The Armstrong Roll was created after the
Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek.
This is a lengthy treaty and
supplement. Reading the entire treaty
and supplement will provide you with a
better understanding of this roll.
Where they lived: Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek--Article
II. The United States under a grant
specially to be made by the President of the
U.S. shall cause to be conveyed to the
Choctaw Nation a tract of country west of
the Mississippi River, in fee simple to them
and their descendants, to inure to them
while they shall exist as a nation and live
on it, beginning near Fort Smith where the
Arkansas boundary crosses the Arkansas
River, running thence to the source of the
Canadian fork; if in the limits of the
United States, or to those limits; thence
due south to Red River, and down Red River
to the west boundary of the Territory of
Arkansas; thence north along that line to
the beginning. The boundary of the same to
be agreeably to the Treaty made and
concluded at Washington City in the year
1825. The grant to be executed so soon
as the present Treaty shall be ratified.
Treaty of 1825--Article
I. The Choctaw Nation do hereby cede to
the United States all that portion of the
land ceded to them by the second article of
the Treaty of Doak Stand, as aforesaid,
lying east of a line beginning on the
Arkansas, one hundred paces east of Fort
Smith, and running thence, due south, to Red
river: it being understood that this line
shall constitute, and remain, the permanent
boundary between the United States and the
Choctaws; and the United States agreeing to
remove such citizens as may be settled on
the west side, to the east side of said
line, and prevent future settlements from
being made on the west thereof.
Treaty of Doak Stand--Article II. For
and in consideration of the foregoing
cession, on the part of the Choctaw nation,
and in part satisfaction for the same, the
Commissioners of the United States, in
behalf of said States, do hereby cede to
said nation, a tract of country west of the
Mississippi River, situate between the
Arkansas and Red River, and bounded as
follows:-- Beginning on the Arkansas River,
where the lower boundary line of the
Cherokees strikes the same; thence up the
Arkansas to the Canadian Fork, and up the
same to its source; thence due South to the
Red River; thence down Red River, three
miles below the mouth of Little River, which
empties itself into Red River on the north
side; thence a direct line to the beginning.
Choctaws wishing to become citizens of
United States
Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek--Article
XIV. Each Choctaw head of a family being
desirous to remain and become a citizen of
the States, shall be permitted to do so, by
signifying his intention to the Agent within
six months from the ratification of this
Treaty, and he or she shall thereupon be
entitled to a reservation1
of one section of six hundred and forty
acres of land, to be bounded by sectional
lines of survey; in like manner shall be
entitled to one half that quantity for each
unmarried child which is living with him
over ten years of age; and a quarter section
to such child as may be under 10 years of
age, to adjoin the location of the parent.
If they reside upon said lands intending to
become citizens of the States for five years
after the ratification of this Treaty, in
that case a grant in fee simple shall issue;
said reservation shall include the present
improvement of the head of the family, or a
portion of it. Persons who claim under this
article shall not lose the privilege of a
Choctaw citizen, but if they ever remove are
not to be entitled to any portion of the
Choctaw annuity.
Footnote 1.
Reservation, 640 acres. Not a Indian
Reservation as we have today.
Notes About this Publication:
Source: Armstrong Roll of Choctaw, 1831, Records of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs
Online Publication: The manuscript was scanned and
then ocr'd. Minimal editing has been done, and readers can and should expect
some errors in the textual output.
This site includes some historical materials that may imply negative
stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place.
These items are presented as part of the historical record and should not be
interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in any way endorse the stereotypes
implied.
