Reservation
Reservation names 4 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Reservation in American history
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
in American history, a name given to a tract of land set apart for the use of Indians. The Southern States managed to have the Indians removed chiefly to Indian Territory ; in the Northern States local tracts of land were set apart. The tracts are scattered through the country from Maine to the Pacific Coast, numbering in all nearly 200 distinct reservations. They are placed under the direct control of national officers known as Indian agents, and are exempt from the operation of state laws. They are chosen usually with reference to water, timber, and game. The general government has made an effort to introduce schools, domestic animals, and to inculcate methods of stock raising and agriculture, but with only moderate success. Although the sale of liquor to reservation Indians is forbidden strictly by law, it goes on nevertheless. Even under the most favorable circumstances, there seems little prospect that the Indians will ever become civilized in the strict sense of the word. As a rule they are fond of hunting, fishing, and trapping. The wild instinct is strong. They do farm and raise stock, but the Indian does not seem to make a thrifty farmer. See Indians; Indian Territory
Reservation PAPAL, the privilege
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
PAPAL, the privilege, introduced by John XXII. and continued by Clement VI. and Gregory XI., of reserving to the Holy See the power of electing bishops, formerly possessed by the clergy and people of the several cities. Reservations were abolished by the Council of Constance, March 25, 1436. of troops kept for any emergency; that portion of an army drawn up for battle which is reserved to support the other lines as occasion requires. In Europe the term includes those soldiers who, after having enlisted for a certain period of service, have been a certain time in the army, and then have been passed into the reserve, in which they are at any time liable to be recalled to service till their full period of enlistment has expired. (See ARMY.) A magazine of warlike stores situated between an army and its base of operations.
Reservation in the United States
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
in the United States, a tract of the public land reserved for some special use, such as Indian tribes, national parks, notable battlefields, large military cemeteries, etc.
Reservation PAPAL fires were lighted immediately under the louvre
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
PAPAL fires were lighted immediately under the louvre.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Aiton's 1910 confidence that "there seems little prospect that the Indians will ever become civilized" is exactly the assumption federal policy has since abandoned: Congress granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States in 1924, ended the allotment policy that had been stripping reservation land with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, and passed the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act in 1975, under which tribes now run their own schools, courts, police and health services. The "Indian agents" who policed the reservations are gone, replaced by tribal governments dealing with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the blanket ban on liquor on reservations was repealed in 1953, with each tribe left to set its own rule. There are now roughly 320 reservations and other trust land areas serving some 570 federally recognized tribes, and since the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 casino revenue has become a major source of tribal income. The Supreme Court's decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020) went further still, holding that much of eastern Oklahoma — the old Indian Territory to which Aiton says southern tribes were removed — remains legally Indian country for criminal jurisdiction.
Written for this edition, 2026.