Claim
The image from 1911 authentically shows a poster advertising “Indian land for sale.”
Fact
True.
A broadside advertisement from 1911 promotes an upcoming land sale by sealed bid organized by the United States Department of the Interior. It details the average sales amount per acre and the total acreage sold in 1910 across various states including Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Interested parties are encouraged to request a booklet titled “Indian Lands for Sale” from the Superintendent of the U.S. Indian School at specified locations within these states.
The advertisement is signed by Walter L. Fisher, Secretary of the Interior, and Robert G. Valentine, Commissioner of Indian Affairs. It features an illustration of Padani-Kokipa-Sni (Not Afraid of Pawnee) from the Yankton Indian tribe, depicted in traditional attire with a two-eagle feather hair charm. The illustration is based on a photograph taken by De Lancey Gill.
Posts on social media
In late June 2024, an image advertising “INDIAN LAND FOR SALE” from the early 20th century went viral on multiple social media platforms, including X and Reddit. Above post paired the image with a real estate advertisement from Israel, captioning it, “Birds of a colonial feather flock together.”
Verification
The image is authentic, confirming that it was not AI-generated or digitally produced or altered in any way. Through Google’s reverse image search, we located the poster on the official Library of Congress website.
