332 



COMMISSION TO THE FIVE CIVILIZED TEIBES 



[b. a. e. 



tent of which are witnessed by the trails 

 measuring in all many hundreds of miles 

 in length. Pacific coast shells and copper 

 bells of Mexican origin are encountered 

 in the ancient ruins. The inland com- 

 merce was fostered by the two kinds of 

 social life, pueblo and castral. After the 

 advent of the Spaniards, this traffic was 

 greatly quickened. The Hopi traded in 

 cotton of their own cultivation with out- 

 side tribes, and are still the chief weavers 

 and traders of ceremonial cotton blankets, 

 sashes, and kilts in the S. W. The Zuiii 

 and some of the Rio Grande pueblos use 

 shell beads and turquoise, trading largely 

 with the Navaho. The latter have a wide 

 and varied commerce, trafficking with the 

 Havasupai, Hopi, and Walapai for baskets 

 and using their blankets and silver work 

 as an exchange medium with neighboring 

 tri]>es and with the whites. 



Commerce was greatly stimulated 

 through the coming of the whites by the 

 introduction of domestic animals, espe- 

 cially horses, mules, donkeys, cattle, 

 sheep, goats, poultry; by the vastly en- 

 larged demand for skins of animals, ivory, 

 fish, and native manufactures; by offering 

 in exchange iron tools and implements, 

 woven goods, and other European prod- 

 ucts desired by the Indians. The effects 

 of this stimulated trade were profound, 

 both for good and evil. Indians were 

 drawn far from home. The Iroquois, for 

 example, traveled with the fur traders 

 into N. w. Canada. 



Many kinds of Indian handiwork have 

 entered into world commerce. Money 

 is lavished on fine basketry, beadwork, 

 wampum belts, ivory carvings, horn 

 spoons, wooden dishes, silver work, cos- 

 tumes, feather and quill work, and espe- 

 cially Navaho blankets and Hopi and 

 Zufii textiles. In ancient times there 

 were intertribal laws of commerce, and 

 to its agents were guaranteed freedom and 

 safety. See Boats, Fur trade, Exchange, 

 Horse, Trails and Trade-routes, Travel, 

 Travois, and the bibliographies thereun- 

 der; consult also Rau in Smithson. Rep., 

 27:, 1872. (o. T. M.) 



Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes. 

 A commission appointed by President 

 Cleveland, under act of Congress of Mar. 

 3, 1893, and consisting of Henry L. Dawes 

 of Massachusetts, chairman (1893-1903), 

 Archibald S. McKennon of Arkansas 

 (1893-98), and Meredith H. Kidd of 

 Indiana (1893-95). It was increased to 

 5 members in 1S95 and reduced to 4 in 

 1898. In addition to those named, it has 

 included Frank C. Armstrong of the 

 District of Columbia (1895-98), Thomas 

 B. Cabaniss of Georgia (1895-97), Alex- 

 anders. Montgomervof KeTituckv(1895- 

 97), Tarns Bixbv of Minnesota" (1897- 

 1905), Thomas B. Needles of Illinois 



(1897-1905), Clifton R. Breckenridge of 

 Arkansas (1898-1905), and William E. 

 Standley of Kansas (1903-04). On the 

 death of Mr Dawes, in Feb., 1903, Mr 

 Bixby was appointed chairman. The 

 work of the Commission being finished, 

 it expired by law July 1, 1905. As the 

 Indian governments did not dissolve until 

 Mar. 4, 1906, all the remaining powers of 

 the Commission were vested in the Secre- 

 tary of the Interior during the interim. 



The headquarters of the Commission 

 were at Muscogee, Ind. Ter., except for 

 short periods in 1895 and 1896 at South 

 McAlester and Vinita, Ind. Ter., and at 

 Fort Smith, Ark. Special headquarters 

 have also been established temporarily 

 when necessary in various towns of the 

 Territory. 



The Commission was instructed to nego- 

 tiate with the Five Civilized Tribes for 

 the extinguishment of the national or 

 communal title to the land and its allot- 

 ment in severalty, and for the dissolution 

 of the tribal governments, looking toward 

 their ultimate absorption into the United 

 States as a territory or state. The Com- 

 mission had no authority, but was directed 

 to induce the Indians to consent to these 

 changes on terms which should be just 

 and equitable to all, and binding after 

 due ratification both by the Indians and 

 the United States. 



The w:>rk of the Commission was re- 

 quired on account of conditions peculiar 

 to the Indian Territory. When these 

 tribes were removed from the E., thej^ 

 were given special titles to the land, 

 in the form of patents, and their govern- 

 ments (modeled closely after those of the 

 states) were recognized and established 

 by treaties, under which they were re- 

 quired to hold the land in common for the 

 use of the whole tribe and t.o secure its 

 exclusive use to the Indians. To this end 

 the United States guaranteed the title and 

 the exclusive use of the land by the In- 

 dians. Their already advanced civiliza- 

 tion was still further developed, but in 

 time the Indians disregarded the treaties 

 and invited white settlement, both by 

 intermarriage an<l through commerce. 

 A dominant class of mixed-bloods appro- 

 priated to their own benefit large tracts 

 of land and other exclusive jirivileges 

 through manipulation of the govern- 

 ments. The peculiar legal conditions en- 

 couraged great lawlessness. More than 

 250,000 white settlers had no control or 

 protection of law whatever, as the United 

 States courts bad very little jurisdiction 

 over the Indians and the Indian courts 

 had no jurisdiction over the whites. 

 Civilization was further obstructed in that 

 30,000 white children had no schools and 

 no possibility thereof. 



Immediately on its appointment the 



