DAWES ROLL - HISTORY

An act of Congress approved Mar. 03, 1893 [27 Sta. 656], authorized the
establishment of the Commission to negotiate agreements with the Cherokee,
Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes providing for the dissolution of
the tribal governments and the allotment of land to each tribal member. Senator
HENRY L. DAWES of Massachusetts was appointed Chairman of this Commission on
Nov. 01, 1893, after which it has commonly been referred to as the DAWES
COMMISSION.
The DAWES COMMISSION was authorized by an act of Congress approved Jun. 28, 1898
[30 Stat. 495] to prepare citizenship (tribal membership) rolls for each tribe.
These final rolls were the basis for allotment. Under this act, subsequent acts,
and resulting agreements negotiated with each tribe, the DAWES COMMISSION
received applications for membership covering more than 250,000 people and
enrolled more than 101,000. The tribal membership rolls were closed on Mar. 05,
1907, by act of Congress approved on Apr. 26, 1906 [34 Stat. 370], although an
additional 312 persons were enrolled under an act approved Aug. 01, 1914.

The DAWES COMMISSION enrolled individuals as Citizens of a tribe under the
following categories: Citizen by Blood; Citizen by Marriage; New Born Citizen by
Blood (enrolled under act of Congress approved Mar. 03, 1905); Minor Citizens by
Blood (enrolled under act of Congress approved Apr. 06, 1906); Freedmen (former
black slaves of Indians, later freed and admitted to tribal citenship); New Born
Freedmen; and Minor Freedmen; Delaware Indians adopted by the Cherokee tribe
were enrolled as a seperate group within the Cherokee.

Within each enrollment category the generally DAWES COMMISSION maintained three
(3) types of card: Straight cards for persons whose applications were Approved;
D cards for persons whose applications were considered Doubtful, and subject to
question; and R cards for persons whose applications were Rejected. Persons
listed on D cards were subsequently transferred to either Straight or R cards
depending on the DAWES COMMISSION decisions. All decisions of the DAWES
COMMISSION were sent to the Secretary of the Interior for final approval.

An enrollment card, sometimes referred to by the DAWES COMMISSION as a census
card, records the information provided by the individual applications submitted
by members of the same family group or household and includes notation of the
action taken. The information given for each applicant includes name; roll
number (individual's number if enrolled); age; sex; degree of Indian blood;
relationship to the head of family group; parents names; and references to
enrollment on earlier rolls used by the DAWES COMMISSION for verification of
eligibility.