Читать книгу The Choctaw Freedmen and the Story of Oak Hill Industrial Academy - Robert Elliott Flickinger - Страница 10

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"Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great interests and see whether we, also, in our day and generation may not perform something worthy to be remembered."—Daniel Webster.

Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, was a part of the public domain, that was reserved for several tribes of Indians whose native hunting grounds were principally in the Southern states. While they remained in their native valleys they proved a menace to the safety of the frontier settlers, and in times of war were sure to take sides against them. Thomas Jefferson in his day advised that they be located together on some general reservation. This was gradually effected during the earlier years of the last century.

The official act of congress constituting it an Indian Reservation did not occur until 1834, but a considerable number of the Choctaws, Chickasaws and of some other tribes were induced to migrate westward and locate there previous to that date. Other leading tribes that were transferred to special reservations in Indian Territory were the Cherokees, Creeks and Seminoles.