# Selden N. Clark *Commissioner named in the 1871 report on Chippewa half-breed scrip* **Selden N. Clark** was one of four commissioners on the commission appointed on April 21, 1871, whose report appears in the U.S. Department of the Interior's *Half-breed Scrip, Chippewas of Lake Superior*. The other three commissioners were [[Henry S. Neal]], [[Edward P. Smith]] and [[R. F. Crowell]].[^1] The record confirms his place on that commission. It does not establish his tenure, his background or his later career. The same Interior volume contains the report of a second commission, appointed July 15, 1872. Between the two appointments, the [[Corrective act of June 8, 1872]] permitted good-faith ("innocent") holders of [[Chippewa half-breed scrip]] to perfect title.[^1][^2] The project record that holds Clark's commission also carries the United States' January 14, 2026 filing against [[Minnesota]]. That filing was announced in [[United States Department of Justice]] release No. 26-21, titled "United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime". Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^3] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Clark is named as a commissioner of the April 21, 1871 commission, together with Henry S. Neal, Edward P. Smith and R. F. Crowell.[^1] ### What - The commission's report is part of the Interior Department's compilation on half-breed scrip for the Chippewas of Lake Superior.[^1] - The Act of June 8, 1872 permitted good-faith holders to perfect title.[^2] - Some accounts attach particular figures to the scrip: 262 tracts, a price of $2.50 set against values of $5–10, and an interest held by the commission chairman. These figures rest on Folwell, vol. 1, appendix 9. They have not been matched to the tract, price or interest lines of the Interior report. The record therefore does not establish them.[^1] ### When - The first commission was appointed on April 21, 1871. The corrective act became law on June 8, 1872. The second commission was appointed on July 15, 1872.[^1][^2] ### Where - The scrip concerned the Chippewas of Lake Superior. The commission reports were issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior.[^1] ### How - The Interior report is the primary source for the commissioners' names. Its full text is held at the Internet Archive (identifier cihm_39318) and at HathiTrust (record 100560709).[^1] ## 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) — names Henry S. Neal, Selden N. Clark, Edward P. Smith and R. F. Crowell as the 1871 commissioners and contains the 1872 commission's report. This source was confirmed through the project's validated passage *The Instrument No One Will Name* (2026-06-18). The report is held at the Internet Archive (cihm_39318) and HathiTrust (100560709); no online copy is linked here. [^2]: U.S. Congress, *Act of June 8, 1872* — corrective act that permitted good-faith ("innocent") holders of half-breed scrip to perfect title. This act was confirmed through the same validated passage *The Instrument No One Will Name* (2026-06-18). [^3]: 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) — title of the release; records Attorney General Pamela Bondi's certification of the case as a matter of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime