Miami University is working to preserve 19th century land grant documents recently recovered by the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma from a key moment in its history.
Tribe members say the grants marked the tribe's transition from collectively held land to individual ownership as it tried and mostly failed to avoid government relocation.
Miami University is preserving eight land grants found in storage at a Catholic diocese in Indiana. They include one signed in 1823 by President James Monroe and seven signed in 1843 by President John Tyler.
Tribe member George Ironstrack says the grants are important because they show Miami efforts to secure a land base for their families amid increasing pressure from government officials and others who wanted their land.