222 THE GEORGE CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY. 



Report of Agent Owen for 1885 as to the Five Civilized 

 Tribes in Indian Territory — their History, Laws, and 

 Present Condition. 



Union Agency, Muskogee, Indian Territory, 



August 31, 18w5. 

 The jurisdiction of this agency extends over the Choctaws, Cherokees, Creeks, 

 Chickasaws, and Seminoles, commonly called the " five civilized tribes." Their ter- 

 ritory lies in the eastern portion of the Indian Territory, extending from Kansas to 

 Texas, and lying adjacent and on the west of Southwest Missouri and Arkansas. 



POPULATION. 



Cherokees (native), adopted whites, Delawares, Shawnees, and freed- 



men about . . 22, 000 



Choctaws (native), adopted whites, and freedmen do 18, 000 



Chickasa ws, natives do C, 000 



Muscogees, or Creeks do 14, 000 



Seminoles • do 3, 000 



The whites, lawfully in the country as licensed traders, railroad and Govern- 

 ment employe's, and their families, probably number 3, 000 



The number of farm laborers and workmen and their families, under permit 



of Indian authorities, is probably 17, 000 



There are probably of emigrants, visitors, and pleasure-seekers, some 1, 500 



There are of claimants to citizenship denied by Indian people, probably 5, 000 



And about three or four thousand willful intruders ; making a total popula- 

 tion of over 90' 000 



GOVERNMENT. 



The different nations composing this agency have regular constitutional govern- 

 ments. Their constitutions are based on that of the United States, mutatis mutandis. 

 A sketch of the constitution of the Cherokees, their laws, and institutions, is given 

 as illustrative of the others : 



The constitution of the Cherokee Nation declares, first, the boundary of its lands ; 

 second, "that the lands of the Cherokee Nation shall remain common property, but 

 the improvements made thereon and in possession of the citizens of the nation are 

 the exclusive and indefeasible property of the citizens respectively who made or may 

 rightfully be in possession of them." No citizen shall dispose of such farms to United 

 States citizens, and after two years' abandonment the farms form part of the public 

 domain, and may be settled and taken possession of by other citizens. The property 

 of a deceased citizen is disposed of by his will, properly recorded, or, in absence of a 

 will, by laws regulating inheritance. The laws make provision for administrators 

 and executors of wills, &c, the district courts having full probate jurisdiction. 



The power of the Cherokee government is divided into three distinct departments, 

 the legislative, executive, and judicial, and no person or persons belonging to one of 

 these departments shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the 

 others, except in the cases expressly directed or permitted in the constitution. The leg- 

 islative power, called the national council, consists of a senate and house of represent- 

 atives, called the council. The national council exercises the usual functions of State 

 legislatures. The supreme executive power is vested! in "the principal chief of the 

 Cherokee Nation," who has about the same authority as a governor of a State, exer- 

 cising the veto power, pardoning prerogative, &c. He is elected by viva voce vote of 

 the majority of the people and serves for four years. There is the treasurer and as- 

 sistant treasurer, the national auditor, nine sheriffs, one for each political district, 

 many deputy sheriffs, one district clerk for each of the nine political districts, also 

 deputy clerks and solicitors or prosecuting attorneys for each district. The principal 

 chief has four executive secretaries, whose salaries average about $1,250 each per 



