago, Illinois - Detroit, Michigan

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The Indian Territory served as the destination for the policy of Indian Removal, a policy pursued intermittently by American presidents early in the nineteenth century, but aggressively pursued by President Andrew Jackson after the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Five Civilized Tribes in the south were the most prominent tribes displaced by the policy, a relocation that came to be known as the Trail of Tears. The trail ended in what is now Arkansas and Oklahoma, where there were already many American Indians living in the territory, as well as whites and escaped slaves. Other tribes, such as the Delaware, Cheyenne, and Apache were also forced to relocate to the Indian territory.

Related Topics:
Indian Removal - American presidents - Andrew Jackson - Indian Removal Act - 1830 - Five Civilized Tribes - Trail of Tears - Arkansas - Delaware - Cheyenne - Apache

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The Five Civilized Tribes set up towns such as Tulsa, Ardmore, Tahlequah, Muskogee and others, which often became some of the larger towns in the state. They also brought their African slaves to Oklahoma, which added to the African-American population in the state.

Related Topics:
Tulsa - Ardmore - Tahlequah - Muskogee - Slave - African-American

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In time the Indian Territory was gradually reduced to what is now Oklahoma and, with the organization of Oklahoma Territory, the eastern half of the state. The citizens of Indian Territory tried in 1905 to gain admission to the union as the State of Sequoyah but were rebuffed by Washington. With statehood in November 1907, Indian Territory was extinguished. Many American Indians continue to live in Oklahoma, especially in the eastern part.

Related Topics:
Oklahoma - Oklahoma Territory - State of Sequoyah - Washington

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