In 1905, with the end of tribal governments looming,[1] Native Americans (the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole) in Indian Territory proposed to create a state as a means to retain control of their lands.

These were: The convention, which met as a whole on August 21 and 22 and September 5 to 8,[1] during which over 150 delegates drafted a constitution, drew up a plan of organization for the government, put together a map showing the counties to be established (such as Hitchcock and Pushmataha), and elected delegates to go to the United States Congress to petition for statehood, along with 2 Democrats and 2 Republicans who were to serve as congressmen.

As the convention closed, Chief Porter made a final impassioned appeal for Sequoyah Statehood: "From time immemorial, the Indians, as a heritage of the original inhabitants, have been promised a state, an Empire of their own.

"Single-state supporters and Indian nation leaders pressed the campaign in the weeks leading to the November 7, 1905, election, with the legislatures of each of the Five Tribes endorsing the measure.

[1] Following this success, Porter, Posey, Haskell, Murray, and the four congressmen brought the proposed constitution to Washington, D.C. to lobby for its passage.

Republicans Arthur P. Murphy of Missouri and Porter James McCumber of North Dakota introduced statehood bills to the House and Senate, respectively.

Murray, however, known for his eccentricities and political astuteness, predicted their efforts would fail: "After we'd adjourned, Haskell walked to the Depot, and he said, 'Do you believe we will get statehood under this bill?'

The delegates who wrote it, including Haskell and Murray, shared an underlying populist distrust of elected officials.

The five tribes, diminished in power, faced further marginalization and discrimination, both racially and politically during the first half of the twentieth century.

[9] In late 2024, Sac and Fox writer and professor Donald Fixico theorized that the Five Tribes could revive the Sequoyah Movement for separate statehood following the McGirt decision.