The Oklahoma Land Rush (1889)

• In 1889 the government opened up the middle section of Indian Territory to white settlement

  
• (Some Indian land had already been sold in 1887, when tribes’ lands were broken up under the Dawes Act.)

  The land was divided up into 160-acre sections. At noon on 22nd April 1889 the first land rush began - thousands of hopeful settlers rushed over the boundary to claim a section as theirs.
• There were 7 land rushes in Oklahoma from 1889-1895. The largest was in 1893, when 8 million acres were opened up. By bringing in more white settlers, the Oklahoma Land Rush pushed the Indians out even more.