Samuel Houston Mayes was Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation

Cherokee Nation (19th century)

The Cherokee Nation of the 19th century —an historic entity —was a legal, autonomous, tribal government in North America existing from 1794–1906. Often referred to simply as The Nation by its inhabitants, it should not be confused with what is known today as the "modern" Cherokee Nation...

 from 1895 to 1899.

Background

He was born May 11, 1845, near Stilwell, Oklahoma

Stilwell, Oklahoma

Stilwell is a town in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,276 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Adair County...

 and was named for Samuel Houston, a friend of his father, Samuel Mayes. He was brother of Joel B. Mayes

Joel B. Mayes

Joel Bryan Mayes was Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.-Early life and education:He was born in present-day Bartow County, Georgia on October 2, 1833, of mixed Cherokee and white ancestry...

. Mayes attended the Cherokee Male Seminary

Cherokee Male Seminary

The Cherokee Male Seminary was a tribal college, established by the Cherokee Nation, and one of first institutions of higher learning established west of the Mississippi River.-Creation:...

 in Tahlequah

Tahlequah, Oklahoma

Tahlequah is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, United States located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It was founded as a capital of the original Cherokee Nation in 1838 to welcome those Cherokee forced west on the Trail of Tears. The city's population was 15,753 at the 2010 census. It...

, Indian Territory

Indian Territory

The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

.

Career

Chief Mayes established a ferry and mercantile business on the Grand River in 1906. During his term as Chief in 1896, the power of the Cherokee Nation to determine its own citizenship was transferred to the Dawes Commission. In 1898 the Curtis act gave this power to U.S. courts to determine citizenship of the five tribes in Indian Territory.
The tribe tried to fight this but were forced into negotiations instead. Mayes appointed seven Cherokee delegates to the commission on January 7, 1899. These delegates agreed to take the proposition to allot Cherokee lands and dissolve the Cherokee government to a vote. On January 31, 1899 the Cherokee voted to approve this agreement. However, the U.S. congress never ratified it. Another agreement would be ratified in 1900 that caused the Chief of the Cherokee Nation to sign over the deed to all Cherokee lands. Mayes was no longer Chief by that time and avoided the bleak historical task.
The commission divided the Cherokee lands into allotments of approximately 110 acres (40 acres for Freedmen).

Death and legacy

He died on December 12, 1927 at Pryor Creek, Oklahoma

Pryor Creek, Oklahoma

Pryor Creek, usually known as simply Pryor, is a city in Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 8,659 at the 2000 census, compared to 9,539 in the 2010 census....

.

Mayes County, Oklahoma

Mayes County, Oklahoma

Mayes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was named for Samuel Houston Mayes, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1895 to 1899. According to the 2010 census the population was 41,259, a 7.5 percent increase from 2000, when the population was 38,369...

, where he was a longtime resident, is named in his honor.