The Choctaw Nation, originally from the lower Mississippi Valley region, were moved by the United
States government to Indian Territory by the treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830. The
exceedingly difficult Trail of Tears led to present day Oklahoma, specifically to the south east
corner.
By the end of the Civil War, the Choctaw Nation encountered multiple opportunities for development
and enrichment, most notably through various railroads. Choctaw reacted with assertion of national
sovereignity through the National Assembly of the Choctaw Nation, rejecting railroad crossing of
the land. This is most obvious in several bills passed by the nation, including Bill No 5 found here.
This web site seeks to explore the relationship between the Choctaw Nation and various entities
and individuals that crossed the land, beginning with a collection of documents, supplemented by
timelines and maps related to the crossing. The U.S. Government became involved numerous times
through Indian agents and the Department of the Interior negotiating bewteen railroads and the
Choctaw Nation. The Choctaw records contained here relate specifically to railroads, most notably
to the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad (the Katy), the Fort Smith and Western Railroad and the
Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway.
Click the links to see the documents. Use the timeline to compare effective dates of the documents
listed here.
Bill No 1 part 2 part 3
Bill No 4 part 2
Bill No 5
Bill No 23 This is strongest worded bill against railroads, but the
date is unknown.
Letter to President Grant Page 2
Page 3 Page 4 asking for the
president to not authorize the Katy railroad to cross the Choctaw Nation
Payment 1 from Choctaw Oklahoma and Gulf Quarter 1, 1897
Letter from Department of Interior Page
2 Page 3 giving instructions on acquiring land for the
Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway 1897
Letter from Department of Interior Page
2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7
Letter from Choctaw Nation responding Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Choctaw
Response to land demands
Letter from Department of Interior 1900 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 giving instructions on getting land for the Fort Smith and
Western Railway 1900
Letter from Department of Interior 1900 Page 2 Clarifying instructions for the FS&W Railway
Letter from Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Page 2 Paying for 2 acres of land