Indian Territory

American  

noun

1. a former territory of the U.S.: now in E Oklahoma. About 31,000 sq. mi. (80,000 sq. km).

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Indian Territory British  

noun

1. the territory established in the early 19th century in present-day Oklahoma, where Indians were forced to settle by the US government. The last remnant was integrated into the new state of Oklahoma in 1907

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Example Sentences

From the remove of many decades, Mattie relates in the novel how, in 1878, she sets off from Arkansas to catch her father’s killer, who has fled to Indian Territory.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

The “Cherokee Kid,” as he was known, was born in 1879 in Indian Territory near modern-day Oologah, Okla.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2025

It is one of 39 federally recognized tribes with headquarters in a state once known as Indian Territory, where indigenous people were forced to relocate in the 1800s as European settlers expanded westward.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 2, 2023

The musical, by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers, depicts a love triangle set on a farm in Indian Territory in 1906, just before Oklahoma became part of the United States.

From New York Times • Oct. 22, 2019

I heard that in Indian Territory they tried to send Natives from the Five Civilized Tribes to combat schools, but they quickly figured out what was what and all ran off.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland