Indian Land Cessions in the United States

Indian Land Cessions in the United States
Map of Indiana land cessions from Indian Land Cessions
Indiana land cessions (Indian Land Cessions, Plate CXXVI)
AuthorCharles C. Royce
Published1899
PublisherGovernment Printing Office
OCLC11405759

Indian Land Cessions in the United States is a widely used[1] 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."[2]

The book was published in the Annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Volume 18, Part 2. Cyrus Thomas wrote the extensive introduction explaining the legal framework and land acquisition policies of various imperial entities.[3]

Royce was an employee of the Bureau of American Ethnology.[4] In a column in Science about Royce's Cherokee 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."[5]

In 1902, the New York Times said the work is "of paramount value not just to the special reader, but to the general public."[3]

A later valuable source of Native American geography and ethnology maps is the 15-volume Handbook of North American Indians.[2]

  1. ^ Johnson, Kristin. "LibGuides: Indian Claims Insight Help Files: Content Types". proquest.libguides.com. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  2. ^ a b Cole, Daniel G.; Sutton, Imre (2013). "A Cartographic History of Indian-White Government Relations during the Past 400 Years" (PDF). American Indian Culture and Research Journal. 37 (1) – via si.edu.
  3. ^ a b "Book Review: Indian Land Cessions". timesmachine.nytimes.com. 1902-06-21. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  4. ^ Woodbury, Richard B.; Woodbury, Nathalie F. S. (1999). "The Rise and Fall of the Bureau of American Ethnology". Journal of the Southwest. 41 (3): 283–296. ISSN 0894-8410.
  5. ^ "Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology." Science, vol. 13, no. 312, 1889, pp. 62–64. JSTOR, JSTOR 1763700. Accessed 11 Oct. 2022.