The Land Run of 1892 was the opening of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation to settlement in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. One of seven in Oklahoma, it occurred on April 19, 1892, and opened up land that would become Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Washita, and Roger Mills counties. [1] [2] The land run also opened up what would become part of Ellis County, but was designated County "E" and then Day County prior to statehood. [2]
The Creek and Seminole were originally relocated to the area that would become the Cheyenne and Arapaho reservations in the 1820s and 1830s, but the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866 took the land away from both tribes. [3]
The Cheyenne and Arapaho allied in 1811. [4] The Arapaho were originally located in the Great Plains and western Great Lakes region. It is here that the Cheyenne and Arapaho met and created an alliance. [4] The Cheyenne were originally from the Great Lakes region. [4] Conflicts with the United States government during Red Cloud's War led to the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851), which gave the Lakota nation the Black Hills. [5] Eventually, the Cheyenne were pushed further into the Colorado region with the Arapaho nation further solidifying their alliance. [4]
Like many Oklahoma Tribal Nations, the Cheyenne and Arapaho were moved to Oklahoma in the nineteenth century. Several years after the Treaty of Fort Laramie came the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, and settlers began moving in on the Cheyenne and Arapaho's new territory. As a result of settlers encroaching on their land, injuries, and deaths took place among settlers and the Cheyenne. [6] This led to the US Cavalry being called in, and battles ensued between the two sides. The eventual outcome of these battles would be the Sand Creek Massacre, where numerous Cheyenne and Arapaho died, fueling the already intense plains wars. [7] Two treaties resulted from the Sand Creek Massacre: the Little Arkansas Treaty, which was signed to create a reservation near the Colorado area that was never created, [8] and the Treaty of Medicine Lodge, which massively reduced their reservation lands and moved them to Oklahoma. [9]
The reservation had become a part of the federal public domain after The Dawes Act of 1887, which allotted 160 acres (0.65 km2) of 160 acres (0.65 km2) plots to individual Indians. [10] A census was taken of each member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho nations to calculate payment for leftover land to be settled. [11] The remaining land, 3,500,000 acres (14,000 km2) of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Reservation, was sold to the federal government for $1,500,000. [12] The land was opened by a proclamation from U.S. President Benjamin Harrison on April 12, 1892. [10]
A diverse group gathered for the land run. It included Kansans, Texans, Missourians, Oklahomans, African-Americans, Swedes, Bohemians, Germans, and Russians. [13] According to Kiowa chief Big Tree, there were "as many [people] as the blades of grass on the Washita in the spring." [13]
Six counties were created during the 1892 land run. Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Washita, and Roger Mills.
The county seat of Blaine is Watonga. [14] During settlement, settlers of the area created farms containing wheat, corn, sorghum, cotton, and more. Blaine County had a rich deposit of Gypsum, and the area soon also contained many plaster mills. [14]
Settlers claimed more than 400 lots in what would become Arapaho, the county seat of Custer County. [15] The region was not considered good for farming, making this the only land run Sooners did not participate in. [16] The region became cattle country, due to its geography and the tenacious efforts of cattlemen, who often harassed farmers on the land.
The county seat of Dewey is Taloga. [17] The county had a large number of cattle ranchers, cotton gins, and flour mills. [17]
The country seat of Washita is New Cordell. [18] The county had thousands of people within 24 hours of the land rush and a large portion were Mennonite and German. [18]
The county seat of Roger Mills is Cheyenne. [19] Like many of the other counties created during the 1892 land run, the land was best for cattle ranching, though there was some farming of corn, sorghum, broomcorn, wheat, and cotton. [19]
The Arapaho are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota.
The Cheyenne are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enrolled in the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma, and the Northern Cheyenne, who are enrolled in the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana.
Washita County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,924. Its county seat is New Cordell. The county seat was formerly located in Cloud Chief. The county was created in 1891.
Roger Mills County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,442, making it the fourth-least populous county in Oklahoma. Its county seat is Cheyenne. The county was created in 1891.
