BlackChoctawHeritageofANationofPeople

Tri-Racial People of the Upper South (Information on this page is taken from the book, Black Indian Genealogy Research. African Ancestors Among the Five Civilized Tribes, by Angela Y. Walton-Raji, and published by Heritage Books in 1993. No information from this page can be extractedor duplicated in any way, without permission from the author. All questions should be directed to [email protected])Perhaps one of the most valuable pieces of genealogical research about African andIndians outside the Indian Territory of the West has emerged from the work of Dr.Virginia Easley De Marce. The National Genealogical Society Quarterly of March 1992featured an article by Dr. DeMarce in which she discussed what she referred to as\"Tri-Racial Isolates\" of the Upper South. The Upper South, consisting of Virginia, theCarolinas. Kentucky, and Tennessee. Her work is essential for any African Americanresearchers whose ancestors may not be from the Five Civilized Tribes, but whosefamily is still known to have Native American ancestry. Her piece is entitled,\"Verry(sic) Slightly Mixt: Tri-Racial Isolate Families of the Upper South. AGenealogical Study.\"(1)The work is essential because Dr. DeMarce closely identifies and examines themigration pattern of these groups. It is from this understanding of the tri-racialpopulation that individuals may be able to penetrate the realm of possible Indianancestry. Her work is mentioned here because there are thousands of AfricanAmericans form Virginia to the Carolinas who claim Native American Ancestry, yethave no direction as to where to document this relationship The effort to traceIndian ancestry from the Upper South is probably the more challenging areas ofBlack-Indian Genealogy.Unlike the extensive records to be found on the Five Civilized Tribes, there was adeliberate effort to eliminate other tribes, particularly the smaller ones officiallyeliminating them from the census. In the 1800s it was not uncommon to learn thatmany were simply \"terminated\". The result was that Indian families were listed inthe census as mulattos or white, depending in many instances on the complexion ofthe persons being enumerated. This official \"termination\" gave the impression thatthe population in many areas was either black or white, and that the indigenouspopulations had become extinct. Marriages and Migration PatternsAfrican/Indian MixturesRelations between blacks and Indians have been known to have occurred as far backas the 1600s. African Indian marriages did occur, but hit was neither a trend nor awidespread phenomena. However, there were nations that did establish a pattern ofintermarrying with both blacks and whites. For example, on the Eastern Shore areaof Virginia, DeMarce points out that the Gingaskins were intermarrying into both the

white and black communities. And both whites and blacks were known to havemarried into the Nottoway according to the census of 1808. This particular censuswas made by tribal trustees who had first hand knowledge.However, the black participants in legally recognized marriages were primarily freeblacks, thus allowing them some freedom to intermarry. After the Civil War,intermarrying continued, even though in many places it was illegal. But whenintermarrying occurred there seemed to be a pattern of selectivity with bi-racialoffspring, who usually selected a spouse from other bi-racial groups. This marriagepattern led to the bi-racial families (Indian/White, Indian/Black, White/Black)becoming tri-racial. This need to find \"suitable\" mixed race spouses contributed tothe need to move more frequently than the general population. For example, theBaltrip, or Boltrip family was commonly found in the central part of North Carolina,but later appears as a free colored family in Wilkins County farther to the west.This comes as no surprise as it has not been unusual in African American families tonote that many mulattos have also practiced the pattern of marrying exclusivelymulattos.Tri-Racial GroupsCertain nicknames are given to describe tri-racial groups and these labels are usedtoday throughout the South. Labels such as Brass Ankles, Red Bones, Lumbees andTurks are among the common names used in reference to the trr-racial people. Othernames are Guineas, the Haliwas, and the Melungeons. (Goins) The families in thosegroups were bi-racial or tri-racial and married as a general rule with other mixedfamilies. For example the Goins clan a long standing family of tri-racial people formTennessee were known to have lived with and intermarried frequently with othergroups such as the Red Bones, of Louisiana. (2)Over the years, Indian/white, and Indian Black mixtures existed but there wereentire towns where these mixed people predominated. Usually the mixed populationlived in a European culture, speaking English, practicing Christianity and givingEuropean surnames to their offspring. Thus the merger of cultures contributed tothe loss of Indian languages and traditions. Most tri-racial families are eitherwhite-identified, or black-identified families, though genetically and historically theyare tri-racial.Notes on Searching for Tri-Racial AncestorsDeMarce does make the effort to identify certain surnames of specific groups. Forexample, the Louisiana Red Bones frequently have the surname Willis, SweatAshworth, or Perkins. (3) It will be helpful to become acquainted with the surnamesfrom these groups but the challenge exists in identifying Indian ancestors.Fortunately there are some leads that may assist the researcher in this effort. The

researcher is cautioned that this quest will be extremely since the documentationjust doesn't exist for tri-racial groups.Of course if one has the benefit of an oral tradition in the family that gives the nameof an Indian ancestor, then one has already moved ahead in the research. Obviouslyonce an Indian ancestor has been found one might want to learn the history of thatspecific Indian nation, becoming familiar with the common surnames found in thatgroup, and relate their family history to the history of that Indian group.A possible pitfall exists here for the genealogist. The search for Indian ancestorsfrom the tri-racial might steer the researcher into a frantic search to prove or todisprove a specific racial composition. It is essential to keep the focus on the searchfor the names of those ancestors, regardless of their racial composition. Dr. DeMarcespoke very tactfully of the fact that her research might not have been publishedseveral years earlier, because many would not have wanted their mixed ancestry tobe known, preferring to blend into the white population. This phenomena iscommon among many mixed populations and was known among African Americansas \"passing\". Among Indian-whites the practice was to deny the Indian ancestry,while with some mulatto or Indian black populations may have been to deny theAfrican ancestry. This is not unlike many immigrant populations who discouragedtheir children from speaking the mother tongue, with the intention to blend with themajority as soon as possible.Contributing Indian TribesThere are many nations among whom Africans can claim ancestry. For example it isnot unusual to hear many Blacks of the coastal states referring to Pamunkeyancestors and others referring to the Lumbees.(4) In such cases, traditional censusrecords will be essential and careful notation should be made when one finds themulatto ancestor who may have indeed have been an Indian from one of the coastaltribes. Oddly, it is common to hear many African Americans make references tobeing descendants of the Blackfoot Indians. There has not been any indication thatthe Blackfoot Indians ever lived outside of the Montana and Canadian region, and theassertion of family ties to this nation is perplexing and may be more figurative thanactual.DeMarce points out that the following nations of Indians contributed to the tri-racialisolate groups:Chickahominy, Gingaskin, Mattapony, Nansemond, Nanticoke, Nottaway, Pamunkey,Rappahanocks, Saponi, Weanick, WerowocomoThere are some specific surname patterns that appear in the tri-racial communities.But De Marce cautions the researcher to avoid concluding too hastily that arelationship exists just because the surname is the same. On the other hands, sheacknowledges that a specific pattern of name dispersal in a limited population may

indicate which groups might be considered as isolates. As as result, her illustrationof the tendency of the groups to intermingle among other similarly mixed groupsand not on a regular basis to re-marry into the original racial group makes them noonly isolated, from their original racial group, but also identifies them as isolategroups.End Notes1. DeMarce, Viginia Easley, ​Verry Slightly Mixt: Tri-Racial Isolate Families of the UpperSouth. A Genealogical Study​National Genealogical Society Quarterly, March 1992, p 5- 35.2. The surname Goins is a variation of the group name Melungeons or Meleungoins.3. Mills, Gary B. T​racing Free People of Color in the Antebellum South​The NationalGenealogical Society Quarterly, December 1990. In this work, Mills discusses theorigin of some families of free people of color in Louisiana, such as the Goins, Chavis,Locklear, Hunt, Ivey, Kennedy, Scott and Sampson families. Some of these names arealso those of free non-whites of Alabama4 The Lumbee Indians are still seeking official tribal recognition.(A List of the surnames of the Tri-Racial families appears as an Appendix in the book,Black Indian Genealogy Research. African Ancestors Among the Five Civilized Tribes) Black ChoctawsThis list of surnames represent the names of the freedmen who were adoptedthrough the Dawes Commission, between 1898 and 1916. Note that many of thesenames appear in other Indian nation lists, and their appearance here does notprovide proof of Black Indian Ancestry. In addition to these items, it is recommendedthat the researcher obtain as much oral history as possible on the family, and thenlocate the Dawes records on the family, including the names of ancestors on theEnrollment Cards and other pertinent records.This list of Black Choctaws represents the Choctaw freedmen from Oklahoma, anddoes not represent persons from among the Mississippi Choctaws.A Coleman Harrison McChristian RoebuckAbbott Colly Harvey McClendon RogersAbram Conard Hatley McCloud RoseAdams Cook Hawkins McCoy RossAdamson Cotton Haywood McCurtain RussellAinsworth Cox Henderson McDanielAlberson Craig Henry McDonald SAlexander Cravens Hester McGee Sakki

Allen Crawford Hicks McGilbry SamsAnderson Cris Hill McGuire SamuelsArnold Crittendon Hilliard McKee SandridgeAskew Crooms Hills McKinley ScottAustin Croons Hines McNeill Seely Crutchfield Hodges McQuilla SellB Cubit Hogan Meadows SevereBagley Culver Holford McKinney SextonBailey Cunford Hollaway Meggs ShawBanks Hollin Meighbors ShelbyBarber D Holt Merritts SheltonBardner Dana Homer Miles ShephardBarley Dangerfield Hoppy Miller ShieldBarr Daniels Horn Mills ShieldsBarrett Daugherty Hornback Milton ShirleyBarrows Davis Horton Minner ShoalsBary Demps Hotchkins Mitchell SholesBassett Demus Hotchkiss Moore ShortBattie Dizer Howell Moors SifaxBattiece Dockins Hughes Morgan SimmonsBattiest Dodd Humdy Morotn SimpsonBeams Dodson Humes Moses SimsBearden Donegay Humphrey Mosley SindhamBeavers Douglas Hunter Moss SmallwoodBeckwith Douglass Hutchins Munn SmithBeeson Duckett Hutchison Murchison SpencerBelcher Dumas Hyatt Murphy SpringBell Duncan Murray StakohakaBelvin Durant I Musgrove StanleyBenson Ingram StarBibbs E Irving N StarlyBidden Eastman Nail StarrBiggs Easton J Nash StephensonBinks Edd Jackson Neal StevensonBird Edwards Jacob Neioll StewartBirdsong Eights Jamerson Nelson StriblinBlackwater Ellis James Newberry StriblingBlair Ellison Jeater Newton StubblefieldBledsoe Elridge Jeffers Nolan Suton

