Proposal for Restitution of Chilocco School Lands to Cherokee Nation: A 1963 Letter to Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1962-11-21

The letter is from Earl Boyd Pierce, the General Counsel for the Cherokee Nation, to Honorable Will J. Pitner, Area Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, regarding the Chalaco School Lands. The Cherokee Nation is interested in repurchasing a portion of the land that has been deemed excess and surplus to the needs of the educational institution at Chalaco. They are offering to reimburse the United States for the excess lands and are seeking approval from the Principal Chief and the Executive Committee of the Cherokee Nation, as well as the Department of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The letter also mentions that Congress had only provided for the disposal of two 5 acre homesteads, despite there being 2,700 acres considered surplus and excess.