''Indian Land Cessions in the United States'' is a widely used atlas and chronology compiled by
Charles C. Royce of
Native American treaties with the U.S. government until 1896–97. Royce's maps are considered "the foundation of cartographic testimony in Indian land claims litigation."
The book was published in the ''Annual report of the
Bureau of American Ethnology
The Bureau of American Ethnology (or BAE, originally, Bureau of Ethnology) was established in 1879 by an act of Congress for the purpose of transferring archives, records and materials relating to the Indians of North America from the Interior D ...
to the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
, Volume 18, Part 2.''
Cyrus Thomas wrote the extensive introduction explaining the legal framework and land acquisition policies of various imperial entities.
Royce was an employee of the
Bureau of American Ethnology
The Bureau of American Ethnology (or BAE, originally, Bureau of Ethnology) was established in 1879 by an act of Congress for the purpose of transferring archives, records and materials relating to the Indians of North America from the Interior D ...
. In a column in ''Science'' about Royce's
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
researches, it was noted, "The paper is an illustration of a work of wide scope undertaken by the bureau—a historical atlas of Indian affairs, showing upon a series of state and territorial maps, the boundaries of the various tracts of country which have from time to time been acquired through the medium of treaty stipulations or act of Congress from the several Indian tribes resident within the present territory of the United States."
["Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology." ''Science'', vol. 13, no. 312, 1889, pp. 62–64. ''JSTOR'', . Accessed 11 Oct. 2022.]
In 1902, the ''New York Times'' said the work is "of paramount value not just to the special reader, but to the general public."
A later valuable source of Native American geography and ethnology maps is the 15-volume ''
Handbook of North American Indians''.
See also
*
Aboriginal title in the United States
The United States was the first jurisdiction to acknowledge the common law doctrine of aboriginal title (also known as "original Indian title" or "Indian right of occupancy"). Native American tribes and nations establish aboriginal title by ac ...
*
Tribal sovereignty in the United States
References
External links
Video
* (1 mi 30 sec)
Original full-text and maps
*
''Indian Land Cessions in the United States''. Annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Volume 18, Part 2. Bureau of American Ethnology. 1896. (INTERNET ARCHIVE)
usgwarchives.net Indian Cessions w some historiography contextIndian land cessions in the United States, Department of Geography & Maps copy 1, maps only
(LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)
Online digital maps
Indigenous Digital Archive Treaties Explorer
Tribal Lands Ceded to the United States (Feature Layer) - ArcGIS Hub
1896 non-fiction books
United States and Native American treaties
Aboriginal title in the United States
History of United States expansionism
Non-fiction books about indigenous peoples of the Americas
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