Blocker Epps Jefferson Noland SuttonBlue Ervin Jeffries NolenBlunt Eubanks Jeter Norman TBoatwright Evans John Norris TaylorBoldin Everidge Johnson Nourvle TeelBolding Evrett Johnston Nunley ThomasBonham Ewing Jolly Nunnally ThompsonBordon Ewings Jones Nunnely ThurmanBowers Jordon TimpsonBoyd F Joseph O TinkshellBoyles Factory Judy Oats TisBrack Farris Justice Oliver TitusBradley Featherspoon Osborn TriplettBrady Featherston K Oscar TuckerBrasco Ferguson Keel Overton TurnerBrashears Fields Keith Owens TylerBrewer Finley Kemp Owles TynerBriggs Fisher Kendrick TysonBriley Flack Kendricks PBrown Fleeks Kincade Paris VBruce Flint King Parish ValliantBrumley Floyd Kingsbury Parker VaughnBruner Folsom Kirk Parkins VinsonBryant Foreman Partilla VirgilBuckman Franklin L Patterson VorydBuckner Frazier Larkin PattonBuffington Freeman Last Payton WBulger Freeney Lathers Pearson WadeBurks Freeny Lawrence Pendleton WagonerBurris French Lawson Perry WaldronBurton Fullbright Lee Phelps WalfordBusby Fulsom Leflore Phillips WalkerButler LeFlore Pickens WallsByrd G Leftridge Pierce Walter Gables Lenox Pitchlynn WaltonC Gaffney Leppord Pitner WalzerCaephus Galbert Lewis Poleon WardCahill Galloway Liggins Powell WareCain Gant Lison Pratt Warner

Campbell Garland Littlejohn Price WarrenCarney Gay Livingsyton Prince WarriorCarr Gibson Logan Pryor WashingtonCarroll Gidden Looney Pulcher WatersCarson Givens Love Purdy WatsonCarter Glover Lovelace Pursley WebbCaruthers Gooding Low WelchCass Goodlow Lowery R WestCennis Graham Lownen Radford WhitakerChalk Graham Lynch Railback WhitbyChambers Graves Read WhiteChandler Gray M Rechardson WilburnChapman Grayson Mabry Record WilkinsCharry Green Mackey Rector WilliamsChatman Greenwood Mahardy Reddick WillisCheadle Greer Mann Reed WilsonChester Gross Mackey Reeder WimbleyChilton Grundy Manning Reeves WineChism Guess Mansfield Rentie WoodsChoate Guest Mat-ub-bee Reynolds WooterChristian Maturby Rice WorthenClark H Maupin Richards WrightClay Haley Maxwell RiddleClayton Halford May Ridge YCleveland Hall Mayes Riffington YocubbyCochran Hampton Mays Riley YoungCohee Hardlan Maytubbe RistonCohes Harkins Maytuby RobertsColbert Harnage McAfee RobinsonCole Harris McCarty Roby ​Burial Sites of Black Indians Skullyville Black Choctaws at Skullyville Indian Cemetery Old Agency Cemetery - African Creek Cemetery Samuels Cemetery McIntosh Cemetery

BURIALS Page 4 Outside the formal confines of the Choctaw National Cemetery, at Skullyville, there is an adjacent area of burials, which, if not actually part of the present entity of SkullyvilleCemetery, is obviously associated with it historically. It is apparent that most of the earlier burials are of freedmen, and that some of the more recent burials are of descendants of freedmen. The contents of this page are a listing of these burials and an index to photographs of themonuments and to any photographs or other information on those buried. Please note that these burials are not included in the alphabetized list. The majority of these photographs were provided by Tom Pat Swafford, of Spiro OK. #. NAME BURIALS - PAGE 4 DIED AGEO-1 BORN -O-2 -O-3 Dona Williams Nov. 21, 1901 Dec. 12, 1978 -O-4 -O-5 Clarence Williams 1899 1971 -O-6 -O-7 Leola Williams 1903 1928 -O-8 -O-9 Mattie Williams 1864 1940 -O-10 -O-11 Amos Williams 1891 1922 -O-12 -O-13 Alice Williams 1908 1926 - Jack Williams 1861 1939 Ora Williams 1897 1919 Johnetta Eubanks 1921 1926 Johny Eubanks July 16, 1895 May 7, 1959 Lee D. Brown Dec. 23, 1869 Mar. 18, 1955 Callie Brown Mar. 15, 1875 Aug. 10, 1933 Minnie C. Franklin 1892 1969

O-14 George S. Franklin 1880 1974 -O-15 L. M. Winchester -O-16 Hester Winchester Aug. 10, 1901 Feb. 23, 1905 -O-17 -O-18 Mrs. S. J. Cish Nov. 5, 1903 Sept. 15, 1904 -O-19 David Mabry -O-20 Ardell DeGraftenreed Oct. 4, 1843 Dec. 10, 1898 -O-21 Mollie Page -O-22 Ellie (Son of Rev. MCS) 1897 1918 -O-23 Cora Alice Fornby -O-24 D. H. Fornby Oct. 4, 1864 Nov. 30, 1950 -O-25 Henry Webb -O-26 Jesse Hutchins Dec. 1857 Mar. 1944 -O-27 Cora Hutchins 107O-28 Henry Cutchlow, Sr. -- -O-29 Willie M. Cutchlow -O-30 Rozella Cutchlow 1893 1981 -O-31 Eph Parker -O-32 Eliza Ewing 1896 1980 -O-33 Edward Cutchlow -O-34 Henry Cutchlow, Jr. - Jan. 13, 1926 -O-34 Emma Goodridge - Albert Woods - Oct. 11, 1935 May 12, 1888 Dec. 20, 1971 Jan. 1, 1878 June 7, 1985 1881 1938 Jan. 27, 1919 Jan. 4, 1938 June 12, 1879 Apr. 1, 1963 1871 1961 June 7, 1904 Sept. 24, 1966 1903 1965 1929 1975 1877 1946

O-35 Frances Henry - 1949 -O-36 Richard Henry -O-37 Bessie Boatner - 1951 -O-38 Luster Boatner -O-39 Mary Crawford 1892 1967 -O-40 Alfred Kayhill -O-41 Dave D. Jennings Apr. 27, 1888 Mar. 2, 1962 -O-42 Mary Jane White -O-43 J. W. Johnson Aug. 28, 1876 Feb 14, 1930 -O-44 Lucille Pierce -O-45 John D. Pierce 1886 1930 -O-46 Norvella Dikes -O-47 Simmie Reynolds 1901 1973 -O-48 -O-49 Agge Pride Mar. 8, 1877 Mar. 27, 1961 -O-50 Richard Pride -O-51 ____ DeGraftenreed 1860 Dec. 5, 1933 -O-52 -O-53 J. G. Butler 1918 1981 -O-54 Elizabeth Eaves -O-55 Howard F. Eaves Feb. 5, 1917 Aug. 1, 1971 -O-56 Rev. Emmett Eaves - Jeff D. Fulsom 1889 1971 Rev. William Fulsom, Jr. June 10, 1904 Jan. 10, 1978 - Mar. 14, 1935 - Mar. 10, 1944 1862 1948 1891 1961 1872 1950 Jan. 11, 1909 July 21, 1970 1907 1982 Nov. 30, 1919 June 1, 1967 Sept. 25, 1880 Sept. 18, 1969

O-57 Fannie Bell Fulsom Aug. 27, 1887 Aug. 10, 1974 -O-58 Sylvester BrownO-59 Jane Dansby - --O-60 Douglas DansbyO-61 Edward Dansby - Nov. 22, 1939 75 yrs.O-62 Hige ParkerO-63 Ann Fulsom 1894 1942 -O-64 Mary HolmesO-65 Owen Fisher Dec. 25, 1866 Apr. 22, 1967 100 yrs.O-66 Maelee CarrollO-67 Albert Fulsom - --O-68 Leroy Haskins, Sr.O-69 Ora Bell Choate Mar. 11, 1854 May 25, 1902 -O-70 America MooreO-71 Quitman Gardner 1861 1955 -O-72 Annis JohnsonO-73 Jank Parker - June 18, 1922 -O-74 Polly May ParkerO-75 Reedy Parker - Aug. 7, 1922 -O-76O-77 L. M. DeGraftenreed Dec. 25, 1889 July 3, 1953 -O-78 E. D. DeGraftenreed Susanna D. Williams 1897 1979 - Sept. 26, 1914 Sept. 14, 1970 - Aug. 14, 1895 July 7, 1977 - 1892 1958 - 1907 1950 - - Oct. 28, 1927 - - May 29. 1934 - - Nov. 18, 1928 - May 18, 1882 Aug. 13, 1910 - June 5, 1859 Nov. 11, 1946 - 1867 1945 -

O-79 Emmit Robert Allen 1921 1984 -O-80 Everet Massey AllenO-81 - Jan. 1986 -O-82 Ada WilliamsO-83 Willie Choate Mar. 7, 1891 May 11, 1990 -O-84 Booker HaywoodO-85 Johnny Parker 1893 1982 -O-86 Lucinda Lindsey ParkerO-87 Fred Parker 1900 1977 -O-88 Wade ParkerO-89 Ruth Z. Parker 1904 1971 -O-90 George E. AllenO-91 Viola DeGraftenreed Apr. 22, 1907 Dec. 28, 1986 -O-92 Ruby Lee RolfeO-93 Oct. 25, 1895 Nov.16, 1959 -O-94 R. T. JonesO-95 Pearley Moore Apr. 15, 1886 May 13, 1981 -O-96 Jack BelefordO-97 David Mumphrey June 23, 1896 Oct. 3, 1996 -O-98O-99 Lucia Byrd 1884 1965 -O-10 Angie Carter Shed Carter 1894 1971 - 0 Matthew Davis Mary Davis Feb. 27, 1927 May 19, 1964 - May 11, 1906 Oct. 28, 1976 - 1903 1989 86 yrs. 1906 1986 - 1928 -- 1900 1968 - 1890 1971 - 1893 1971 - Sept. 11, 1884 June 16, 1974 - Aug. 26, 1901 Oct. 2, 1983 -

