Greenwood McCurtain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chief of the Choctaw Nation | |
| In office 1896–1900 | |
| Preceded by | Jefferson Gardner |
| Succeeded by | Gilbert Wesley Dukes |
| In office 1902–1910[a] | |
| Preceded by | Gilbert Wesley Dukes |
| Succeeded by | Victor Locke Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 28, 1848 Skullyville, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory |
| Died | December 27, 1910 (aged 62) Kinta, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Nationality | Choctaw Nation |
| Political party | Tuskahoma Party (until 1906) Democrat (1906) Republican (1906–1910) |
| Parent |
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| Relatives | Jane Austin McCurtain (sister-in-law) Jackson McCurtain (brother) Edmund McCurtain (brother) |
| Occupation | Sheriff, treasurer, ambassador |
| Known for | Delegate to the Sequoyah Convention, last independent Choctaw chief before annexation by the U.S. |
Greenwood "Green" McCurtain (November 28, 1848 – December 27, 1910) was an American Indian statesman and the last elected Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation (1896–1900 and 1902–1906), serving a total of four elected two-year terms. After 1906 and dissolution of tribal governments under the Dawes Act prior to Oklahoma's annexation and achieving statehood, McCurtain was appointed as chief by Theodore Roosevelt. He served in that capacity until his death in 1910, and was the last freely-elected Chief of the Choctaws until 1971.
Green McCurtain also achieved notice for represented his tribe as a delegate at the Sequoyah Constitutional Convention. This was an effort by American Indian nations in Indian Territory to create an Indian-controlled state in what is now Oklahoma. They were not successful in getting Congressional support for this proposal, as Euro-Americans who had established considerable presence in the Oklahoma Territory with Federal backing, lobbied strongly for the two territories to be admitted as a single state.
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