By Kristy McCaffrey
The Dawes Act (the General Allotment Act) was passed in 1887
and authorized the U.S. President to break up Indian reservation land into
small allotments. The purpose of the Dawes Act, and subsequent extensions, was
to protect American Indian property rights, particularly during the land rushes
of the 1890s that occurred in the Twin Territories, which encompassed Oklahoma
and Indian Territories.
In 1896, the Dawes Commission received congressional
approval to compile rolls of tribal members in the Five Nations (the Cherokees,
Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles) who would be eligible to receive
allotments, allowing it to add individuals who maintained they had not been
included on the various tribal census rolls.
In 1897, the Atoka Agreement called for an equitable
distribution of Choctaw and Chickasaw tribal land among the members, except for
lands set aside for schools and townsites and land reserved because of coal and
asphalt deposits. Homesteads of 160 acres would be inalienable for a period of
twenty-one years, and the surplus land could be sold, one-fourth in the first
year, one-half in the second year, and the remainder by the fifth year after
allotment.
In my new novel,
The Swan, a group of women must stand against those who would take
advantage of Chickasaw orphans and their allotments. The Swan is Book 11
in my Wings of the West series, but it can be read as a standalone.
Twin Territories
November 1899
Dr. Anna Ryan has been spurned by the Dallas medical
community for the simple reason of being a woman. Wanting more than a rural
practice alongside her mother, also a doctor, Anna accepts an invitation from a
mentor to join a private hospital for disabled children in Oklahoma City. But
when she falls in with a band of women attempting to protect the rights of
Chickasaw orphans, she’ll need more than her medical training to survive.
Malcolm Hardy has skirted the line between lawlessness and
justice since escaping the mean streak of his father and his no-good
half-siblings a decade ago. In Oklahoma Territory he created enough distance
from his family name to find a quiet purpose to his days. But then Anna Ryan
walks back into his life, and his hard-won peace is in jeopardy.
The last time Malcolm saw Anna, she had been a determined
girl he couldn’t help but admire. Now she was a compelling woman searching for
answers that could lead straight to him. But one thing was clear—Anna’s life
path was on a trajectory for the remarkable while Malcolm’s was not.
Surrendering to temptation would only end in heartbreak.
The Swan is an emotional story of a woman finding her
true calling and a hero moving forward after a difficult past. It has light
steam and a heartfelt and poignant ending.
An excerpt from The Swan
(Malcolm Hardy is meeting with Cash Wright, an old friend and a Lighthorseman - the Chickasaw police force.)
“Who would’ve thought back when we worked
for Kellogg that you’d end up a respectable lawman,” Malcolm said.
“And you’re respectable?” Cash’s tone was tinged with irony.
“I’m trying,” Malcolm answered honestly, proud of the fruits
of working hard. “Ever hear from Ambrose?”
“No. You?”
“Not in some time.”
“You gave him and Bessie a chance,” Cash said. “He wouldn’t
have squandered it.”
Malcolm couldn’t disagree. Ambrose was the son of a black
Chickasaw freedman—released from slavery after the Civil War—but had struggled
with citizenship since the Chickasaw refused recognition. It had sometimes lit
a tension between Ambrose and Cash, both men paying for the actions of their
forefathers. Guilt by association rather than true differences.
Then Ambrose had fallen in love with a Ponca woman, and
Kellogg’s true nature and ambitions had come to light in his machinations of
acquiring allotted Ponca land. It had been a testament to the friendship
between the three of them that they’d managed to thwart their boss and give
Ambrose and Bessie a life with the Ponca.
“I’ve seen Delmont,” Malcolm said, mentioning the final cog
that connected them all.
Cash’s face stilled, the surprise obvious. “Where?”
“Conleyville.”
“The hell you say.”
“Why?” Malcolm asked.
“I’m on my way there. I’ve got business, and also to see my
mother.”
That caught Malcolm off-guard. “Drusilla lives in
Conleyville?” He had met Cash’s mother once in Tishomingo shortly after he and
Cash had quit Kellogg’s outfit and come south.
“Outside of town,” Cash said, “in the Arbuckles. I don’t
like her living out there alone, but she prefers the wilderness.” He took a
gulp of coffee. “Is Delmont still with Kellogg?”
“I think so. He’s got something going on, and knowing him it
must be related to land.”
Cash raised his brows. “In Conleyville? It’s Chickasaw territory,
and he’s not Chickasaw.”
“That we know of.” But Malcolm’s response was etched in
sarcasm. Both he and Cash knew that if Webb could lie about his ancestry, he
wouldn’t hesitate.
Cash’s voice was quiet and contemplative as he said, “He’s after the allotments.”
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