O-10 Leo Eubanks Mar. 4, 1923 Nov. 15, 1983 - 1 - -O-10 Reba Stewart Sept. 25, 1905 1991 - 2 - -O-10 Cellie W. Prather Feb. 3, 1896 July 21, 1991 - 3 - -O-10 Lula McDonald 1929 1983 - 4O-10 Richard Adams -- 5O-10 Melissa Adams -- 6O-10 Clarence Vestaylor Flanagan May 28, 1957 July 9, 1993 7O-10 Lurena Adams Parker Mar. 30, 1908 Aug. 21, 1996 8O-10 Osnella DeGraftenreed 1922 1938 9O-11 Chlora Lucille Jennings Dec. 29, 1932 Sept. 4, 2000 0 PAGE #1·PAGE #2·PAGE #3 Alphabetized List Back to Main Page Contact O. W. Jones Contact Wm. Blanchard

Top of Form 1Indian Ancestry - Cherokee Indian AncestryAbout 200 years ago the Cherokee Indians were one tribe, or \"Indian Nation\"that lived in the southeast part of what is now the United States. During the1830's and 1840's, the period covered by the Indian Removal Act, manyCherokees were moved west to a territory that is now the State of Oklahoma.A number remained in the southeast and gathered in North Carolina wherethey purchased land and continued to live. Others went into the AppalachianMountains to escape being moved west and many of their descendants maystill live there now.Today, individuals of Cherokee ancestry fall into the following categories:(1) Living persons who were listed on the final rolls of the Cherokee Nationof Oklahoma (Dawes Commission Rolls) that were approved anddescendants of these persons. These final rolls were closed in 1907.(2) Individuals enrolled as members of the Eastern Band of CherokeeIndians of North Carolina and their descendants who are eligible forenrollment with the Band.(3) Persons on the list of members identified by a resolution dated April 19,1949, and certified by the Superintendent of the Five Civilized Tribes Agencyand their descendants who are eligible for enrollment with the UnitedKeetoowah Band of Cherokee Indian of Oklahoma.(4) All other persons of Cherokee Indian ancestry.Category 1.After about a half century of self-government, a law enacted in 1906 directedthat final rolls be made and that each enrollee be given an allotment of landor paid cash in lieu of an allotment. The Cherokees formally organized in1975 with the adoption of a new Constitution that superseded the 1839Cherokee Nation Constitution. This new Constitution establishes a CherokeeRegister for the inclusion of any Cherokee for membership purposes in theCherokee Nation. Members must be citizens as proven by reference to theDawes Commission Rolls. Including in this are the Delaware Cherokees ofArticle II of the Delaware Agreement dated May 8, 1867, and the ShawneeCherokees of Article III of the Shawnee Agreement dated June 9, 1869,and/or their descendants.P.L. 100-472, authorizes through a planning and negotiation process Indian

Tribes to administer and manage programs, activities, function, and servicespreviously managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Pursuant to P.L.100-472 the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has entered into aSelf-governance Compact and now provides those services previouslyprovided by the BIA. Enrollment and allotment records are maintained bythe Cherokee Nation. Any question with regard to the Cherokee Nationshould be referred to:Cherokee Nation of OklahomaP.O. Box 948Tahlequah, OK 74465(918)456-0671 Fax (918)456-6485.Category 2.The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina is a federallyrecognized tribe and has its own requirements for membership. Inquiries asto these requirements, or for information shown in the records may beaddressed to the BIA's Cherokee Agency, Cherokee, North Carolina 28719,(704) 497-9131, orEastern Band of Cherokee IndiansP.O. Box 455Cherokee, North Carolina 28719(207) 497-2771, Fax (704)497-2952ask for the Tribal Enrollment Office.Category 3.By the Act of August 10, 1946, 60 Stat. 976, Congress recognized the UnitedKeetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma (UKB) for the purposes oforganizing under the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act. In 1950, the UKBorganized under a Constitution and Bylaws approved by the Secretary of theInterior. Members of the UKB consist of all persons whose names appear onthe list of members identified by a resolution dated April 19, 1949, andcertified by the Superintendent of the Five Civilized Tribes Agency onNovember 26, 1949, with the governing body of the UKB having the power toprescribe rules and regulations governing future membership. The supremegoverning body (UKB Council) consist of 9 members, elected to represent thenine districts of the old Cherokee Nation and four officers, elected at large.Information may be obtained by writingUnited Keetoowah Band of Cherokee IndiansP.O. Box 746Tahlequah Oklahoma, 74465-9432

(918) 456-5491 Fax (918) 456-9601.Category 4.Information about Indian ancestry of individuals in this category ofCherokees is more difficult to locate. This is primarily because the federalgovernment has never maintained a list of all the persons of CherokeeIndian descent, indicating their tribal affiliation, degree of Indian blood orother data. In order to establish Cherokee ancestry you should use the samemethods prescribed in \"Indian Ancestry\" and \"Genealogical Research\"material. (Reference directories \" INDIAN ANCESTRY\" and \" GENEALOGICALRESEARCH\")  Sitemap​| Feedback | Accessibility | Printing InstructionsDisclaimer | Privacy Statement |​​FOIA​| ​​E-Gov​|​F​irstGov​|​W​hite House​|DOI HomeU.S. Department of the Interior1849 C Street, NWWashington, DC [email protected] Updated on 10/09/03 Bottom of Form 1

The researcher of the Oklahoma Freedmen is most fortunate as they are among thefew in the Black Indian community who have a resource of thousands of documentsto research.Dawes Final RollThis roll is often spoken of when one mentions the Rolls of the Dawes Commission.To get to this stage, the families and persons listed below had to go through a seriesof interviews that involved being sworn under oath, questioning by the Commissionthat operated from 1898 - 1914. This Freedmen Roll, shown below, reflects thosewho underwent the close scrutiny. Often the Freedmen applicants had to \"prove\"that they were indeed citizens of the nation---the proof often being the word of one ofthe citizens, \"by blood\". (T​his is ironic since many of the Freedmen themselves hadIndian blood. However, the Dawes Commission sought to prevent further enrollment ofdescendants of Freedmen, by refusing to note their \"blood quantum\" a measurement ofno scientific merit but was used to exclude people from the rolls.)(Inclusion on the rolls did however, eventually grant land allotment to freedmen. TheChoctaw Freedmen received typically 40 acres although Choctaws by blood receivedmore than 100 acres..)CHOCTAW FREEDMEN MINOR CHOCTAW FREEDMENEnrollment Cards​--​These are the primary documents needed to research theFreedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes. Included on these cards are the name, age,name of Slave Owner of the enrollee, and on the reverse image appears the names ofthe father, mother, and slave owner of the enrollee.Application Jackets--These files contain the actual testimonies and interviewsconducted by the Dawes Commission between 1898 - 1914. There are severalthousand of these interviews that will of greatest value to the genealogist.Creek Freedmen Cards Reflecting Blood QuantumThere is constant discussion about the possibility of Freedmen having Indian blood, to thepoint that even members of the nations themselves believe that such is not the case.However, there are several thousand documents of the Creek Freedmen, that illustrate thatmany of the Freedmen, not only were related by blood to their Muskogee brethren, theywere removed, by the Dawes Commission, for the sole reason of their having African blood.This practice remains to this day, and contributes to the exclusion of many persons, whohave a direct blood tie to others enrolled on the same racially biased roll. This documents

illustrates Creek Freedmen with such a situation. The reference to the blood quantumappears in the notes at the bottom of the census card.Wallace Roll--Conducted in the 1880's this Roll, compiled by Indian Agent JohnWallace was eventually rejected by the Cherokee Nation. However the list is usefulnevertheless, to find ancestors on a roll, prior to Oklahoma statehood. The rollcontains the names, ages, and Cherokee Nation district of each enrollee.Kern Clifton Roll--An earlier roll of Cherokee Freedmen. This roll is often referred toin later rolls such as the Wallace Rolls and the Dawes Rolls. All persons listed areCherokee Freedmen.Land Records---Indian Territory Freedmen received acres of land that varied from40 acres in the case of Choctaw Freedmen to over 100 acres for Creek and CherokeeFreedmen. Such records found in court houses, in Eastern Oklahoma will often showthe exact location of where lands were given to Freedmen.allotment_application.jpg​F​PRIVATE \"TYPE=PICT;ALT=allotment application.jpg (288811bytes)\" allotment_application.jpgResearching Black Indian Genealogy of the Five Civilized TribesIt is known that many Africans intermarried with Native Americans. Less widelyknown is the fact that many Native Americans also owned African slaves, andfathered children with African slave women. In addition there were smaller numbersFree People of Color who lived in many of the nations and who also lived andmarried persons from the same nations, and whose descendants claim ancestry fromthe Oklahoma Black Indian people.​A​s a result, thousands of Americans have Africanand Indian ancestry.This web page is dedicated to the Freedmen of Indian Territory--now Oklahoma, whowere the former slaves and also the Free Persons of Color in the Five Civilized Tribes.Within these nations-the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations-- genealogists will find thousands of records documenting the history of thoseAfrican people living within the Indian nations. More than 20,000 Africans wereadopted into these nations before the end of the 19th century. The Treaty of 1866

brought about the abolishment of Slavery in Indian Territory, and the adoption ofthe former slaves into 4 of the 5 nations. Although many of the nations have nowchosen to ignore this critical treaty, the history stands as the major officialconnection of these Oklahoma nations have to their African brethren that cannot bedisputed historically. This page shall contain transcriptions from official documents,and shall highlight methods of family history documentation that can be used by thehundreds of thousands of Indian Territory Freedman descendants.Furthermore, several census counts were taken between 1866 and 1907, specificallyof the African Native people in Indian Territory. Join the journey of researching thehistory of these African people, and explore a unique part of the African Diaspora,through the history of the Africans of Indian Territory. Back to Main Page Early Records from the Creek NationCreek Nation [Oct 26, 1827]Know all men by these presents that I Watta Grayson have this day bargained and sold untomy brother Thomas Grayson for the full and just sum of fifteen hundred dollars to me paid;a family of Negro slaves as follows.Jim a man about thirty eight years old, his wife Ginny about thirty, Campbell aboutfourteen, Molly about twelve, Rose about ten, Dianna about nine, Jupiter about seven, Nellyabout four, and Eady about two years old, the right and title of said Negroes I warrant anddefend against all claims whatever unto Thomas Grayson, his heirs or assigns forever. Witness where of I hereunto set my hand this 26th Octr 1827. Watta X​​GraysonTestRobert X​​GriersonSteven ​X​HawkinsThe above is a true copy from the original on record in my office John Campbell Agent CreeksWestern Creek Agency 27th Octr 1832. Circuit Court March Term 182-The State of AlabamaMontgomery CountyIn the case of Bryant Rushing and George Taylor against Reuben Jordon and ElizabethGrierson the Negros sued for were Ben about twenty seven years of age, ---- a woman about24 years old, R-s- a girl 7 years old, Celia a girl about 5 years old, Hope a boy about one year

