Entering Indian Territory - Oklahoma Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The Indian Territory served as the destination for the policy of Indian Removal, a policy pursued intermittently by American presidents early in the nineteenth century, but aggressively pursued by President Andrew Jackson after the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Five Civilized Tribes in the South were the most prominent tribes displaced by the policy, a relocation that came to be known as the Trail of Tears during the Choctaw removals starting in 1831. The trail ended in what is now Arkansas and Oklahoma, where there were already many Indians living in the territory, as well as whites and escaped slaves. Other tribes, such as the Delaware, Cheyenne, and Apache were also forced to relocate to the Indian territory.

The Five Civilized Tribes set up such towns as Tulsa, Ardmore, Tahlequah, and Muskogee. Members of these tribes fought primarily on the side of the Confederacy during the American Civil War in Indian territory. Following the Battle of Doaksville, Brigadier General Stand Watie, a Confederate commander of the Cherokee nation, became the last Confederate general to surrender in the American Civil War on 23 June 1865.

In time, the Indian Territory was gradually reduced to what is now Oklahoma; then, with the organization of Oklahoma Territory in 1890, to just the eastern half of the area. The citizens of Indian Territory tried, in 1905, to gain admission to the union as the State of Sequoyah, but were rebuffed by Congress and an Administration which did not want two new Western states, Sequoyah and Oklahoma. Citizens then joined to seek admission of a single state to the Union. With Oklahoma statehood in November 1907, Indian Territory was extinguished.
Source/Credit: Wikipedia

This Oklahoma Historic Marker stand on U. S. Highway 64 near the Oklahoma-Arkansas State Line. THE ONLY PARKING IS ALONG THE SHOULDER OF THIS BUSY HIGHWAY. CAUTION SHOULD BE USED WHEN VISITING THIS WAYMARK.

The Text of this historic marker reads:

ENTERING INDIAN TERRITORY
"Home of the Five Civilized Tribes, Ft. Smith Founded 1817, was first U. S. Fort in Ind. Ter. Along here the first highway in Oklahoma, 56 mi. from Ft. Smith to Ft. Gibson was completed in 1827. General Zachery Taylor, Stationed at these posts in 1841-45 and later Presidents of U. S. traveled this highway."

County: Sequoyah Record Address:: U. S. Highway 64 Arkoma, OK United States 74901 Web site if available: [Web Link] Rate the Site: Date Erected: 1995 Sponsor (Who put it there): Oklahoma Historical Society

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