In 1841 U.S. government authorities sent Major Ethan Allen
Hitchcock to Indian Territory to investigate numerous charges of
fraud and profiteering by various contractors dealing with the
Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Indians, who had
been removed from the South during the last decade. Hitchcock's
report, filed after four months of travel, exposed such a high
level of graft and corruption that his investigation was suppressed
and never brought to the attention of Congress.
Hitchcock kept nine personal diaries of his travels and
observations, however, and they reveal much historic and
ethnographic information on Indian life in Indian Territory. He
observes how the Indians were adjusting alter removal and includes
many details on their customs, beliefs, culture, religion,
ceremonies, amusements, industry, tribal councils, and government.
To aid the modern reader, editor Grant Foreman provides an
introduction and annotations, and Michael D. Green, in his
foreword, explains the politics behind Hitchcock's mission to
Indian Territory and his accomplishments in advancing ethnographic
knowledge.
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