old, which suit was left ​to arbitration​and the Nation gave to Rushing & Taylor the NegrosRis-- a girl, Celia a girl, and John? a boy, or to pay them 12.00 in case of failing to deliver theNegroes. The above is right W. Graham Clk Western Creek Nation 23rd August 1836Having been called on by Genl. John Campbell Agent for the Creeks to say what I know withrespect to a family of eleven Negros that are in dispute between Col. David Brearly andThomas Grierson. When I moved from the old Creek Nation in the year 1827 ThomasGrierson sent this family of Negroes out to this country by me as he was taken sick andunable to come at that time himself. I returned with Col. Brearly the following year to theold Creek Nation and while I was there a man by the name of Jordon claimed those Negroesand accused me of stealing them and took me with a states warrant and while I was incustody of the Sheriff Col. Brearly told me that he was ​very anxious​for me to be relieved ashe could not provide to collect the Indians for emigration without my aide and that he wasgoing to purchase Jordon's title to the Negros as he could get it for twelve hundred dollars. Itold him then that there were two other claims which he knew of as well as myself, thatwas McIntosh's and Grierson's claims. He said that made no difference as they were Indiansand that he would buy Jordon's title, which he did and paid him twelve hundred dollars.Sometime two or three months after he bought the title of Jordon I and Col. Brearly was inAlabama together when he told me then that I should give him a Bond for the delivery ofthe Negroes. I told him that I asked not like to do it and he told me that if I did not give hima bond that he would take me with a writ and put me in jail and the thought of being put injail terrified me and I as---- some kind of instrument of writing that he wrote but not withthe intention of giving up the Negroes to him .. for that I did not intend to do but he came o​nbefore I did and told my father who had charge of the Negroes that he was to have them fora sum of money he had advanced for me although he had not advance one dollar for me andmy father give up the negroes and he has had them in possession ever since, except onethat run off from him, and all the others he had sold ​near 8 year since​and the purchasershave them now in possession.Thomas Grierson never give me any title whatever for the Negroes and I never advancehim one dollar towards the payment of the Negros. I was --- employed by him to bring themon here for him.Thomas Grierson has been trying for a year past to have this business brought to a finalissue but has not been able as yet to effect it, his object is to bring it before a juditialtribunal and ---- titles -----.

As witness my hand Benjamin HawkinsSource: [M234, roll 236, frame 294-97] Contributed by Lance Hall, Creek Researcher ************************************************************************ Negroes in the Creek & Seminole NationsThis is a transcription of a records from National Archives microfilm series M234, rolls 236,290 and microfilm series M271, rolls 1-4. Microfilm series M234 reproduces lettersreceived by the Office of Indian Affairs. Rolls 236 and 290 contains correspondence relatingto the Creek Agency (West) and the Florida Superintendency Emigration, respectively.Microfilm series M271, rolls 1-4 contains correspondence received by the Secretary of Warrelating to Indian affairs. Many of these are very hard to read and there are no doubtmistakes in the transcriptions. More background information regarding the transcribedrecords below can usually be found in the letters preceeding and following the record, onthe microfilm. Negroes in the Creek Nation∙​         R​ecords regarding the illegal introduction of Negroes into the Creek Nation fromFlorida in 1817.∙​         ​A​​deposition​of J. S. Thomas regarding the affair.∙​         T​hree similar lists of 5​9​Negroes that mention their names, ages, and owners:​​List 1​L​ist2​​List 3​[appended]∙ ​        A​​l​etter​regarding the title to a family of Negroes belonging to William McIntosh.∙​         A​​l​ist​of 7​2​Negroes taken from William McIntosh on April 30th, 1825.∙​         ​A​​list​of 1​0​Negroes claimed by William McIntosh's widow Susannah McIntosh.∙​         ​Some​​letters​regarding the title to a family of Negroes belonging to Thomas Grayson(Grierson) and the actions of Col. Brearly. Negroes in the Seminole Nation∙ ​        T​wo​l​etters​regarding the taking of Negroes from Francis P. Fatio's plantation in St.Augustine, Florida in 1801.∙ ​        ​A​l​ist​of 1​65​Negroes who have been captured by the Troops at Fort Jupiter, E. Floridafrom the Feb. 22 - March 1838.∙ ​        ​A​l​ist​of ​103​Negro prisoners captured by the Troops commanded by Major GeneralThomas S. Jesup in 1836 and 1837; and owned by Indians, or who claim to be free.∙​         A​​l​ist​of 1​32​Negroes and ​5​Seminoles sent from Fort Jupiter to Tampa Bay foremigration to the West. 1838.Records regarding the 33 Negroes detained at New Orleans in July 1838:∙​         ​A​l​ist​of ​33​Negroes held in the New Orleans jail.∙ ​        A​​r​eport​regarding Negroes belonging to Hariett Bowlegs, Pacheco, Nelly Factor, andMicco Potokee being held at New Orleans, July 10, 1838.

∙​         A​​​muster roll​of ​35​Negroes and ​65​\"Creeks\" (Seminoles?) that arrived in the westAugust 5, 1838.∙ ​        ​A​​statement​of Negroes with the Army in Florida on 1st June 1841 and of thosecaptured since, showing by whom owned and to whom sold.∙​         A​​​list & descriptive roll​of refugee & captured slaves belonging to Col. Humphreys ofAlachua county, Florida who are in the posession of the Seminole Indians.∙​         A​​​Report​regarding the seizure of certain Negroes in the Seminole Nation, 1850.Contributed by Lance Hall, Creek Researcher *********************************************************************[M271, roll 3, frames 665-668] Deposition of J. S. Thomas Millegeville, GeorgiaBeing called upon by the Governor of Georgia under authority as he states, of the Secretaryof State of the United States to declare what I know respecting the parties interested in thepurchase & introduction of a parcel of Africans which were take to the Agency in the winterof 1817. The following is what I know on the subject.Some time in the first week in the month of December 1817 I was at the Creek Agencyattending to the transportation of provision for the use of the United States troops, under aspecial contract with the Colonel of the 7th U. States Infantry, then commanding theDistrict. When Capt. William Bowen with a certain Doctor James Long arrived there with aparcel of African Negroes. Being intimately acquainted with Capt. Bowen I had frequentconversations with him about the Negroes, and asked him if he would sell them, to whichhe replied that they were not for sale, but were purchased by himself and Mr. James Erwinof Savannah Merchant for their own use, and were solely their property except a smallinterest in them belonging to the said Doctor Long. I then advised Captain Bowen toremove them immediately as they w​are​in danger where they then ​ware,​for in my opinionif General Mitchell saw them he would report them in which case it might be difficult to getthem clear, and besides the troops are expected at that time to pass the Agency on theirway from Fort Hawkins to Fort Scott, which would also endanger their safety. Capt. Bowento my representations observed, that it was impossible for him to remove them at thatmoment for the want of subsistence and the means of transportation, and requested me tosubsist them whilst they remained at the Agency, which I accordingly did until they weretaken possession of and reported by General Mitchell. Finding that Capt. Bowen could notremove the Negroes at that time, I immediately wrote to Col Andrew Erwin of Augustaunder the impression that he was apprised of the purchase made by Bowen, advising himof the arrival of the Negroes and the danger to which I believed them exposed; and to mysurprise received for answer, that my letter was the first information he had received onthe subject, and expressed his surprise that his son should have engaged in such a

speculation without his knowledge, he would thank me to render them any assistance Icould to get them off to the Westward. This I had determined to do having receivedattention from Col. Erwin and his friends which in my opinion laid me under obligation toserve them. During this time General Mitchell was at his place of residence in Georgia, butsoon afterwards arrived at the Agency on his way to the Chatahochey to attend a meetingof the chiefs of the Creek Nation, which I think was appointed for the 9th of the monthDecember. Whether he saw the Negroes on his way out I do not recollect, but I think he toldme afterwards that he had not, but had seen Capt. Bowen from whom he had received thefirst information of their being at the Agency. On General Mitchell's return fromChatahochie which must have been about the middle of the month General Gaines came incompany with him, but the General did not remain but a few hours and went on the sameday to Fort Hawkins. General Mitchell then saw the Negroes and appeared willing that theyshould be removed, if done before he took official cognizance of them; and Doctor Long hadhis proportion designated and he took them off with him to the Westward. General Mitchellremained at the Agency but a few days and returned to Georgia to spend Christmas with hisfamily and then positively declared that as the owners had declined or delayed removingthem he would immediately on his reaching home report them to Government, after whichhe would not permit them removed unless security was given to take them out of theUnited States. I returned to Georgia myself at this time and being invited by GeneralMitchell to dine with him on Christmas day, I did so, and was shown by him a copy of theletter he wrote to the Secretary of the Treasury reporting the Negroes. He also told me thathe informed Colonel Brearly who rode part of the way with him from Fort Hawkins toMilledgville that he should report them immediately on his reaching home, and ColonelBrearly has mentioned repeatedly the same fact to me since. Truth and justice requires thatI should further declare in this case that it is my belief that I have a correct knowledge ofthe parties who were interested in the purchase and introduction of those Negroes and thatit is my decided conviction that General Mitchell not only had no interest or concern intheir purchase and introduction but was entirely ignorant of both. I also declare that priorto the introduction of the Africans by Capt. Bowen, when reports were prevalent and asubject of conversation, of the same description of people being introduced into the seaboard country of this state, I have had frequent conversation with General Mitchell on thatsubject, and was uniformly advised by him to have nothing to do with such transactions, forthose who did would experience not only pecuniary loss, but destroy their reputation. J. S. ThomasSworn and subscribed before me this 3rd day of April 1820.James ---- Baldwin County, GeorgiaSworn to & acknowledged before me 22 July 1820Jas. Fleming, .., Baldwin County, Georgia.The witness being cross examined by General Mitchell says:

