Five Dollar Indians

Five Dollar Indians paid government agents under the table in order to reap the benefits that came with having Indian blood. Mainly Caucasian Men, white Latinos and Siberian native American mongoloids who had an appetite for land theft paid to register on the Dawes Rolls, earning fraudulent enrollment in tribes along with benefits inherited by generations to come, This is where the term $5 Indian comes from. “These were people who were more than happy to exploit the Dawes Commission—and government agents that allowed it, for $5, were willing to turn a blind eye to the graft and corruption.”

The Dawes Commission, established in 1893 to enforce the General Allotment Act of 1887 (or the Dawes Act), was charged with convincing tribes to cede their land to the United States Corporation and divide remaining land into individual allotments. The commission also required Indians to claim membership in only one tribe and register on the Dawes Rolls, what the government meant to be a definitive record of individuals with Indian blood.

The Curtis Act, passed in 1898, targeted the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole), forcing them to accept allotments and register on the Dawes Rolls.

Five Dollar Indians and The Dawes Commission set up tents in Indian Territory, There, field clerks scoured written records, took oral testimony and generated enrollment cards for individuals determined to have Indian blood. it also included lots of people with questionable heritage. Commissioners took advantage of their positions and enrolled people who had very minimal or questionable connections to the tribes,“They were not adverse to taking money under the table.”Five-dollar Indians passed their unearned benefits to heirs who still lay claim to tribal citizenship and associated privileges.

“Now we have people who are Caucasian, white Latinos, Siberian native American mongoloids that can trace their names back to the rolls used by tribal nations to ascertain who has rights as citizens,“That means we have white people who have the ability to vote at large; it means political rights; it means the potential to influence tribal policy on a whole range of issues; it means people have access to health care, education and employment. The implications are quite profound for people who got away with fraud.”
while five Dollar Indians paid to play Indian, many authentic Indians who didn’t trust the government chose not to register with the Dawes Rolls at all, That means Melanated American Aboriginals with legitimate claims to tribal enrollment and benefits are now excluded.

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