The Opening of Oklahoma
Glossary
affiliated: Closely connected to
allotment: A piece of a whole. During the opening of Oklahoma, tribally-held lands were broken up and assigned to individuals.
amendment: An addition or change.
assessed: Determine the value of.
assimilate: To adopt the characteristics and practice the customs of the dominant culture.
boomers: Settlers who wanted Indian Territory opened for non-Indian settlement. In trying to force opening, boomers would sneak into Indian Territory and attempt to establish settlements.
Bureau of Indian Affairs: The federal agency tasked with implementing American Indian policy
cede/cession: Give up.
circumvent: To go around.
claim: To take or assert ownership.
concentration: The US policy that reduced tribally controlled land and confined Indians to reservations
convenience: Something that reduces effort or difficulty.
corruption: Using one’s official power for dishonest purposes or personal gain.
cow chips: Dried cow dung.
dissolution: The closing down or termination of.
expeditions:A journey by a group for a purpose such as exploration, research, or war.
frontier: Wilderness or areas with few settlers or towns.
homesteaders: Individuals attempting to develop functioning farms where that type of agriculture had not been practiced before.
justify: Provide logical reasons why a claim should be considered accurate or correct.
improved: A piece of land that has something constructed on it, like a well, house, or barn.
Indian Removal Act: The law passed in 1830 that gave the president power to negotiate with tribes with the goals of taking control of their land and moving the tribe west.
indigenous: The original or earliest known inhabitant of a place.
infrastructure: All of the things needed to do something; in the oil industry, pipelines, seismic equipment, trucks, storage facilities, refineries are necessary to acquire and sell the product. These are examples of infrastructure.
intensively: The approach to agriculture that seeks to achieve maximum production.
lottery: A drawing used to distribute land parcels by chance.
nomadic: Groups that move from place to place, usually seasonally, within a defined area.
non-interference: Avoiding involvement.
parcel: A distinct piece of land.
platted: Mapping and planning the use of land.
plenary: Ultimate or supreme authority.
proclamation: A public or official announcement.
public domain: Land belonging to the nation, managed by state or federal government.
reservations: Areas where many American Indians were confined along with other tribal members before the Dawes Act divided Indian land into individual allotments.
sealed-bid auction: A type of transaction in which participants submit their offers at the same time. The person who made the highest offer wins.
settlers: A person who moves to a new area with the intention of staying.
social history: The study of how people lived their day-to-day lives.
sod home: A dwelling made of dirt bricks.
sooners: Individuals participating in the land runs that snuck in before the official start time.
sovereignty: The power to govern without outside interference
sparsely: Not crowded
stipulations: Requirements that must be met.
stockade: A defensive wall.
subsistence: The minimum amount of resources needed for survival.
surplus: Extra
surveying: Examine and record the area and features of (an area of land) so as to construct a map, plan, or description.
sustain: To support well enough that something continues.
trust: Controlling the property of another. In this context, the US government held individual Indian allotments for various periods of time, meaning Indians could not sell their land.
widow: A woman whose husband has died.