He is personally acquainted with Col. Gideon Morgan of Tennessee. Deponent saw theColonel at the Agency some time about the middle of December 1817. That he conversedwith him on the subject of the Africans at that time, & since, and was informed by theColonel before he saw Genl. Mitchell, that he was authorized to offer the Negroes to him forsale in order to secure the amount due to the Erwins for advances made by them for thepurchase of the Negroes. After the Colonel had seen Genl. Mitchell .. he informed deponentthat he had offered the Negroes to the General but that he had positively refused to haveanything to do with the purchase of them, but, had said that he (Colonel Morgan) mightremove them. Colonel Morgan then offered the Negroes to the deponent, but not agreeingon terms, no contract was made. The deponent was present at the settlement madebetween Doctor Long and Capt. Bowen, and five of the Negroes were selected by Dr. Longand taken by him to the Westward. Dr. Long & Capt. Bowen then left the Agency, the formerfor Mississippi, and the latter to bring on the balance of the Negroes, as he said. GeneralMitchell was at this time gone to the Chatahochie, on his return & after the departure of Col.Morgan the deponent was present when Mr. Elhert an old Indian Country man who wassettling a new place three or four miles above the Agency applied to Genl. Mitchell for a fewof the Negroes to clean a piece of land for him. Genl. Mitchell told him he had no objection,and he presumed Capt. Bowen would have none provided .. he (Mr. Elhert) would takegood care of them, feed them well. Mr. Elhert promised to do this; and Genl. Mitchellrequested this deponent to select six of the stoutest of the men to go with Mr. Elhert. Thedeponent did so and designated them by tying a piece of Yellow ferreting to their jackets.The deponent did not see the Negroes set out for Mr. Elherts, but he knows that they went;and that they returned again to the Agency; and he has since seen them in Milledgville andsome of them are now, or lately were there.The Negroes were lodged in a piece of Woodland within the fence of the Plantation, in smallhuts covered with dry goods and built by themselves, near the quarter where Genl. Mitchellwas settling his own Negroes. There were no huts, houses, or cabins of any sort built by theNegroes or people of General Mitchell in which to lodge the said Africans. The houses thatwere built were for the use of his own people. None of the Africans were sent from theAgency by General Mitchell, or by any person acting for him, or concealed by him or themwithin my knowledge. All those taken to the Agency by Capt. Bowen, were take away by Mr.McIntosh, except those taken by Doctor Long, and three had absconded at the time of theseizure. After the Negroes were detained by Genl. Mitchell, some of them, some time moresometimes less, were in the public Yard at the Agency every day when this deponent wasthere, grinding corn for their own use at a hand Mill. Some of the small Negroes who weresick and infirm, some with burned hands, some with burned feet .. were placed by order ofGeneral Mitchell in the Cabins of his own people at the Agency for the purpose of beingnursed and taken care of .. and to some of the men who had the venereal General Mitchell

personally attended and administered medicine and proper nourishment for their reliefand support. These men were lodged in some old Cabin near the residence of GeneralMitchell. J. S. ThomasSworn to & subscribed to before me 22 July 1820Jas. Fleming, .., Baldwin County, Georgia.(Contributed by Lance Hall, Creek Researcher)*********************************************************************** Lists of Freedman SurnamesThese lists represent the names of freedmen who were adopted through the DawesCommission, between 1898 and 1916. Note that many of these names appear inother Indian nation lists, and their appearance here does not provide proof of BlackIndian Ancestry. In addition to these items, it is recommended that the researcherobtain as much oral history as possible on the family, and then locate the Dawesrecords on the family, including the names of ancestors on the Enrollment Cards andother pertinent records.∙​         ​​Black Cherokees∙​        ​ B​ lack Chickasaws∙​         ​​Black Choctaws∙​         ​B​ lack Creeks∙​        ​ B​ lack SeminolesMaterial placed on these surname pages may not be copied, transmitted, sold,published or shared in any way without permission in writing. Material may be usedfor personal and for non-commercial use. All questions regarding material on thissite can be obtained by contacting: [email protected] Back to Main Page The Choctaw Freedmen of OklahomaThis information on this page, pertains to the more than 6000 Choctaw Freedmenfound on the Dawes rolls, The Special Indian census of 1910, and 1900, then 1885Choctaw Roll and more. There were less than 100 freedmen who left the nation in the1880s right before adoption, who elected to leave due to many hostilities directedtowards them in some localities. The vast majority of Choctaw Freedmen, remained inthe land where they were born, had lived, married, toiled, and buried their dead. Manyspoke the language, maintained the dietary customs of their Choctaw kin, and manyalso buried according to Choctaw custom. There are those to this day who deny theirexistence, others who claim the right to still deny many in SE Oklahoma their rights ascitizens because of the African Choctaw blood. Many of these persons, citizens of anation that rejects them, are still of the Choctaw Nation, and this page is devoted tohonoring their memory.

1885 Choctaw Freedmen Admitted to Citizenship 1885 The 69 Choctaw Freedmen Who Elected to Leave the Nation 1885 Doubtful Claims--Choctaw Freedmen Literature about the Choctaw Freedmen Choctaw Freedman Surnames Frances Banks, Choctaw Freedwoman Polly Colbert, Choctaw Freedwoman Choctaw Freedmen Jones Files Choctaw Freedmen Dawes Rolls A-B Choctaw Freedmen Dawes Rolls C-D-E Choctaw Freedmen Dawes Rolls F - G Choctaw Freedmen Dawes Rolls H - K Black Indian Slave Narratives Life and Culture of the FreedmenBrought to Indian Territory in the 1830's Black Choctaws arrived with the ChoctawIndians as slaves. Prior to removal the Choctaws had been exposed to Africans intheir native homeland of Mississippi. Slaves were a part of the European culture towhich the Choctaws would later adapt. Slavery would be one of the institutions thenation would adopt. Chief Moshulatubbee had slaves as did many of the Europeanswho married into the nation, with the Folsoms and LeFlores among the larger slaveowners.The only family of distinct free status in the Choctaw Nation at the time of removalwas the Beams family, children of Nellie Beams. Though their status was laterchallenged by their half Choctaw siblings who sought to sell them for profit, theirrecognized status as free Choctaw citizens was noted by their fellow citizens. A fullaccount of the saga of this family is found in the Journal of Negro History 1976.Slavery remained in the Choctaw Nation, till 1866, when the Treaty of 1866 signed inFt. Smith, Arkansas requiring that The Choctaws release their Africans frombondage.Most \"Freedmen\" remained in the nation, and began new lives as citizens amongtheir fellow compatriots. Much discussion arose in the nation after the signing of theTreaty, and many in the nation had pressed to have the Freedmen removed from theChoctaw Nation. However, a majority of the Freedmen remained steadfast,determined to remain in the land of their birth, as law abiding Choctaw citizens.After discussion, debate, and years of political strategizing, in 1885, the ChoctawNation finally adopted their former slaves as citizens into the nation. Their status

would give them a legal right to remain and no longer to be considered as intrudersin the land of their birth.Prominent persons arose from the Choctaw Freedmen. Henry Crittendon, wouldbecome a leader in the education community, at the time of the establishment of theChoctaw Freedmen Oak Hill Academy. In the area of law enforcement would emergepersons such as Rufus Cannon, and the noted Squire Hall, who would serve theTerritory as marshall and deputy sheriff, respectively. Leaders would also surface tobecome spokes persons for their communities, and would speak through theirleadership in the Choctaw Freedman's Association.In 1885, after adoption of the Freedmen, the first official census of the ChoctawFreedmen was taken. Names, ages, names of former Choctaw slave owners wererecorded, in addition to the amount of personal property amassed by each family.Researchers are invited to visit these pages, and to learn more about the lives ofthese several thousand Africans of the Choctaw Nation. More pages will be addedover the next several weeks.(All data on this page compiled by Angela Y. Walton-Raji. Inquiries concerningpermission to use data can be obtained by contacting, [email protected]​) Back to Main Page Estelusti - The Lives of The Freedmen of Indian Territory The Slave Narratives of Indian Territory Frances Banks - Choctaw Freedwoman Phoebe Banks - Creek Freedwoman Joe Bean - Cherokee Freedman Nancy Rogers Bean - Cherokee Freedwoman Henry Clay - Creek Freedman Polly Colbert - Choctaw Freedwoman Lucinda Davis - Creek Freedwoman John Field - Cherokee Freedman Mary Grayson - Creek Freedwoman Nellie Johnson - Creek Freedwoman Mary Lindsay - Chickasaw Freedwoman Kiziah Love - Chickasaw Freedwoman Chaney McNair - Cherokee Freedwoman Cornelius Neely Nave - Cherokee Freedman

Patsy Perryman - Cherokee Freedwoman Phyllis Petite - Cherokee Freedwoman Matilda Poe - Chickasaw Freedwoman Chaney Richardson - Cherokee Freedwoman Betty Robertson - Cherokee Freedwoman Morris Sheppard - Cherokee Freedman HYPERLINK \"http://www.african-nativeamerican.com/milton_starr.htm\"​Milton Starr - Cherokee Freedman J. W. Stinnett - Creek Freedman HYPERLINK \"http://www.african-nativeamerican.com/jthompson.htm\"J​ohnson Thompson - Cherokee Freedman HYPERLINK \"http://www.african-nativeamerican.com/vtaylor_thompson.htm\"​Victoria Taylor Thompson Lucinda Vann - Cherokee Freedwoman HYPERLINK \"http://www.african-nativeamerican.com/rachel_ward.htm\"​Rachel Aldrich Ward - Cherokee Freedwoman HYPERLINK \"http://www.african-nativeamerican.com/sarah_wilson.htm\"​Sarah Wilson - Cherokee Freedwoman BLACK HISTORY EVERY MONTH BLACK INDIANS AND FREEDMEN OF THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES By Barbara Harris [email protected] Jackson Advocate News ServiceCopyright 2003. Barbara Harris. Published in the October 16, 2003 edition of theJackson Advocate, Jackson, Mississippi. Posted by permission.Writer’s Notes: October is National Family History Month. Perhaps, now is the time toresearch your family history if you have not already done so. In keeping with acontinuing effort to bring untold history to our readers, in this column, we salute theNative American heritage of African people in this country. This is their story!When Europeans first began to settle this country, they found at least 10 millionNative Americans from hundreds of tribes across North America. However, over thenext 300 years, the settlers initially, and later the U.S. government systematicallyeradicated the indigenous people to the point where by the turn of the 20t​h​century,they constituted only about 10 percent of the nation’s population.The first intimate relations between African American and Native American peopleswere forged in the late 18​th​century. In the fields and homes of colonial plantations,these relationships grew out of the common and collective oppression of the twopeoples at the hands of European zealots.

