Online Encyclopedia
Indian Territory
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. 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 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 Royal Proclamation of October 1763, which limited white settlement to crown lands east of the Appalachian Mountains. This was reduced under British administration and after the American Revolution further until it included only the lands west of the Mississippi River.
At the time of the American Revolution, the 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 the Native Americans 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 and Detroit to the United States.
In the 1830s the Indian Territory served as the destination for the policy of Indian Removal started by President Andrew Jackson. The end of the Trail of Tears was what is now Arkansas and Oklahoma. There were already many tribes living in the territory, as well as whites and escaped slaves.
The Five Civilized Tribes were not the only ones forced to the Indian Territory. Nations such as the Delaware, Cheyenne, Apache and others were also forced to relocate.
The "Five Civilized Tribes" set up towns such as Tulsa, Tahlequah, Muskogee, etc., which often became some of the larger towns in the state. They also brought their African 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 and, with the organization of Oklahoma Territory, the eastern half of the state. The citizens of Indian Territory tried in 1905 to gain admission to the union as the State of Sequoyah but were rebuffed by Washington. With statehood in November 1907, Indian Territory was extinguished. Many Native Americans continue to live in Oklahoma, especially in the eastern part.
Derivative meaning
In U.S. military slang, Indian territory is any area where troops engaged in peacekeeping missions can expect to encounter armed opposition.