By Frances Herrod, Reporter
TVLSE, Oklv.-An Interactive Allotment Map of 1910 Mvskoke Allotments by the Museum Broken Arrow is gaining renewed interest after a viral Native American Heritage Month Facebook post by Museum Director Mickel Yantz.
The map, produced in conjunction with the Geographic Information System Department (GIS) at the City of Broken Arrow in 2022, shows a contemporary Tulsa area map overlaid with the historical allotments of Mvskoke citizens and Freedmen from Hastain’s Township Plats of the Creek Nation. The book, published in 1910 by E. Hastain, contains 297 pages of maps of allotments and an index of allottees.
The allotment era in Oklahoma began with The General Allotment Act of 1887, more popularly known as the “Dawes Act” after its author Senator Henry Dawes of Massachusetts. It broke up what was up until then communally held land into 160 acre allotments which were then doled out to those the United States government approved as citizens on the Final Rolls of The 5 Civilized Tribes of the Mvskoke, Semvnole, Tsalagi, Chahta, and Chikashsha Nations.
“(The Interactive Allotment Map) shows current street names around the edges and allows you to locate your residence, plus it shows the name of a Muscogee Creek citizen or a Freedman who initially owned that parcel of land. Those original owners are called allottees. The original townsite is also shown. The Museum Broken Arrow hopes that this map may answer questions for our visitors and those researching their genealogy and wants to take this opportunity to say thank you to the GIS Department,” Director Yantz said.
The Museum Broken Arrow is located at 400 S. Main Street
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 A.M.-4 P.M., Thursday from 4 P.M.- 8 P.M, and Saturday from 12 A.M.-4 P.M.. They are closed Sunday and Monday.
Further information can also be found on the Oklahoma Historical Society website, including a searchable database of Hastain’s Township Plats of the Creek Nation as well as the Final Rolls of the 5 Tribes (“The Dawes Rolls”).
