Column: Land run in 1889 opened tribal territory to settlers

Monday, April 23, 2012  

"A gunshot at high noon on APRIL 22, 1889, began the famous Oklahoma Land Rush.

Within 9 hours some two million acres became the private property of settlers who staked their claims for 160 acres to homestead.

Riding as fast as they could, many found desirable plots already taken by “Boomers” who began intruding ten years earlier, and “Sooners,” individuals who entered the territory just days or hours sooner than was permitted.

The remaining land had been assigned to dozens of Indian tribes, including the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee, who had survived the Federal Government’s horrible “Trail of Tears” march during the freezing winter of 1838-1839.

Over 17,000 Indians had been forcibly removed by a Federal Government mandate from Georgia and other Eastern States. A Democrat controlled Congress passed the Indian Removal Act by a single vote in 1830, and it was signed by Democrat President Andrew Jackson."

Get the Story:
American Minute with Bill Federer: Oklahoma Land Rush (The Moral Liberal 4/23)