﻿636 
  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  [eth. 
  ann. 
  27 
  

  

  homes 
  might 
  be 
  in 
  danger, 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  men 
  took 
  the 
  certificates 
  for 
  

   their 
  individual 
  lands 
  and 
  houses 
  to 
  the 
  larger 
  white 
  settlements 
  

   and 
  consulted 
  lawyers 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  find 
  out 
  the 
  legal 
  value 
  of 
  these 
  

   papers. 
  When 
  they 
  were 
  told 
  that 
  the 
  certificates 
  carried 
  no 
  patent 
  

   lights 
  to 
  the 
  land 
  the 
  fear 
  and 
  sorrow 
  this 
  knowledge 
  brought 
  passed 
  

   description. 
  It 
  seemed 
  that 
  the 
  very 
  ground 
  was 
  cut 
  from 
  under 
  

   their 
  feet, 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  forsaken 
  by 
  all 
  in 
  whom 
  they 
  had 
  ever 
  put 
  

   trust, 
  and 
  that 
  even 
  the 
  Government 
  which 
  they 
  had 
  always 
  respected 
  

   had 
  betrayed 
  them. 
  

  

  APPEAL 
  FOR 
  LAND 
  PATENTS 
  

  

  Such 
  were 
  the 
  practical 
  conditions 
  when 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  writers 
  entered 
  

   the 
  tribe 
  for 
  ethnological 
  study. 
  She 
  knew 
  little 
  of 
  political 
  affairs 
  

   but 
  firmly 
  believed 
  that 
  were 
  the 
  truth 
  known 
  to 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  

   Government 
  its 
  officials 
  would 
  give 
  the 
  Omaha 
  a 
  legal 
  right 
  to 
  their 
  

   homes 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  land 
  hallowed 
  by 
  the 
  graves 
  of 
  their 
  fathers. 
  

   Actuated 
  by 
  this 
  belief 
  , 
  much 
  tune 
  was 
  spent 
  in 
  gathering 
  data 
  con- 
  

   cerning 
  the 
  efforts 
  of 
  those 
  among 
  the 
  people 
  who 
  had 
  striven 
  to 
  gain 
  

   their 
  livelihood 
  on 
  the 
  lands 
  for 
  which 
  they 
  held 
  certificates 
  or 
  on 
  

   tracts 
  selected 
  since 
  the 
  issuance. 
  These 
  men 
  were 
  invited 
  to 
  join 
  

   in 
  a 
  petition 
  to 
  Congress, 
  here 
  given 
  as 
  an 
  historical 
  document" 
  that 
  

   proved 
  of 
  importance 
  to 
  the 
  Omaha 
  tribe 
  and 
  was 
  the 
  forerunner 
  

   of 
  the 
  Severalty 
  Act 
  of 
  1887, 
  which 
  marked 
  a 
  change 
  in 
  the 
  policy 
  

   of 
  the 
  Government 
  toward 
  the 
  Indian 
  tribes 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  

  

  M 
  KM* 
  (RIAL 
  OF 
  THE 
  MEMBERS 
  OF 
  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  OF 
  INDIANS 
  

   FOR 
  A 
  GRANT 
  OF 
  LAND 
  IN 
  SEVERALTY 
  

  

  To 
  the 
  Senate 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States: 
  

  

  We, 
  the 
  undersigned, 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  Omaha 
  tribe 
  of 
  Indians, 
  have 
  taken 
  our 
  

   certificates 
  of 
  allotment 
  of 
  land 
  or 
  entered 
  upon 
  claims 
  within 
  the 
  limits 
  of 
  the 
  Omaha 
  

   reserve. 
  We 
  have 
  worked 
  upon 
  our 
  respective 
  lands 
  from 
  three 
  to 
  ten 
  years; 
  each 
  

   farm 
  has 
  from 
  five 
  to 
  fifty 
  acres 
  under 
  cultivation; 
  many 
  of 
  us 
  have 
  built 
  houses 
  on 
  

   these 
  lands 
  and 
  all 
  have 
  endeavored 
  to 
  make 
  permanent 
  homes 
  for 
  ourselves 
  and 
  our 
  

   children. 
  

  

  We 
  therefore 
  petition 
  your 
  honorable 
  body 
  to 
  grant 
  to 
  each 
  one 
  a 
  clear 
  and 
  full 
  title 
  

   in 
  the 
  land 
  on 
  which 
  he 
  has 
  worked. 
  

  

  We 
  earnestly 
  pray 
  that 
  this 
  petition 
  may 
  receive 
  your 
  favorable 
  consideration, 
  for 
  

   we 
  now 
  labor 
  with 
  discouragement 
  of 
  heart, 
  knowing 
  that 
  our 
  farms 
  are 
  not 
  our 
  own 
  

   and 
  that 
  any 
  day 
  we 
  may 
  be 
  forced 
  to 
  leave 
  the 
  lands 
  on 
  which 
  we 
  have 
  worked. 
  We 
  

   desire 
  to 
  live 
  and 
  work 
  on 
  these 
  farms 
  where 
  we 
  have 
  made 
  homes 
  that 
  our 
  children 
  

   may 
  advance 
  in 
  the 
  life 
  we 
  have 
  adopted. 
  To 
  this 
  end 
  and 
  that 
  we 
  may 
  go 
  forward 
  

   with 
  hope 
  and 
  confidence 
  in 
  a 
  better 
  future 
  for 
  our 
  tribe, 
  we 
  ask 
  of 
  you 
  titles 
  to 
  our 
  

   lands. 
  

  

  Respectfully 
  subniitti-d. 
  

  

  a 
  Sen. 
  Misc. 
  Doc. 
  Xo. 
  31, 
  47th 
  Cong., 
  1st 
  sess. 
  

  

  