American Historical Ephemera & Photography Online

3 3/4 x 1 7/8 in. paper ticket with tan twisted cotton cord at top center, "Weekly Rations. / 4 Qr., 1905." Ration card identified to "Family No. 109," the "John Goodman" family consisting of 1 man, 1 woman, and 2 boys. Ticket is punched demonstrating use, however, ticket does not specifically list Agency, Tribe, or Band (light soil and wear, generally good condition).

Ration cards/tickets were presented by Native Americans living on reservations to government officials in exchange for food and supplies. U.S. Indian Census Rolls for 1905 identify two men named "John Goodman," however, only one is a male head of household with a wife and 2 male children. John Goodman (b. 1879), also identifed on the roll as "Plenty wands," was an Arapaho man residing at the Shoshoni Agency (later known as the Wind River Reservation) in Wyoming, along with his wife Margaret F. Goodman and his two young sons, Jack and Samuel. The Wind River Reservation was home to the Northern Arapaho and the Eastern Shoshone, traditional enemies forced to live on the same reservation.

A small, but poignant, reminder of the painful devastation brought on by the destruction of Native American tribes, and their forced assimilation in European-American culture.