“The institution of slavery, as it developed in the New World, was based upon thelessons learned in the enslavement of traditional peoples of the Americas,” writesPatrick Minges of Union Theological Seminary in New York City.In spite of a later tendency in the southern U.S. to differentiate the African slave fromthe Indian, African slavery was in actuality imposed on top of a preexisting system ofIndian slavery, Hinges contends. In North America, the two never diverged as distinctinstitutions, however.Many of the early explorations of the New World were quite simply slavingexpeditions. The colonial predisposition to cite Indian depredations as justificationfor Indian wars was often nothing more than rhetorical exercises to cover theseizure and enslavement of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.However, the unsuitability of the Native American for the colonists’ labor-intensiveagricultural practices, their susceptibility to European diseases, the proximity ofavenues of escape for Native Americans and the lucrative nature of the African slavetrade led to a transition to an African-based institution of slavery.As relationships between African Americans and Native Americans evolved, the linesof distinction began to blur. The evolution of red-black people began to pursue itsown course; many of the people who came to be known as slaves, free people ofcolor, Africans or Indians were most often the product of integrating cultures.Historians agree that in colonial times, Native Americans made no racial distinctionbetween Europeans and Africans, presumably because they almost alwaysencountered the two together.According to Theda Perdue in her work “Slavery and the Evolution of CherokeeSociety 1540-1866, she contends that the Cherokee regarded Africans “simply asother human beings… since the concept of race did not exist among Indians andsince the Cherokees nearly always encountered Africans in the company ofEuropeans, one supposes that the Cherokees equated the two and failed todistinguish sharply between the races.”African American historian Kenneth Wiggins Porter concurs. We have “no evidencethat the northern Indian made any distinction between Negro and white on the basisof skin color, at least not in the early period and when uninfluenced by whitesettlers.”TRAIL OF TEARSAfter the American Revolution the newly established states of Georgia, SouthCarolina, Alabama and Mississippi took the lead in forcing the Southeastern Indiansinto exile. By then the white populations of these states already greatlyoutnumbered the Indians, who were now living in relatively small enclaves. Yet, eventhese domains were to be denied the Indians.

The state governments, under pressure from their citizens, demanded the removalof the tribesmen to the regions far to the west. One rationale for their demands wasthat the tribes were uncivilized and therefore unworthy of maintaining their hold onland desired by white Christian farmers.Ironically, the Indians had, by then, adopted \"civilization\" and its entire works. Theremaining major tribes of the Southeast - the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Creekand Cherokee – were known as the Five Civilized Tribes, and many of the natives hadadopted both European agricultural methods and Christianity.Many Americans, apprised of this assimilation by publicists from the tribesthemselves and by missionaries who had long lived among them, championed thecause of the Five Civilized Tribes. But the real power to dispose of the Indians’ landsremained with the state governments, and they were adamant for removal.Between 1790 and 1830, the population of Georgia increased six-fold. The westernpush of settlers created a problem. Georgians continued to take Native Americanlands and force them into the frontier. By 1825, the Lower Creek tribe had beencompletely removed by the state under provisions of the Treaty of Indian Springs. By1827, the Creek were gone.These state governments, in the early 19​th​century, passed laws that \"legalized\" theeradication of the Indian communities and opened their lands to settlers. Suchlegislation even denied the Indians any right of appeal by depriving them of standingin court.It was this denial of the Indians’ most fundamental rights that led to a celebratedconfrontation between two branches of the federal government in the persons of thevenerable chief justice of the United States, John Marshall, and the president, AndrewJackson (served 1829 - 1837).The Georgia law depriving the Indians of their rights was argued up to the SupremeCourt in 1832, where it was ruled unconstitutional. Jackson, who was determined torid the eastern part of the nation of its Indian population, was reputed to have said ofthe decision: \"John Marshall has rendered his decision; now let him enforce it.\"In 1830, Congress passed the “Indian Removal Act. Although many Americans wereagainst the act, most notably Tennessee Congressman Davy Crockett, it passedanyway.“I would sooner be honestly damned than hypocritically immortalized,” Crockettdeclared.Crockett’s political career was destroyed because he supported the Cherokee. He leftWashington and headed west to Texas, where he died at the Alamo.Without the power of the federal executive behind him, Marshall’s decision in favorof Indian rights was, in effect, null and void. And on May 28, 1830 Jackson signed intolaw the Indian Removal Act, a bill requiring all Indians living east of the Mississippi

to leave their homes and be relocated far to the west in what was called IndianTerritory.Now the federal government moved swiftly and brutally to enforce the newlegislation. The first to feel the impact were the Choctaws of Mississippi. Bribed byagents of the government, a minority of Choctaw leaders in 1830 signed the Treaty ofDancing Rabbit Creek. All of the Choctaw land in Mississippi was ceded in exchangefor territories in Arkansas and Oklahoma.Only eastern Choctaws managed to evade federal authorities and escape removal byscattering in small bands throughout the backwoods of Mississippi and Louisiana,there to live for decades on the periphery of non-Indian society.Early in the 20th century, the federal government finally abandoned efforts to expelthose who remained. The Bureau of Indian Affairs established an agency amongthem in central Mississippi and purchased land there for a reservation, land nowheld by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.In successive marches from 1830 to 1833, thousands of Choctaws set out on foot,under the watchful eyes of soldiers. These long, cold marches, difficult at best, weremade worse by shortages of wagons, horses, blankets and food.Woefully inadequate funds were quickly exhausted, and along the way people beganto die. By the time Oklahoma was reached, more than a quarter of the migrants hadsuccumbed to hunger, disease, or exhaustion.The journey was equally horrible for the other Southeastern tribes when their turncame. Between 1834 and 1838 most of the Cherokees, Chickasaws and anyremaining Creeks suffered removal, as did many of the Seminoles.Ordered to move on the Cherokee, General John Wool resigned his command inprotest, delaying the removal. His replacement, General Winfield Scott, arrived inNew Echota, Ga. on May 17, 1838 with 7,000 men. The invasion of the Cherokeenation began shortly thereafter.Men, women and children were taken from their land, herded into makeshift fortswith minimal facilities and food, and then forced to march 1,000 miles (some madepart of the trip by boat under equally horrible conditions).Under the generally indifferent army commanders, human losses for the first groupsof Cherokee removed were extremely high. Chief John Ross made an urgent appeal toPresident Martin Van Buren, requesting that his people be allowed to lead the tribewest. Van Buren agreed.Ross organized the Cherokee into smaller groups and let them move separatelythrough the wilderness so they could forage for food.Although the parties under Ross left in early fall and arrived in Oklahoma during thebrutal winter of 1838-39, he significantly reduced the loss of life among his people.

About 4,000 Cherokee died as a result of the removal. The Cherokee of NorthernGeorgia numbered about 17,000 before the removal began.The route they traveled and the journey itself became known as “The Trail of Tears”or directly translated from Cherokee, “The Trail Where They Cried (​“Nunna dualTsuny”)​.Some of the eastern Seminoles forged themselves into a guerrilla army and wagedbloody warfare against federal troops to retain their foothold in the East.One war lasted for seven years, from 1835 to 1842; a second war, in the 1850’s, wasmuch shorter. For almost 30 years after the fighting stopped in 1856, the remnantsof the eastern Seminole peoples lived in isolation.Like the Seminoles, a minority of Cherokees remained in their region by fleeing toland that was inaccessible to the outside world and generally considered worthless.Before the 19t​h​century ended, the eastern Cherokees were all living legally onreservation lands purchased for them by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in themountains of North Carolina.Although the tribes in their new Oklahoma territories never recovered the vitality ofthe old days, they did reassert their former way of life, albeit in somewhatdiminished form. They established farms, built schools and churches, revived theirpolitical institutions, and the Cherokees resumed publication of their newspaper.FREEDMEN OF THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBESThe five nations – Seminole, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee and Creek – prior toEuropean occupation shared common histories of matrilineal societies, with tribalcitizenship coming through the mother, through marriage to a tribal member andthrough the adoption of captives into the tribe.Prior to their forcible removal by the government from their lands, tribal membersfished, hunted small games and had small farms. The natives had well-established,prosperous societies prior to the removal and had incorporated numerousEuropeans ideas, including their dress and religion.The increasing number of Europeans being adopted into the five nations throughmarriage to Indian women brought significant changes to the old tribal ways.These “Indians” brought enslaved individuals of African descent into the tribes, andeventually brought about the enacting of tribal constitutions and tribal actsrestricting the rights of people of African descent to obtain citizenship in the tribesand to marry other tribal citizens, even though eventually, many of the individuals ofAfrican descent had Indian fathers who were tribal citizens.Eventually, most of the tribes also had some restrictions against free Blacks living inthe tribe. The tribe, which treated the Blacks with the greatest equality prior to theCivil War, was the Seminoles. Whites adopted into the tribe or their children whowere known as “mixed blood” tribal members owned the vast majority of slaves.

It should be pointed out that some of the “slaves” were only slaves on paper since theU.S. government had tried to stop large numbers of free Blacks from moving toIndian Territory with Indian tribal members.Also, free Blacks living in the tribes were often stolen by white intruders and carriedoff to slaveholding states. The Indians, who were often the relatives of the stolen freeBlacks, recovered some with great difficulty.At the time of the Civil War, except for the Chickasaw nation, only a very smallminority of tribal citizens owned slaves. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, eachof the five nations’ governments signed treaties with the Confederacy, although onlyin the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations were the majority of the tribal citizens unitedbehind the Confederacy.During the Civil War, only the Cherokee nation repudiated the treaty with theConfederacy. All slaves owned by the Cherokee were freed in 1863 and the Cherokeenation ended discriminatory statutes against people of African descent.At the end of the Civil War, the U.S. government took vast amounts of land in order topunish the five nations for entering into agreements with the Confederacy. In 1866,each of the five nations entered into an agreement with the U.S. agreeing to endslavery forever and to treat their former slaves (and free Blacks) equally.The Cherokee, Creek and Seminole nations immediately adopted the “Freedmen” inorder to give them tribal citizenship, while the Choctaw nation did not adopt theFreedmen as citizens until the 1880s. The Chickasaw nation, at one point, adoptedthe Freedmen as citizens, but then rescinded the adoption.After the Civil War, until Oklahoma statehood, the Freedmen tribal membersobtained education, held positions in tribal government and shared in the tribalresources in the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole nations.During this time, the five nations were steadily invaded by whites, especially fromthe South, who placed extreme pressure on the U.S. government to disband the tribalgovernments and to confiscate the majority of the lands and minerals of the fivenations to give to whites.Eventually, the five nations were forced to sell vast amounts of land to the U.S.government for minimal payment. Prior to the land sale, the U.S. governmentempowered the Dawes Commission to set up rolls of tribal citizens so that each tribalcitizen would receive a share of the tribal resources in accordance to agreementswith the tribe and the government.The Dawes Commission used the earlier citizenship rolls of the tribes to determinewho would be placed on the U.S. government rolls as a citizen of the various tribes. Itmust be noted that the tribal rolls did not list degrees of Indian blood for tribalcitizens; there was no concept prior to the turn of the century of “blood quantum” inthe five nations, only a concept of tribal citizenship or non-citizenship.

The Dawes Commission, when encountering a tribal citizen who they believed tohave African descent almost always categorized such an individual as a “Freedman,”with no degree of Indian blood listed on his Dawes application, although theFreedman often listed an Indian father on his application for enrollment and gavetestimony of having an Indian father or grandfather.The final rolls of the five tribes had separate roll numbers for Freedmen and in noinstances were degrees of Indian blood recorded on these final rolls for Freedmen,or contained in the applications for enrollment. However, the Dawes Commissionenrolled those with mixtures of white and Indian ancestry as “Indians,” with varyingdegrees of Indian blood.Although many Black Indians protested their categorization as Freedmen, most wereunsuccessful in persuading the Dawes Commission or later the federal courts inbeing reclassified by them as tribal citizens by blood. Each Freedman received 40acres and 160 acres, depending on the tribe, as his share of the tribal assets.Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen received 40 acres although Choctaw andChickasaw by blood received 320 acres. In the other nations, all tribal citizensreceived the same amount of tribal land.The original intent of Congress in recording the blood quantums was to determinewhich tribal citizens would have land restrictions as to whether or not the tribalmember would be allowed to sell his allotted land and minerals without permissionfrom the Indian Bureau (now the Department of the Interior).“Restricted Indians” have blood quantums of greater than one-half Indian blood.After Oklahoma statehood, the Freedmen were subject to Jim Crow laws as people ofAfrican descent, and were forced to join Black non-tribal members (state Negroes) infighting Jim Crow laws, Ku Klux Klan, lynchings and grandfather clauses (enacted tostop non-white voting), in contrast to their full participation prior to statehood.After Oklahoma statehood, tribal leaders worked tirelessly to reestablish tribalgovernments. At first, after Oklahoma statehood, the Freedmen tribal citizensreceived the same tribal payments for minerals, etc. and educational benefits fromthe Indian Bureau as other tribal members.However, the U.S. government, through the Department of the Interior, began issuing“Certificate of Indian Blood cards” as a prerequisite for participation in federalprograms set up for Indians. These CDIB cards were based on the blood quantumslisted on the final Dawes Commission rolls about 1900.The Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association contends theCDIB card program has resulted in the exclusion of Black Indian people fromparticipation in such programs as Indian Health Service since degrees of Indianblood were generally not recorded for Indian people with Black ancestry by theDawes Commission.

Additionally, when the five nations reestablished tribal governments, the Choctaw,Chickasaw and Creek nations enacted constitutions which restricted membership tothose who had an ancestor on the “blood rolls.”Although the Cherokee nation constitution allows the Freedmen descendants theright to apply for membership in the Cherokee nation, in actuality, Freedmendescendants are not enrolled because the tribal council passed a tribal act requiringthat the applicant for enrollment receive a CDIB card as part of the enrollmentprocess.Until recently, the Seminole nation did enroll Seminole Freedmen tribal members.However, a constitutional change was enacted in which Freedmen tribal memberswould be removed from the tribe. The Bureau of Indian Affairs did not recognize therevised constitution.In an effort to regain federal recognition, the Seminole tribal council, in late 2002,seated Freedmen representatives on the tribal council.Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes and their descendants have had an ongoingbattle with the Department of the Interior for more than 150 years. They are stillbeing deprived of full voting rights and full recognition of the native citizenshipguaranteed to all Americans. [​INDEX PAGE​] LWF Communications Trotwood, Ohio ChickenBones: A Journal for African-American & Multiethnic Literary & Artistic ThemesHome​​African Towns​​Cow Tom​R​emoval to the West April 21, 2002 The Seminole Tribe, Running From History Based on article by BRENT STAPLES Sylvia Davis of Shawnee, Okla., is as near to royalty as a Seminole Indian can get. Ms. Davis traces her family back to William Augustus Bowles, aformer actor and deserter from the British Army who joined the tribe and eventually became a minor chief in the late 1700's. The Davis family also claims lineage to the warrior Chief Billy Bowlegs, a contemporary of thegreat Seminole leader Osceola. These chiefs and others battled the United

States Army to a standstill in the Seminole Wars that continued intermittently in Florida throughout the early 1800's. BILLY BOWLEGS AND HIS WIFE Billy Bowlegs was the principal Seminole leader in the Third SeminoleWar (1855-1858). Bowlegs and his war-weary band surrendered on May 7, 1858. Thirty-eight warriors and eighty-five women and children, including Billy's wife, boarded the steamer, G​rey Cloud​, at Egmont Key tobegin their journey to Indian territory. Bowlegs died soon after his arrival. The Seminoles were eventually moved along the Trail of Tears to the wilderness of what is now Oklahoma, along with tribes including the Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee and Chickasaw. Ms. Davis's father still lives on land that was allotted to the family when the Indian nations were dissolved. Until recently, Ms. Davis held an honored place on the tribal council, a position that made her the equivalent of a senator in the Seminole Nation. Two years ago, however, a reactionary faction seizedcontrol of the tribe and used a legally questionable vote to declare that Ms. Davis, and about 1,500 others, had too little \"Seminole blood\" to be counted as full tribal members. The real problem is that Ms. Davis is black, in a tribe that is strugglingmightily to distance itself from a history in which black Seminole warriorsand chiefs had starring roles. The question of whether the tribe can legally deny federal money to the black Seminole will be decided in a closely watched federal lawsuit known as Sylvia Davis vs. the United States. Thecase has a deeper significance for historians, who see yet another example of how the American multicultural past is papered over by the myth of racial and ethnic purity. Modern Americans are typically surprised to learn that Native American tribes had any black members. In most cases, as in several other tribes moved to Oklahoma, black members began as slaves. But even though blacks in the Seminole tribe sometimes posed as slaves to avoid capture, they were in fact full tribal citizens from the very beginning.The Seminoles did not exist when Europeans colonized the United States. The anthropologist Joseph Opala argues that they are not a Native American tribe at all, but \"an Afro-Indian tribe\" that coalesced in themid-1700's when refugees from other tribes came together in the Florida wilderness with runaway slaves from the lower South. The origins of the tribe are suggested in the name Seminole, which has been translated as \"runaway,\" \"separatist\" or \"pioneer.\"

The Seminole Wars were costly for the American government, both interms of money and lost lives. Gen. Thomas Sidney Jesup called it \"a Negrowar . . . not an Indian war,\" and he warned that it would eventually spread throughout the slave states if the warrior bands were not put down. Ms.Davis's hero, Chief Billy Bowlegs, fought off not just the Army but also the Native American tribes that sought to capture black Seminoles and sellthem into slavery. Bowlegs was the last of the major war chiefs at large in Florida, fighting with a band of warriors and dozens of escaped slaves under his protection. In Oklahoma, where the Seminoles were settled, the residents — black, white and Indian — often lived, worked and were buried together until the advent of statehood. Then the new State Constitution mandated radical segregation in the previously integrated Seminole society. All theOklahoma tribes were divided into \"freedmen\" and \"blood Indians.\" This isa questionable distinction in most tribes but a clear violation of history for the Seminoles, who were multiracial from the beginning. The so-called freedman were given land when the reservations were broken up, but they enjoyed fewer protections under the law. The second-class citizenship worsened over time, becoming an issue in 1991when Congress voted to compensate the tribe for the lands it lost when it was relocated from Florida. Sylvia Davis was still a member of the tribal council when she applied for $125 of the federal money to buy clothing for her son, who was startingschool. In denying the request, tribal authorities repeated the century-oldslander, suggesting that Ms. Davis and her son lacked sufficient \"Seminole blood\" to be eligible for the money. A similar fate has befallen aging and disabled black Seminoles who have been denied medical care and otherbenefits that nonblack Seminoles receive freely. When Ms. Davis protested the exclusion of blacks, she said, one local official told her that the black Seminoles needed to \"go back to Africa.\" The prejudice against black Seminoles can be partly explained by tribal self-hatred and ignorance of history. But court documents filed in connection with the federal lawsuit show that at least one local official in the Bureau of Indian Affairs may have conspired with tribal leaders tohide the exclusion of blacks from Congress, which was bound by treaty to regard black Seminoles as members of the tribe when it voted to pay the Seminoles for Florida.

Federal courts will decide whether the Seminoles' treatment of their blackbrethren is legal. But the court of public opinion will find it mean-spirited and immoral. THE BLACK SEMINOLES The name ​SEMINOLE​i​s thought to be a corruption of the Spanish word cimarron,​meaning \"wild\" and used to refer to runaways. ******* Creeks migrate to Florida Seminole history begins with bands of Creek Indians from Georgia and Alabama who migrated to Florida in the 1700s. Conflicts with Europeans and other tribes caused them to seek new lands to live in peace.Groups of Lower Creeks moved to Florida to get away from the dominance of Upper Creeks. Some Creeks were searching for rich, new fields to plant corn, beans and other crops. For a while, Spain even encouraged these migrations to help provide a buffer between Florida and the British colonies. The 1770s is when Florida Indians collectively became known as Seminole, a name meaning \"wild people\" or \"runaway.\" In addition to Creeks, Seminoles included Yuchis, Yamasses and a few aboriginal remnants. The population also increased with runaway slaves who found refuge among the Indians. ******* At war with the U.S.Run-ins with white settlers were becoming more regular by the turn of the century. Settlers wanted Indian land and their former slaves back. In 1817, these conflicts escalated into the first of three wars against theUnited States. Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson invaded then-Spanish Florida and defeated the Seminoles. After passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830, the U.S. government attempted to relocate Seminoles to Oklahoma, causing yet another war -- the Second Seminole War. ******* His name was Osceola, or A​si-Yaholo​, which came from ​asi​, a drink containing caffeine, and ​Yaholo,​a cry shouted by men who served a​si during tribal ceremonies. He was born in a Creek Indian village near the Tallapoosa River in what is now eastern Alabama.

