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Indian territory

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Image:Map_of_Indian_territory_1836.png thumb|Indian Territory in 1836 Image:IndianTerritory.jpg thumb|Indian Territory in 1891 :''Indian Country redirects here. A Man Called Horse was previously named Indian Country. '''Indian Territory''', also known as '''Indian Country''', '''Indian territory''' or the '''Indian territories''', was the land set aside within the United States for the use of Native Americans in the United States American Indians. The general borders were set by the Indian Intercourse Act of 1834. It was more properly "Indian territory" (lower-case T) than "Indian Territory" (capital T) because the name referred to the unorganized territory unorganized lands set aside for Native Americans, as opposed to an organized territory meant for settlement by Easterners. The Indian Territory had its roots in the British colonization of the Americas British Royal Proclamation of 1763, which limited white settlement to crown lands east of the Appalachian Mountains. Indian Territory was reduced under British administration and again after the American Revolutionary War American Revolution, until it included only lands west of the Mississippi River. At the time of the American Revolution, many Native American tribes had long-standing relationships with the British, but a less developed relationship with the American rebels. After the defeat of the British, the Americans twice invaded the Ohio Country and were twice defeated. They finally defeated a Native American confederacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, imposing the unfavorable Treaty of Greenville, which ceded most of what is now Ohio, part of what is now Indiana, and the present day sites of Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan to the United States. The Indian Territory served as the destination for the policy of Indian Removal, a policy pursued intermittently by President of the United States American presidents early in the nineteenth century, but aggressively pursued by President Andrew Jackson after the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Five Civilized Tribes in the South were the most prominent tribes displaced by the policy, a relocation that came to be known as the Trail of Tears. The trail ended in what is now Arkansas and Oklahoma, where there were already many American Indians living in the territory, as well as whites and escaped slaves. Other tribes, such as the Lenape Delaware, Cheyenne, and Apache Tribe Apache were also forced to relocate to the Indian territory. The Five Civilized Tribes set up towns such as Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa, Ardmore, Oklahoma Ardmore, Tahlequah, Oklahoma Tahlequah, Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee and others, which often became some of the larger towns in the state. They also brought their African Slavery slaves to Oklahoma, which added to the African-American population in the state. In time, the Indian Territory was gradually reduced to what is now Oklahoma; then, with the organization of Oklahoma Territory in 1890, to just the eastern half of the area. The citizens of Indian Territory tried, in 1905, to gain admission to the union as the State of Sequoyah, but were rebuffed by Congress and Administration who did not want two new Western states, Sequoyah and Oklahoma. Citizens then joined to to seek admission of a single state to the Union. With Oklahoma statehood in November 1907, Indian Territory was extinguished. Many American Indians continue to live in Oklahoma, especially in the eastern part.

Indian country
The terms "Indian country" and "Indian territory" are often used interchangeably, although ''Indian territory'' usually has the more specific meaning outlined above — that is, the region in the West where American Indians were compelled to relocate in the nineteenth century. ''Indian country'' is an expression generally used today to describe (collectively or individually) the many self-governing American Indian communities throughout the United States. This usage is reflected in many places, such as in the title of the American Indian newspaper ''Indian Country Today''. In the United States legal system, ''Indian country'' is a legal term that describes American Indian reservations and trust lands. [http://tribaljurisdiction.tripod.com/id7.html]. In U.S. military slang, ''Indian country'' is any area where troops can expect to encounter armed opposition, a usage that became popular during the Vietnam War.

See also
* Historic regions of the United States * Trail of Tears

External links

- Twin Territories: Oklahoma Territory - Indian Territory Category:Historical regions and territories of the United States Category:History of Oklahoma Category:History of the American West Category:Native American history da:Indianerterritoriet de:Indianer-Territorium no:Indianerterritoriet pl:Terytorium Indiańskie see Indian Territory

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