Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Reservation - Dawes Allotment Act

Dawes Allotment Act

The lands granted by the Treaty of Medicine Lodge were extensive, setting aside a substantial portion of western Oklahoma for the exclusive use of the Cheyenne and Arapaho. "...The United States now solemnly agrees that no persons except those herein authorized so to do, and except such officers, agents, and employés of the Government as may be authorized to enter upon Indian reservations in discharge of duties enjoined by law, shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in the territory described in this article...." In 1890, the United States, operating through the agency of the Cherokee Commission, acting under the provisions of the Dawes Act, broke the treaty and took most of the lands on the reservation and sold them to settlers, allotting a small parcel to each individual Indian. It was believed by the government at the time that extinguishment of tribal government and of a tribal interest in land would benefit the Indians and make possible their integration into American society. The allotments were held in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs which leased much of that land to settlers. This process took several years, but by 1910 nearly all the lands of the reservation were in the possession or control of settlers, leaving the Indians a small minority on the reservation in possession of only a small portion of their original lands. At noon April 19, 1892, the lands of the Cheyenne and Arapaho reservation were opened for settlement by homesteaders; the Indians retained 529,962 acres (2,144.68 km2) located mostly along the North Fork of the Canadian River, the Canadian River, and the Washita River.