The World's Richest Indian

This is first biography of Jackson Barnett, the Native American who gained unexpected wealth from oil found on his property. The book explores how control of Barnett's fortune was violently contested by his guardian, the state of Oklahoma, the Baptist Church, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, among others. Barnett's case came to national prominence as an example of Bureau of Indian Affairs mismanagement of Indian property. Litigation over Barnett's wealth lasted two decades and stimulated Congress to make long-overdue reforms in its policies towards Indians. Highlighting the paradoxical role...

This is first biography of Jackson Barnett, the Native American who gained unexpected wealth from oil found on his property. The book explores how control of Barnett's fortune was violently contested by his guardian, the state of Oklahoma, the Baptist Church, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, among others. Barnett's case came to national prominence as an example of Bureau of Indian Affairs mismanagement of Indian property. Litigation over Barnett's wealth lasted two decades and stimulated Congress to make long-overdue reforms in its policies towards Indians. Highlighting the paradoxical role played by the federal government, Barnett's story comprises many of the major agents in 20th-century Native American history. As well as a biography, this book is also a study of early-20th-century Indian policy and administration.