# R. F. Crowell *Commissioner named in the 1871–72 Chippewa half-breed scrip inquiries* **R. F. Crowell** was one of four members of a commission appointed on April 21, 1871, to report on [[Chippewa half-breed scrip]] issued to the Chippewas of Lake Superior. The commission's report appears in the U.S. Department of the Interior's compilation *Half-breed Scrip, Chippewas of Lake Superior*.[^1] Crowell's three fellow commissioners were [[Henry S. Neal]], [[Selden N. Clark]] and [[Edward P. Smith]].[^1] The same Interior compilation records a second commission, appointed on July 15, 1872. It also records the [[Corrective act of June 8, 1872]], which permitted good-faith ("innocent") holders of the scrip to perfect title.[^1] The record documents Crowell only in his capacity as a commissioner. It does not establish his background, any other office he held, or his individual part in the commission's findings.[^1] ## Chippewa half-breed scrip commissions The Interior Department's *Half-breed Scrip, Chippewas of Lake Superior* contains the report of the commission appointed April 21, 1871. The members of that commission were Henry S. Neal, Selden N. Clark, Edward P. Smith and R. F. Crowell.[^1] The compilation also contains the report of a later commission appointed July 15, 1872.[^1] Between the two appointments, the Act of June 8, 1872 allowed holders who had acquired scrip in good faith to perfect their title.[^1] The full text of the Interior compilation is held at the Internet Archive (cihm_39318) and at HathiTrust (100560709).[^1] Folwell's history, vol. 1, appendix 9, gives figures on the number of tracts, on scrip prices, and on a commissioner's interest. These figures have not yet been confirmed against the lines of the Interior report, and the record treats them as flagged rather than established.[^1] ## The present federal action in the same record This wiki's record of the State's instruments runs from the 1871–72 scrip inquiries to a federal suit filed in 2026. On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] issued release No. 26-21. Its title describes the State's apparatus as Minnesota's "'Affirmative Action' Regime." The release also states that Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^2] The complaint in [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]] was filed in the District of Minnesota on the same day. It is brought under [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].[^3] The complaint cites [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]] eight times. Among the cited provisions is subdivision 3(c), which requires an agency to explain the reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate.[^3] The U.S. government uses "regime" as a term of art for governments it opposes. The [[Iraq Liberation Act]] of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-338), for example, states a policy of supporting efforts to remove "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein."[^4] The project has compiled a catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages in [[How Minnesota Got Here]], note 40. That catalogue finds Minnesota to be the only U.S. state so described.[^4] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - R. F. Crowell was one of four commissioners appointed April 21, 1871. The other three were Henry S. Neal, Selden N. Clark and Edward P. Smith.[^1] ### When - April 21, 1871: the first scrip commission is appointed.[^1] - June 8, 1872: the corrective act lets good-faith holders perfect title.[^1] - July 15, 1872: a second commission is appointed.[^1] ### What - The commission's report is included in the U.S. Department of the Interior's *Half-breed Scrip, Chippewas of Lake Superior*.[^1] ## See also - [[Chippewa half-breed scrip]] - [[Corrective act of June 8, 1872]] - [[Henry S. Neal]] - [[Selden N. Clark]] - [[Edward P. Smith]] - [[Minnesota]] ## Notes [^1]: U.S. Department of the Interior, *Half-breed Scrip, Chippewas of Lake Superior* (reports of the commissions appointed April 21, 1871 and July 15, 1872) — establishes the commissioners (Henry S. Neal, Selden N. Clark, Edward P. Smith, R. F. Crowell), the second commission, and the Act of June 8, 1872. The project's *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 2026-06-18), row [7], confirms this primary source; Folwell's figures are flagged there. Full text: archive.org/details/cihm_39318; HathiTrust 100560709 (no URL in the allowed list). [^2]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — establishes the release title and the Attorney General's certification. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^3]: U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, *United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273, Complaint (filed Jan. 14, 2026) — establishes the Title VII basis and the complaint's eight citations of Minn. Stat. § 43A.191, including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^4]: United States Congress, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338 — establishes the statutory use of "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein." The finding that Minnesota is the only U.S. state so described is the project's own catalogue finding (*How Minnesota Got Here*, note 40). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf