The State of Sequoyah: Indigenous Sovereignty and the Quest for an Indian State

By Donald L. Fixico
Published in 2024, the author describes how the forty-sixth state could have been Sequoyah, not Oklahoma. In 1905, the Five Tribes of Indian Territory gathered to form their own Indian-led state. Leaders of the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Muscogees and Seminoles drafted a constitution, which was ratified. In the end, Congress denied the request. President Theodore Roosevelt declared his support for the merging of Indian Territory with Oklahoma Territory, paving the way for Oklahoma statehood in 1907, ending the State of Sequoyah dream. This book tells the story of how the state of Sequoyah movement unfolded and the extent to which it remains alive today. Fixico concludes his narrative by highlighting recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, most notably McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020), that have reaffirmed the sovereignty of Indian nations over their lands and people—a principal inherent in the Sequoyah movement.

Did the story end in 1907? Could the Five Tribes revive their plan for separate statehood? Fixico leaves the reader to ponder this intriguing possibility. Hardcover, 206 pages,13 illustrations,3 maps.
 
Also available at Talbot Library and Museum Bookstore, P. O. Box 349, 500 So. Colcord Ave, Colcord, OK 74338 and online at www.talbotlibrary.org