THE ONCE VAST INDIAN TERRITORY

The U.S. Government hoped for a peaceful relocation. Of the tribes to move to the Kansas Territory, the Delaware, Kickapoo and Miami settled in the eastern part without incident. The Shawnee Indians took the lands ceded by the Kansa and Osage and are credited with establishing the first newspaper in Kansas.

More followed. The Chippewa, Fox, Sauk, Iowa, Ottawa and Potawatomi eventually gave up their hunting grounds and moved to the Kansas Territory. The Wyandot settled in present day Kansas City and founded the first free school.

But the Cherokee Indians refused to give up their land in Georgia. They declared themselves a sovereign nation and adopted a constitution. It was a valiant effort to hold on to their land, but failed.

In 1838, the U.S Army herded up the Cherokee Nation and drove them west toward the new Indian Territory. With limited provisions, harsh weather and the ravages of illness such as cholera and small pox, thousands of Cherokee died en route. The Cherokees called the 1,000 mile journey the Trail of Tears.

Once settled in the Indian Territory, the Cherokee joined forces with the newly relocated Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole Indians to create the Five Civilized Tribes.

Kansas remained part of the Indian Territory until the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. The land was opened to white settlers, and the majority of the tribes living on the Great American Desert were again forced to cede their land. This time, they moved south into present day Oklahoma.

Only five tribes retained reservations in Kansas: the Iowa, Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo, and Potawatomi.

Suggested reading:

THE SMITHSONIAN GUIDE TO HISTORIC AMERICA: THE PLAINS STATES

THE GREAT WEST by David Lavender

CONCISE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN INDIANS by Bruce Grant

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