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Violation

Fort Reno: military reserve carved from the Cheyenne and Arapaho reservation (1883-2026)

Not yet reviewed by this nation. What follows comes from public records and research. It does not speak for the nation.

An 1869 order created the Cheyenne and Arapaho reservation; an 1883 order carved out Fort Reno, which the tribes still seek.

Treaty
Medicine Lodge Treaty (1867) and 1869 executive order reservation
Nations
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
When
1883-2026
Land affected
About 6,700 acres west of Oklahoma City still held by USDA.
Acreage
about 6,700 acres disputed (tribal accounting points to a discrepancy of about 10,000 acres)

What happened

The Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Reservation in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) was created by an executive order dated August 10, 1869. The USDA Agricultural Research Service says an 1869 order by President Grant defined the reservation's boundaries as roughly 5.1 million acres. This case concerns an executive-order reservation, not a treaty promise.

About fourteen years later, President Chester Arthur approved a request from his Secretary of War to carve a military reservation for Fort Reno out of it. A history page on Fort Reno says this became "a 9,493-acre permanent military reservation on land that had been part of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes' reservation." The Secretary's letter said the Interior Department reported no objection from the Indian Office. The Army used the land, including as a horse and mule remount station through 1948. Today it houses a U.S. Department of Agriculture research center.

The tribes contend the land was not part of earlier payments, because it was set aside as a military installation, and should return to them now that the military has left. Rep. Frank Lucas, whose district includes the site, says the tribes were paid in the 1890s and in 1964. Reporting says a 1999 Interior opinion found the tribes had a credible equitable claim; a 2009 appeals ruling upheld a decision that the statute of limitations had expired. In March 2026 the House Agriculture Committee advanced a farm bill draft, 34-17, that would remove the end date on a bar to USDA transferring the land.

Good to know. This reservation was created by executive order, not by treaty. Whether the tribes were already paid for Fort Reno is disputed, and Rep. Lucas puts the land USDA holds there at 6,500 acres.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error

What the sources say, and how this was checked

Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.

  1. a 9,493-acre permanent military reservation on land that had been part of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes' reservation5 things to know about Fort Reno (News 9)
  2. In a 1999 opinion, the Interior Department agreed that the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes had a credible equitable claim.These tribes want a key piece of Oklahoma land returned (HPPR/KGOU/Oklahoma Watch)
  3. would make permanent federal restrictions preventing the return of Fort Reno to the Cheyenne and Arapaho TribesFarm bill draft would block return of Fort Reno to Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes (Tribal Business News)
  4. Today, Fort Reno is the site of ARS’s Grazinglands Research Laboratory.Fort Reno's Storied Past, USDA Agricultural Research Service

Research notes. Developing and disputed. The input's $15 million 1965 settlement based on an 1891 cession was not confirmed; sources I read say only that an Indian Claims Commission settlement occurred in 1965 and that Rep. Lucas says payments were made in the 1890s and 1964. The input's 1948 transfer to USDA, the 1949 bill and its 1952 House passage, and H.R. 7567 were not verified; NonDoc and KOSU returned HTTP 403. Acreage still held by USDA is reported variously (Lucas says 6,500; the input says 6,700), so I give no current acreage. The 34-17 committee vote is from Tribal Business News (March 2026); later floor action was not checked. The input's treaty framing is thin: this is an executive-order reservation, not a treaty promise. Tribal governor's views are attributed to reporting, not to the Nation directly.

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Connections

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Nations named 1

Located in 1

Policy era 1

Land returns that respond to this 1

Concerns the instrument 1

Sources

  1. nondoc.com/2026/03/20/farm-bill-draft-would-permanently-block-return-of-fort-reno-to-cheyeunclassified
The record’s fields
What happened
Fort Reno: military reserve carved from the Cheyenne and Arapaho reservation (1883-2026) -- After the Medicine Lodge treaty, President Grant created the Cheyenne and Arapaho reservation by executive order (1869). About fourteen years later President Arthur set aside 9,493 acres as the Fort Reno military reservation. In 1948 the land passed to USDA. The tribes say they were never compensated for Fort Reno; federal officials argue prior settlements (a 1965 $15 million settlement based on an 1891 cession) resolved it. A 1949 bill returning about 6,900 acres passed the House in 1952 and stalled in the Senate. In 2026 a House farm bill draft (H.R. 7567) would make permanent a 2008 bar on USDA declaring the El Reno research facility excess; the House Agriculture Committee approved it 34-17 in early March 2026.
Legal aftermath
Return still sought. Status of the farm-bill provision after committee approval was not verified (March 2026 source).
Kind
Violation
Confidence
Medium
Nation review
Not yet reviewed by this nation

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