1892 Morgan Map of the United States Indian Reservations

This is an 1892 Thomas Jefferson Morgan map of the United States showing Indian reservations. The map depicts the country from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and from Canada to Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. Indian reservations throughout the country are highlighted in orange and labeled in block lettering. Indian boarding schools, day schools, and contract schools throughout the U.S. are identified by different symbols which correspond to a key situated along the left border. The states are all illustrated, labeled, and shaded different colors to allow for easy differentiation. Cities and towns are labeled as well, as are railroads throughout the country. Yellowstone National Park, established in 1872, is also identified. Three insets are situated along the bottom border that illustrate Alaska, the Mission Indian Reservation in California, and the northeastern corner of the Indian Territory.

Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory

Perhaps the most intriguing part of this map is what is going on in the modern-day state of Oklahoma. Here, Oklahoma is split into two territories, the Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory. The concept of an Indian Territory was the successor to the British Indian Reserve, which was. Established by the Royal Proclamation of 1763. After the Louisiana Purchase, President Jefferson and his successors viewed land west of the Mississippi River as available for the resettlement of Native Americans, which became official policy after the 1830 Indian Removal Act was signed by President Andrew Jackson. The Indian Territory was slowly whittled down as Americans moved west and more and more territories were formed. Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Dakotas all chipped away at land that had once belonged to Native Americans. The borders of modern-day Oklahoma, where Indian Territory was eventually reduced to, were established by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.

Over thirty years later, the Oklahoma Organic Act of 1890 established the Oklahoma Territory and divided the Indian Territory in two, as it is illustrated here. The Oklahoma Territory existed from 1890 to 1907, when Oklahoma became a state. Both the citizens of the Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory tried to have their respective territories admitted as states, with the Indian Territory proposing to be known as Sequoyah. Both territories drafted constitutions and worked through the process toward statehood. Eastern politicians opposed the creation of two new western states, and pressured President Theodore Roosevelt on the issue. Roosevelt's proposed solution was that the two territories be joined and admitted as one state, which was agreed to by Congress. Thus, the State of Oklahoma came into being and the two territories were merged in 1907.

Publication History and Census

This map was created under the direction of Thomas Jefferson Morgan and published by the Norris Peters Company in 1892. It is well represented in institutional collections but rare on the private market.