Coal in Choctaw Nation, Part II

This month’s Iti Fabvssa is Part II of the three-part series, “Coal in Choctaw Nation.” This month will focus on Choctaw Nation’s involvement in the coal industry and its short- and long-term impact on Choctaws and wider Indian Territory.

As mentioned in Part I, coal companies could not own land in the Choctaw Nation; rather, they leased land from Choctaw citizens to operate coal mines. A Choctaw law stated that any person who discovered coal was entitled to the coal beneath the surface within a one-mile radius. Entrepreneurial Choctaw citizens used this law to claim large tracts of land thought to have coal and then leased those to outside, non-Choctaw companies to excavate and sell the coal. The coal in Choctaw Nation was considered some of the best coal west of the Mississippi River, contributing to outside interest in it. The famed railroad tycoon Jay Gould once owned stock in the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad and later became an investor in some of the coal mines in Indian Territory.

Given the large scale of coal mining, it required many workers. Choctaw people largely did not work in the mines; rather, coal companies brought in experienced workers from outside Choctaw Nation. Many of the coal miners brought into Choctaw Nation were recent immigrants from countries like Italy, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Poland. These skilled miners of numerous ethnic backgrounds created ethnic communities that contributed to the diversity of people living in the Choctaw Nation. Towns in existence today that began as mining camps include Krebs, Lehigh, Hartshorne, Wilburton and Savanna.

While this large workforce was good for the coal companies, these coal companies and imported workers caused major problems for Choctaw Nation. General Council passed its first law preventing non-Choctaws from settling or purchasing land in Choctaw territory in 1836; numerous laws governing non-Choctaws followed. ¹ One individual who lived around Atoka recalled Lighthorsemen riding through the county to collect permit fees from non-Choctaw citizens living and transacting business within Choctaw territory. ² Despite revising this permit system multiple times, the pressure from coal mining remained difficult, especially once the number of outsiders outnumbered Choctaw citizens.

Although the Choctaw government could regulate non-Choctaw citizens by requiring coal companies to get permits for their non-Choctaw workers, they did not have legal jurisdiction over US citizens – only the US government did. This meant that when outsiders committed crimes in Choctaw territory, Choctaw Nation could not prosecute them in tribal courts. They had to wait for US marshals to retrieve accused criminals and take them to the court in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Given the distance between Choctaw Nation and US court, this proved challenging. Outsiders who stopped working in the mines and tried to settle in Choctaw Nation were considered intruders. Intruders created a multitude of problems for Choctaw people. While individual Choctaw citizens became rich from their leases to companies and royalties on the extracted coal, Choctaw Nation had to deal with the issues caused by the coal industry that affected the whole community. Faced with this burden on the government, Choctaw people quickly realized that things needed to change.

In October 1874, Coleman Cole of the Buzzard Party was elected Principal Chief. Since the completion of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad in 1872, it was clear that decisive action was needed to curb the encroachment of industrial capitalism that clashed with Choctaw values and norms. Cole was viewed as a ‘traditionalist’ who sought to maintain Choctaw traditional governance values like doing things for the benefit of all Choctaw people rather than a select few. While living in the Choctaw homelands in what is now Mississippi until 1845, Cole watched white settlers steal his grandmother’s land – despite US treaty promises to protect Choctaws who remained. ³ These lessons stayed with Cole and informed how he understood the coal industry’s impact on Choctaw Nation’s ability to govern itself.

Chief Cole also inherited other governmental challenges that preceded his election. In 1868, Chief Allen Wright noted that Choctaw Nation was still dealing with the consequences for their alliance with the Confederacy. During the Civil War, unspent money allocated for Choctaw schools was converted into Confederate bonds that became worthless after their surrender. Furthermore, money owed by the US government was tied up in a lawsuit known as the Net Proceeds case – which was also complicated by the Confederate alliance. In this context of great need to fund its governmental operations, particularly schools, Choctaw Nation turned to their natural resources for generating revenue.

In his June 1875 editorial in The Vindicator, Chief Cole encouraged General Council to pass legislation to leverage coal to support schools. He wrote, “The time has arrived that the General Council of the Choctaw nation will have to wake up on the subject of education. The General Council should take some active steps toward establishing more boarding schools. The question arises, how can it be done? I will answer, by developing our sure mineral resources.” ⁴ After an incident with some Choctaw citizens leasing land to coal companies later that year, it was agreed that coal royalties would go to both individuals and Choctaw Nation. While this did not resolve issues regarding intruders and jurisdictional challenges, this was an important step in making the coal industry support Choctaw people.

From 1875 to 1949, Choctaws leased lands with coal to companies and charged royalties on the extracted coal. By 1881, Choctaw Nation had received over $1,200,000 in royalties, while over $800,000 had been paid to individual Choctaws who leased their lands to companies. ⁵ Even after Oklahoma statehood, these mines stayed in operation and continued to pay royalties to Choctaw Nation. The Mining Trustee continued to do his job, along with other Choctaw governmental officials like the Chief and National Attorney. Money from leases and royalties went into Choctaw Nation’s account managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The sale of the coal and asphalt lands in Choctaw Nation, as we will see in next month’s Iti Fabvssa, contributed to the longevity of Choctaw government, even though people and scholars alike claimed that the Choctaw government had been disestablished with Oklahoma statehood.

Coal provided Choctaw Nation a rare opportunity to use its natural resources for economic development. By leasing lands to coal companies and charging royalties on each bushel of coal extracted, Choctaw Nation used those funds for government operations such as courts, schools, and Lighthorsemen. While the money gained from the coal industry was used for the betterment of Choctaw people, it also raised a wide range of unforeseen issues. Part III will discuss the management of the coal lands following Oklahoma statehood and its role in maintaining Choctaw governance.

Works Cited

1. Megan A. Baker, “Building More than an Economy: Histories of Choctaw-US Laws, Land, and Development in Oklahoma” (Los Angeles, UCLA, 2023): 221.
2. Joe Southern. “Interview with Joe Flax,” Indian Pioneer Papers, Volume 30: 181.
3. John Bartlett Meserve, “Coleman Cole,” Chronicles of Oklahoma 14, no. 1 (1936): 9–21.
4. Baker, “Building More than an Economy: Histories of Choctaw-US Laws, Land, and Development in Oklahoma.”
5. Gene Aldrich, “A History of the Coal Industry in Oklahoma to 1907” (Norman, University of Oklahoma, 1952).