A Hopi (Moqui) petition signed by all the Chiefs and headmen of the tribe asking the Federal Government to give them title to their lands instead of individually allotting each tribal member. 03/27/1894 - 04/10/1894

The Hopi people of the Moqui Villages in the Arizona Territory sent this petition to “the Washington Chiefs in March, 1894. Signed by representatives of the tribe, with a symbol for every family, the document asked the federal government to give the Hopi title to their lands instead of individually allotting each tribal member a plot, as had been prescribed by the Dawes Act of 1887. The Moqui worried about losing their matriarchal way of life and cooperative management of resources that helped them adapt to their environment. Referring to surveyors, the petition said: “During the last two years, strangers have looked over our land with spy-glasses and made marks upon it.…None of us were asked that it should be measured into separate lots, and given to individuals for this would cause confusion.”

The document is written in the hand of Thomas Keam, who first came west with the military to move the Navajo people from Arizona to New Mexico, but later established a trading post and worked with Hopi and Navajo leaders to maintain peace between them, new settlers, and American authorities.

Only selected pages are shown here; the full petition is available via DocsTeach  »

Source: research.archives.gov

155 Notes/ Hide

  1. gov-info reblogged this from todaysdocument
  2. podvitkovem reblogged this from fyeah-history
  3. fmlal reblogged this from todaysdocument
  4. ex-tabulis reblogged this from todaysdocument
  5. lenofi reblogged this from todaysdocument
  6. atlantisrelapse reblogged this from todaysdocument
  7. numinousnegrita reblogged this from hairtrending
  8. mdinky reblogged this from todaysdocument
  9. penies reblogged this from matartodoelmundo
  10. matartodoelmundo reblogged this from todaysdocument
  11. theluciusfox reblogged this from todaysdocument
  12. googleberry reblogged this from todaysdocument
  13. declasse-withsugarontop reblogged this from bachin221b
  14. sparklesforlunch reblogged this from todaysdocument
  15. yourpalailsa reblogged this from todaysdocument
  16. amyxiaohua reblogged this from fyeah-history
  17. sarathelionhearted reblogged this from todaysdocument
  18. snowyplover reblogged this from fyeah-history
  19. sherwin-rulz reblogged this from todaysdocument
  20. abstrackafricana reblogged this from todaysdocument
  21. nycgeek reblogged this from todaysdocument
  22. coldplums reblogged this from todaysdocument and added:
    For your daily dose of unmitigated sadness.