Cherokee Nation legislative act, 1902-1903
Redwood Library and Athenaeum
50 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840
Tel: (401) 847-0292
Fax: (401) 841-5680
email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org
Published in 2014
Collection Overview
| Title: | Cherokee Nation legislative act |
| Date range: | 1902-1903 |
| Creator: | Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma. National Council. |
| Abstract: | An act of the National Council of the Cherokee Nation signed and approved by Principal Chief T. M. Buffington (1855-1938) and President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919). |
| Language of materials: | English |
| Repository: | Redwood Library and Athenaeum |
| Collection number: | RLC.Ms.572 |
Scope & content
This collection consists of Senate Bill Number 1 from the National Council of the Cherokee Nation in which appropriations to pay the current and contingent expenses of the regular session of the National Council in 1902 were approved. This act was approved by the Principal Chief, T. M. Buffington on December 6, 1902. Also included is the certificate submitted to the U.S. President used to approve this act. This certificate was signed by President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) on January 26, 1903.Access Points
Subject Names Subject Topics Geographical Names Document Types Subject TopicsArrangement
This collection is arranged in chronological order.
Biographical note
The Cherokee Nation (of the nineteenth century) was an autonomous, legal, tribal government recognized from 1794 to 1907. This Nation consisted of the Cherokee people and other Native American tribes originally from the southeastern United States who were either forced to or voluntary relocated to Indian Territory. The Indian Territory was land set aside by the U.S. government and comprised present day Oklahoma.Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was established as the capital of the Cherokee Nation and by 1827 a written constitution was adopted, creating a government with three branches, similar to the U.S. government. The National Council served as the legislature of the Nation and every four years they elected a Principal Chief, whose office was similar to that of a state governor or U.S. President. Beginning in 1898, the U.S. government was laying the groundwork to dismantle the Cherokee Nation in order to incorporate the Indian Territory into a new state, Oklahoma. In 1906, the tribal government of the Cherokee Nation was dissolved.
T. M. (Thomas Mitchell) Buffington (1855-1938) was born in Goingsnake District of the Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (present day Adair County, Oklahoma). He served as the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation briefly in 1891 and was elected to the office in 1899, serving until 1903. Following his term as principal chief, Buffington was the mayor of Vinita, Oklahoma, until 1917. He died in Vinita on February 11, 1938.
Access & Use
| Access to the collection: | Access is open to members and researchers at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. |
| Use of the materials: | This collection is owned by the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Special Collections Librarian of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. |
| Preferred citation: | Cherokee Nation legislative act, RLC.Ms.572, Redwood Library and Athenaeum. |
| Contact information: | Redwood Library and Athenaeum 50 Bellevue Avenue Newport, RI 02840 Tel: (401) 847-0292 Fax: (401) 841-5680 email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org |
Administrative Information
| ABOUT THE COLLECTION | |
| Acquisition: | Gift of Diana Lanier Smith, 1988 Mar 16 |
| Processing information: | Prior to processing in 2014, this collection was found within the Steel Cabinet Collection: Drawer 14, Folder 10. |
| ABOUT THE FINDING AID | |
| Author: | Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Delmage. |
| Encoding: | This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2014-12-22. |
| Descriptive rules: | Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) |
| Sponsor: | Funding for processing and cataloging this collection was provided by the van Beuren Charitable Foundation. |
Additional Information
Inventory
| Manuscripts Box 2 | Senate Bill No. 1 with certification |
1902 Dec 6, 1903 Jan 26 |