Chapter 11: Boomers, Sooners, and Oklahoma Territory

Dawes Severalty Act

1887 law that dissolved tribal ownership of lands

Curtis Act

Act that abolished tribal courts and forced land allotments for Indians

boomer

Term for those who were part of the land boom

rider

Term for someone who settled on land without legal ownership

squatter

Term for someone who settled on land without legal ownership

sooner

Term for those who crossed the line early to stake a claim on land

Alice Fletcher

Leader of Friends of the Indians, a group advocating for dividing Indian lands into homesteads

Elias C. Boudinot

Mixed-blood Cherokee who proposed opening the Unassigned Lands for settlement

David L. Payne

Leader of a group of settlers to the Unassigned Lands

William L. Couch

Leader of a group of settlers who refused to leave the Unassigned Lands

Judge Parker

Judge who ruled that the Indians had an interest in the Unassigned Lands

Springer Amendment

1889 act that authorized payment to tribes in exchange for dropping claims on the Unassigned Lands

Homestead Act

Act that allowed settlers to claim a homestead in the Oklahoma Territory

President Benjamin Harrison

President who issued the proclamation for the opening of the Unassigned Lands

land run

Event where people rushed to claim land in the Unassigned Lands

surveyor's stone

Marker used by homesteaders to find their land description

filing fee

Fee paid by homesteaders to obtain title to the land

new towns

Towns established quickly after the land run

dugout

Makeshift home used by settlers if trees were scarce

township

Unit of land measurement used in the Oklahoma Territory

normal school

School for teacher training

Organic Act

Act that established the territorial government in the Oklahoma Territory

No Man's Land

Uncertain ownership area in the Oklahoma Territory

Greer County

Lands claimed by Texas that were ruled as part of the Oklahoma Territory

Cherokee (Jerome) Commission

Commission that negotiated agreements for Indians to give up their lands

land lottery

Method used for land distributions in later years

Crazy Snake

Creek leader who led a rebellion against the government