Dewey County is a county in the western part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,484. Its county seat is Taloga. The county was created in 1891 as "County D". In an 1898 election, county voters chose the name Dewey, honoring Admiral George Dewey.
Custer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,513. Its county seat is Arapaho. The county was named in honor of General George Armstrong Custer.
Canadian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 154,405, making it the fourth most populous county in Oklahoma. Its county seat is El Reno.
Blaine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,735. Its county seat is Watonga. Part of the Cheyenne-Arapaho land opening in 1892, the county had gained rail lines by the early 1900s and highways by the 1930s. The county was named for James G. Blaine, an American politician who was the Republican presidential candidate in 1884 and Secretary of State under President Benjamin Harrison.
Beckham County is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,410. Its county seat is Sayre. Founded upon statehood in 1907, Beckham County was named for J. C. W. Beckham, who was Governor of Kentucky and the first popularly elected member of the United States Senate from Kentucky. Beckham County comprises the Elk City, OK Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Geary is a city in Blaine and Canadian counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 994 at the 2020 census. The town was named for Edmund Guerrier, a scout and an interpreter for the U.S. Army.
A land run or land rush was an event in which previously restricted land of the United States was opened to homestead on a first-arrival basis. Lands were opened and sold first-come or by bid, or won by lottery, or by means other than a run. The settlers, no matter how they acquired occupancy, purchased the land from the United States General Land Office. For former Indian lands, the Land Office distributed the sales funds to the various tribal entities, according to previously negotiated terms. The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the most prominent of the land runs while the Land Run of 1893 was the largest. The opening of the former Kickapoo area in 1895 was the last use of a land run in the present area of Oklahoma.
Black Kettle was a prominent leader of the Southern Cheyenne during the American Indian Wars. Born to the Northern Só'taeo'o / Só'taétaneo'o band of the Northern Cheyenne in the Black Hills of present-day South Dakota, he later married into the Wotápio / Wutapai band of the Southern Cheyenne.
The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as the state of Oklahoma.
The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 was signed on September 17, 1851 between United States treaty commissioners and representatives of the Cheyenne, Sioux, Arapaho, Crow, Assiniboine, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations. Also known as Horse Creek Treaty, the treaty set forth traditional territorial claims of the tribes.
The Antelope Hills are a series of low hills in the bend of the Canadian River in northwest Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, near the border between western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. They were a major landmark for the Plains Indians and travelers on what is now the western plains of Oklahoma. The area was part of the Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation until the Land Run of 1892 opened it to non-Indian settlement. The hills are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Southwest Oklahoma is a geographical name for the southwest portion of the state of Oklahoma, typically considered to be south of the Canadian River, extending eastward from the Texas border to a line roughly from Weatherford, to Anadarko, to Duncan. Geologically, the region is defined by a failed continental rift known as the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen. The austere nature of the prairie landscape with intermittent island ranges has made it a favorable place for artists and photographers alike. For tourism purposes, the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department has designated Southwestern Oklahoma as Great Plains Country, and defined it to consist of 14 counties including Roger Mills, Custer, Beckham, Washita, Caddo, Kiowa, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Comanche, Tillman, Cotton, Stephens, and Jefferson counties.
Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Reservation were the lands granted the Southern Cheyenne and the Southern Arapaho by the United States under the Medicine Lodge Treaty signed in 1867. The tribes never lived on the land described in the treaty and did not want to.
The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma.
Little Raven, also known as Hosa, was from about 1855 until his death in 1889 a principal chief of the Southern Arapaho Indians. He negotiated peace between the Southern Arapaho and Cheyenne and the Comanche, Kiowa, and Plains Apache. He also secured rights to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation in Indian Territory.
Friday (Arapaho: Teenokuhu or Warshinun, also known as Friday Fitzpatrick, was an Arapaho leader and interpreter in the mid to late 1800s. When he was around the age of eight, he was separated from his band and was taken in by a white trapper. During the next seven years, he was schooled in St. Louis, Missouri and went on trapping expeditions with his informally adopted father, Thomas Fitzpatrick. After he was recognized by his mother during an encounter with the Arapaho, he returned to the tribe.
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