D01SINO, LIZZIE JLWnm IOT*BVIEW INDEX CABDS: Cherokee Nation Tribe-Cherokee Night Hanks Allotment

Transcription

1 D01SINO, LIZZIE JLWnm IOT*BVIEW INDEX CABDS: Cherokee Nation Tribe-Cherokee Night Hanks Allotment

2 *. 8 - Form A-(3-149) BIOGRAPHY FORM WORKS PHOGRSSS /nilv'istration Indian-Pioneor History Project for Oklahoma d Worker*a name Bradley Bolinger report made on (date).. July 12 r 193 Mrs. Lizzie Fie inning Downing Po-t Cffice Address Wilbur ton, Oklahoma, General Delivery a aciereos (or location) '&** miles out on Limestone Prairie BIriTH: Manth April Day 3 Year 1* 7 lace of bn-jh In the Cherokee Nation too of.father Martin Planning. Place of birth Indiana he; informal;} ai ab?ut fa+j e of Mother Place of birth "- rher informatior motheri to not remember anything aboat my mother*s age as she died when I was an infant* Ir complete narx-ative by the field uorkvjr dealing with the life and story ] \n-t3t-vi.ired-. Refer to Alan^al for suggested subjects f.nd queot-von-sl.'-uk sl-^os if nocyssary and attach firmly to this?ora. Numher of. a ^

3 DOWIONO, LXZZIB luotoxg ^", X5TBHVXEW My father** sane was Martin Fleming* Ha was born In the state of Indiana, August 18, 1841, and lived to be eighty-one ysars of age* I was moved to the Cherokee Indian Territory along about the time Z was twelve* years of ago, I am now forty* r Ky fathor and I goi to be pretty well aoqoainted vi th many of tbe Qherolcee Indians in tnose days* I net and oarrled a fuliblood Oharokee Indian by the mm of Blue Downing and we tare lived in tbe Cfcero&ee UaUon einoe«- Tho beat I reaunsber^ all that my father tola me about th«cherokee Indiana was that along in the early days there was a lot of talk of the allotaent of the Indian land at so many acres to one individual* These Indians had what they called elans in tfre Cherokee Nation* One was named the Night Hawks* This* was a elass of the Cherokees that were not educated very much, and they just wanted to be let alone' by the white people and the govexmasnt* They wished to be able to ON their ootmtry as they pleased* for their own hunting grounds, and to be able to govern themselves* They were opposed to the white man settling la their nation*' In

4 L&&XS fudbohg. XHOH7XKW* 3(>4 the Qmvtikae*& language Night Hawks were called the Ka*fo«Aas* They were entirely against any type of oivil» iaation end did not want the goreaufttnt to allot the land which they thought should belong to tfceia they had, been mcred here txm the South* At this tine there were a part of the Cherokee* who had had some education* This dan was a more greasive ca& and they were in faror of the land allotment* and th» acceptance of tbeterritory into Statehood* This elan of the Chorokees had no particular name, as did the Night Hawks* ' K The Night Hawks would travel all over the Cherokee Nation co. horseback* They would find out where there was to be a gathering of the store progressive class of Indians and they would go thero and start a big fight* There were mnay kill ings in these fights» v * great nuaber of which occurred at night* - If there was any particular Indian who was a leader in the progress!re elan they Would go to his hone at night* shoot him, amd rids off* This also happened to several of the white settlers who had taken part ia the arguosat. i The olaa of Night Hawks finally thinned out, end may of than realised that their belief was not workable and

5 DomiHG. LIZZH JUMOMO fxk / that their plan would be impossible to git owr* More of them joined with the progressive class of the Cherokee / ' Tribe, snd accepted their beliefs* father fought in the Federal Araqr during the CivU > t and zaored to the Cherokee Nation in the year of 1870* Be had a very good education for a man in those day»«be was very successful in the soaking of fronds with the Cherokee Tribe, especially many of those Indians 4 who belonged to the Night Bnfic Clan* He had learned to speak moot of the Cherokee language, and pot In lots of time visiting around among these Night Basks* Be tod many long talks wlt^thea explaining to them that their idea of oiyilizauon was wrong* It was possible to tell in those days just when the Sight Hawks were going to hare one of their raids against' other Indians who wore against them* The Night Bawk* would here a certain place in the country where they would all gather and have a large f irt* They would cook and eat; aleep f ajid dancej and stay there for three or four days* Then we white settlers would know by that that they were soon to starts on one of their raids*