History

• The Atoka Agreement was signed on April 23, 1897 by delegations of the Choctaw Nation and Chickasaw Nation. Atoka was then located in Choctaw territory, but now lies in present-day Oklahoma. The members of the Chickasaw Nation rejected the agreement, but the provisions were incorporated into the 1898 Curtis Act.
  
  

Significance for Land

• The main provision of the Atoka Agreement was the division of the Choctaw and Chickasaw land into individual plots held by members of the two nations. Freed slaves and their descendants living on the lands also received allotments, although these were smaller than those received by tribal members. Lands containing natural resources such as coal were not allotted, but rather sold or leased to generate income for members.
  
  

Significance for Government

• The Atoka Agreement set a 20-year plan to eliminate the Choctaw and Chickasaw governments. The document outlined the termination of the tribal administration by March 4, 1906. Prior to the elimination of the tribal governments, members of the two nations were made United States citizens by an act of the Congress in 1901.