Changes

After losing land, the Indian Territory began to form into Oklahoma. The Dawes Severalty Act (General Allotment Act) of 1887 became the next major law affecting Native Americans in Oklahoma. This effectively removed tribal ownership on land to that of individuals, while also creating a pathway to citizenship for Native Americans. This, in the end, also meant that the main tribes, particularly the Five Tribes, lost about twenty-seven million acres of land as it was redistributed to individuals. The next big change came with the Land Run of April 22, 1889, which led to an influx of settlers claiming areas not occupied by individuals or tribes. In 1889, there was a dispute over what became Oklahoma's panhandle, between settlers and Native Americans, leading to a judge calling this area "No Man's Land," leaving the area out of the Oklahoma territory (Figure 2). In the 1890s, further migration changed the territory around Oklahoma into a more mixed Native American and non-indigenous and white populations. This is the time when the nickname for migrants to Oklahoma emerged, the Sooners, as lands designated for settlement were sometimes already staked before the land became officially opened for settlement. Effectively, people cheated to obtain land before it was officially opened. The railroad in this time also began to run through the state, make making it also valuable land for the companies that owned the railroads and tracks. The railroad encouraged more migration as well into the region. During this time, lawless actions and tensions between settlers and Native Americans increasedand land disputes increasingly arose. As settlers began to move in great numbers, and the Native Americans in the area having had not recovered from internal conflict and population decline from the Civil War, power hand now clearly shifted towards white settlers. The Curtis Act of 1898 then was passed and that formally dissolved tribal governments, which had effectively ruled areas of Oklahoma, and cancelled reservation status and removed tribal schools and local government institutions. This now created the pathway for the state of Oklahoma to emerge out of what was once Indian Territory. There were attempts by the tribes in Oklahoma to create a state called the State of Sequoyah, but this was rejected. By 1906, the white settlers had mostly most power in the territory and they pushed for statehood under the Oklahoma Enabling Act, which then granted statehood to the territory in 1907 and making Oklahoma the 46th state. By then, oil had been discovered and new settlers were arriving into the territory, further increasing power into white settlers and families.<ref>For more on acts and other historical changes to Oklahoma territory after the Civil War, see: Blackman, Jon S. <i>Oklahoma’s Indian New Deal</i>. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2013.</ref>