On June 28th, 1898, Congress passed the Curtis Act which included in the body of the legislation allotment to the Five Civilized Tribes and ending them as sovereign nations by March 4, 1906. The act also abolished tribal courts and forbade enforcement of tribal laws in federal courts. The act forced the tribes to begin enrolling tribal members and to take up allotments by the 1906 deadline.
Ironically, the act was authored by Kaw tribal member Charles Curtis, Congressman from Kansas.
