The Otoe Reservation was a twenty-four square-mile section straddling the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

state line. The majority of the reservation sat in modern-day southeast

Jefferson County, Nebraska Jefferson County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,240. Its county seat is Fairbury. The county was named for Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States of America. ...

. As early as 1834, the Oto relinquished land to the government in fulfillment of a treaty. It extended two miles (3 km) south of the state line its full length, into

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an ...

counties,

. In Nebraska it extended into Jefferson County, which was earlier called Jones County, and

Gage County Gage County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 21,704. Its county seat is Beatrice. The county was created in 1855 and organized in 1857. It was formed from land taken from the ...

. Altogether it comprised 250 sections totaling . The Glenwood,

Paddock A paddock is a small enclosure for horses. In the United Kingdom, this term also applies to a field for a general automobile racing competition, particularly Formula 1. Description In Canada and the United States of America, a paddock is a smal ...

, Liberty Township and Barneston Townships are wholly within the historic boundaries of the reservation. It also included sections of the

Elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of Nor ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, Wymore, and

Island Grove ' Events Center The Events Center is a 5,000-seat indoor arena which opened in 2006. It is used not only for sporting events but also conventions, concerts, livestock and trade shows, banquets, and other special events. It contains of sp ...

Townships. Although the Oto were originally located throughout southeastern Nebraska, their main town was once located along the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itsel ...

near present-day

Plattsmouth Plattsmouth is a city and county seat of Cass County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,502 at the 2010 census. History The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed the mouth of the Platte River, just north of what is now Main Street Pla ...

in the eastern part of the state. The

Moses Merrill Mission The Moses Merrill Mission, also known as the Oto Mission, was located about eight miles west of Bellevue, Nebraska. It was built and occupied by Moses and Eliza Wilcox Merrill, the first missionaries resident in Nebraska. The first building was ...

was located in this area. When the

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebras ...

was formed in 1854, the Oto resigned their remaining land claim with the exception of a section near the Big Blue River. This became the Otoe Reservation. In 1879, a new treaty with the federal government gave it the legal control to allow the Otoe to sell the reservation for tribal annuities, and relocate to "Indian country" Oklahoma. In the fall of 1882, the rest of the tribe moved to

Red Rock, Oklahoma Red Rock ( iow, Chína Ino Šúje pronounced , meaning "Rock Red town") is a town in northern Noble County, Oklahoma, Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 283 at the 2010 census, a decline from 293 at the 2000 census. The head ...

, the reservation was disbanded, and the "undeveloped" land was put for sale. The few remaining Otoes were of mixed background and quickly integrated with the new settlers, most notably the Barnes's of French and Otoe background. On May 31, 1883, of the Oto and Missouri Indian Reservation in Kansas and Nebraska were opened for settlement at a public sale. When the Oto were removed, the southeast corner of Jefferson County was opened to settlement and the community of Diller was formed. In 1886 the tribe shared an agent with several other local tribes, including the

Ponca The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the P ...

and

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska ...

. The agency was located on the Oto Reservation. The present-day town of Barneston was settled at the site of one of the largest Oto villages through the 19th century. The Indian agency and a trading post were located there. Barneston was founded by a French fur trapper who married to an Oto woman.Boye, A. and Morris, W. (2007) ''The Complete Roadside Guide to Nebraska.'' University of Nebraska Press. p 41.

Notes

{{Native Americans in Nebraska Otoe Former American Indian reservations in Nebraska Jefferson County, Nebraska Gage County, Nebraska Washington County, Kansas Marshall County, Kansas

See also

Notes