Indians & the Oklahoma Land Rush

Gather up your class and lead them on the exciting Oklahoma Land Rush. It was the greatest land giveaway in history, which was decided by actual races and lotteries for homestead sites. Replicas of historical documents include Sequoyah's Cherokee alphabet, which empowered Native Americans to read and write; and an act of Congress to move Indian tribes. Students will view maps of the territory; an actual homestead application; and the handwritten presidential order opening the Oklahoma Territory. This primary source portfolio expertly chronicles the politics, economics, and culture of this era, from broken U.S. promises to the Indians to the hardships endured by homesteaders on the frontier. This portfolio includes a comprehensive Study Guide with reproducible activities that encourage students to discover the historical significance of primary source materials. The exercises help students seek and experience history and develop their own informed opinions. A timeline is included to help students put all the important details together and a recommended reading list helps them to explore further resources. 4 Illustrated Broadsheet Essays: * Land Hunger vs. Native American Rights * The Gold Rush, the Civil War, and Immigration * Mr. Harrison's "Hoss Race" * Black Gold and Oklahoma Statehood 12 Primary Source Documents: * Sequoyah's Cherokee alphabet, 1821 * Congressional act to provide for an exchange of lands with the Indians and for their removal west of the Mississippi River, 1829 * Certificate from President James Polk to an Indian chief, 1846 * Boomer broadside: "Grand Rush for the Indian Territory," 1879 * License to trade with Indians, 1883 * Map of the Indian Territory, 1887 * First page of a presidential proclamation by Benjamin Harrison, announcing the opening of Oklahoma lands, March 23, 1889 * Map of the Oklahoma Indian Territory, opened to settlement by executive order, March 23, 1889 * Application for a homestead claim, 1897, and final certificate for the homestead claim, 1902 * First page of the act to provide a temporary government for the Territory of Oklahoma, 1889 * Presidential proclamation by Theodore Roosevelt admitting Oklahoma into the Union as a state, 1907 * Oklahoma Land Rush photo-poster