Revised Regulations (March 20, 1905) Governing the Leasing of Lands in the Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory

Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905. 9.5 x 6.25", stapled booklet, 34 pp. A pamphlet issued by the United States government related to the leasing of allotted Cherokee lands in Indian Territory (today Oklahoma). Allotment, "the federal policy of dividing communally held Indian tribal lands into individually owned private property, was the culmination of American attempts to destroy tribes and their governments and to open Indian lands to settlement by non-Indians and to development by railroads" (okhistory.org). These regulations, passed by Congress on July 1, 1902, and ratified by the Cherokee on August 7, 1902, allowed for the economic exploitation of allotted Cherokee lands via their leasing, especially for oil and gas mining interests. The first eight pages of the pamphlet print the regulations, while the rest of the booklet prints a series of sample leases tailored specifically for Cherokee lands, including an agricultural lease, a grazing lease, a mining lease, and an oil and gas mining lease. Slight toning to pages, foxing and creasing to covers, 1/2 inch tear to edge of front cover, rusting to staples, ink inscriptions to upper margin of front cover.