Osceola was among many Creeks who retreated to Florida after the Creek War (1813-1814) and joined the Seminoles. During the 1820s, Osceola became known as a successful hunter and war leader. His warriors defeated U.S. troops in several battles early in the Second Seminole War.In 1837, Osceola met U.S. troops under a flag of truce to discuss peace. ButGen. Thomas Jesup ordered his capture and imprisoned him. Osceola died soon afterward in Fort Moultrie near Charleston, S.C. Many Americans were outraged by Jesup's trickery and the Army's reputation fell sharply. Osceola, however, won widespread respect, and several towns and counties were named after him. After defeating the U.S. in early battles of the Second Seminole War, Seminole leader Osceola was captured by the United States in Oct. 20, 1837, when U.S. troops said they wanted a truce to talk peace.By May 8, 1858, when the United States declared an end to conflicts in the third war with the Seminoles, more than 3,000 of them had been moved west of the Mississippi River. That left roughly 200 to 300 Seminoles remaining in Florida, hidden in the swamps. *******The Black Seminoles, now called Seminole Maroons by ethnologists, are agroup of people who live in Oklahoma, Texas, the Bahamas, and Coahuila, Mexico. Their ancestors were runaways from the plantations of South Carolina and Georgia beginning in the late seventeenth century who sought refuge in Spanish-controlled Florida. They lived among the Seminole Indians and were closely associated with them, but theymaintained a separate identity and preserved their culture and traditions. Following the First and Second Seminole Wars (1817 -1818 and 18351842) some escaped to the Bahamas and others were removed with their Native American allies to the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma).Ten years later some of them moved to Mexico where their descendants, known as Indios Mascogos still live. After the Civil War, a group of themmoved to Texas, where in the 1870s and 1880s, they served with the U.S. Army on the Texas frontier as the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts.Their quest involved contact with Native Americans, Spanish, British and American soldiers, settlers, traders and government officials. They suffered and survived deprivation, exploitation and destitution. Today their descendants celebrate the persistence and perseverance of their ancestors.

Seminole Leaders OSCEOLA Black Drink Singer Although he was not a chief, Osceola's ability and fiery spirit made him the symbol of resistance and a key leader in the Second Seminole War. He was captured while under a \"flag of truce\". Osceola died in 1838 while imprisoned at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina. UKO-SEE MATHLA (John Hicks) This Seminole chief once saved a number of white men from being killed after they had been taken prisoner. When he supported the plan to move the Native Americans west he was killed by dissenting Seminoles. MICANOPY (Head Chief) As one of the most important chiefs in Florida, Micanopy fought against removal until the pressure of thousands of troops, disease, and starvation wiped out his band of warriors. NEAMATHLA Neamathla, considered a man of eloquence and influence among the Seminoles, advised his people not to accept the government plan to move. Governor William DuVal deposed him by refusing to recognize him as a chief of the SeminolPicture Credits: Bowlegs and Wife, from Harper's Weekly, June 12, 1858; Micanopy, Tuko-see Mathla, and Neamathla by Charles Bird KingHome​​Cow Tom Table​​Education & History Red, White, Black and Blue: Trials and Tribulations of Cherokee and Seminole Freedmen I.​​Introductiona. Who are Black Indians?b. Who were / are Freedmen?II.​H​istorical Backgrounda. Cherokee Freedmani. Contact in eastii. Removal to west / factionsiii. Civil War / factions / Treatyiv. Contemporary “whitening” of Nation and Council / successful attempts to exclude /disenfranchise Freedmen (1984/ 2003)b. Seminole Freedmen

i. FL. Originsii. Removaliii. Civil War factions / KS and TX Diaspora/ Treatyiv. Reconstruction Successv. Present Electoral Woes – In 2002 B.I.A. sides with tribal council in excluding 2,000Freedmen from voting and office holding rights, despite Treaty of 1866 (28 seatseliminated)III.​R​ecent Freedmen Lawsuits / Legislationa. Cherokeei. Vann e​t al​. v Norton, Dept. Of The Interior (8/03) - election annulmentii. Nero v Cherokee Nation (84-C-557-C) 6/84b. Seminolei. Davis v. United States of America, 03-1313ii. $56 million settlement /16 million for OK FM (Seminole Indians of Florida & SeminoleNation of Oklahoma v. United States, 38 Ind. Cl. Comm. 91, Nos. 73, 151, consol. (May 8,1964)iii. Sen. Henry Bellmon (R) Bill – restricted award to “blood-members” v. tribal members(1980)iv. At Bush Administration’s urging, SCOTUS refused to hear the Davis appeal; allowedTenth Circuit court’s ruling to stand (May, 2004), reversed B.I.A. decision not to recognizecontested election results (2003)IV.​​Identity (construction / uses)a. Acculturation / assimilation / accommodationb. Rolls (fed. recognition / political identity)i. Kerns-Clifton / Wallace / Dawes Rolls (1887)1. Purpose of Allotment in Severalty > Assimilation2. problems – arbitrary, phy. classification (siblings); further factionalized both tribes, “FiveDollar Indians”, “Too Lates,” and “Apples”c. Collective Tribal Identity Strugglei. Quantum essentialist v. traditional1. “race” as arbiter of tribal membership legacy of contact and acculturation with whites,not part of trad. Consciousness2. “full-blood” v. “mixed-blood” factionsV.​I​nstitutionsa. U.S. Federal Government - Treaties of 1866i. Cherokee - Art. 4, Art. 5, and Art. 9ii. Seminole – Art. 2b. U.S. Courts (SCOTUS viewed traditional purpose v. literal words ‘descendants of political.Entities not race)

i. Davis v. United States of America, 03-1313ii. Vann ​et al.​v Norton, Dept. Of The Interior (8/03)c. B.I.A. (Bureau of Indian Affairs)i. C.D.I.B. card – secures political “Indian-ness”ii. Derived from Dawes Rolls – segregated tribes, req. BQ as arbiter of Indian identity thussplits tribal members; some civil disobedienceiii. Secures benefits such as educational, housing, health care, legal access (I.C.C. courts),and enfranchisementVI.​​Ideologya. Slavery v. Antislaveryi. Cherokee - traditional ‘Kituwuh’ ways v. Knights of the Golden Circle “civilization” bothviewed selves as “true” Cherokeesii. “Mixed-blood v. Full-blood not always indicative of factional alliance i.e. Ross v Waitieb. Race (social construction v immutable biological fact)i. Social Constructionist viewii. Blood Quantum – 19t​h​century “scientific” method for racial classificationiii. Hypodescent / Essentialist ideology – reification of “blackness” often defined inopposition to “other” - one-drop rule; basis of physical characteristics; “passing” challenges,most currency in solidarity/ “nationalist”iv. Taxonomic irregularities in historical sources – “Colored,” “Mustee,” “Mulatto,” “Negro,”and “people of color” reflect difficulty qualifying and quantifying “race”v. Current British usage finds “Black” offered as descriptor for Africans, West Indians,Pakistanis, Latin Americans and Asiansc. Tribal Sovereigntyi. Pits sovereignty interests of tribe against citizenship rights of individual members forFreedmen as guaranteed by 1866 Treatiesii. Also, places current constitutional policy in violation of federal Civil Rights legislation,usurping sovereignty argumentVII.​S​ocial Consequencesa. Segregation of tribes on Dawes Rolls codified segregation into tribes “by blood” leavingFreedmen, considered “Black,” at the mercy of state Jim Crow laws; Statute Oneb. Rise of Oklahoma’s “all-Black” towns: Wybark, Acadia, Boley, Langston, Red Bird,Rentiesville, and Taftc. B.I.A., tribal, and court denials of Freedmen’s civil and tribal rights continues andaggravates factionalism and gives legal sanction to color-based discrimination; Trail ofBroken Treatiesd. For Freedmen descendents denial of self-identity, heritage, culture, history, continues“pencil genocide;” once a oft-used tactic of their oppressors

Presence and recognition of Black Indians provides a forceful repudiation of theBlack-White essentialist dichotomies extant in society and academyReturnNegro History Bulletin,​Jan-Dec 2001 p9(10)Tracing trails of blood on ice: commemorating \"the Great Escape\" in 1861-62of Indians and Blacks into Kansas.​​Willard B. Johnson.COPYRIGHT 2001 Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, Inc.My heart raced and emotions surged before I consciously grasped the meaning ofwhat I was reading in that footnote. Reading all the footnotes had become routinefor me, because ages ago I learned that important information about my peopleand my interests would more often than not be buried there, if mentioned at all.But, here was something really startling to me--mention of Humboldt, Kansas. Thattiny southeast Kansas town had been the lifelong hometown of my grandmother,Gertrude Stovall (who was 101 years old when she died in 1990), and it is where Iplan to be buried, amidst five previous generations of my mother's family. Here itwas being specifically proposed as the place for an event that, had it occurred,might very significantly have impacted if not altered American history during theCivil War.The footnote quoted a letter to President Lincoln from emissaries ofOpothleyahola, a legendary leader of the traditionalist faction of the MuskogeeIndians (whom the whites called \"Creeks\"). I had come to focus on this leader in myquest to understand the famous \"Trails of Tears\" over which almost all of theIndians of the southeastern states had trekked when they were forced out of theirtraditional homeland to \"Indian Territory\" (now Oklahoma). (1)In the letter, the Native American leader was proposing to convene all themid-western Indian tribes in a gigantic General Council meeting, to demonstratetheir continued loyalty to the Union and to secure enforcement of the treaties thathis people had signed with the United States government decades before. Now theyneeded to meet to make good on those pledges. Of all places, Opothleyaholaproposed to hold that meeting in Humboldt! (2)In researching the story behind this note, I was able to tie together many disjointedstrands of family and folk history. The answers to questions such as why it was thatso much of the black family folklore of this region spoke so vaguely of havingIndian connections; how it was that some of our black families seemed to havebeen among the first settlers in that area of Kansas; how it was that some spoke ofhaving come through Indian Territory; and why and how it was that after the CivilWar so many black families returned to or stayed in Indian Territory became more

clear.Understanding the connections between African Americans and Native Americansis difficult and sometimes painful because these connections were quite complexand ranged from marriage, brotherhood, and adoption into families, to Indianenslavement of blacks. (3) That many African Americans had shared the sufferingof Native Americans on the Trail of Tears had come to my attention through thewritings of a family friend, former Cherokee principal chief, Ms. Wilma Mankiller.(4) Many of the blacks who were forcibly relocated with the Indians were naturalor adopted family members, or incorporated communities, but perhaps as many asfour thousand of them had been slaves. (5) They shared all the ordeals of theremovals. (6)Chief Mankiller had pointed out that the role of blacks in this story was not widelyknown and had never been prominently commemorated. That prompted me toattempt to correct this fault by proposing such a commemoration to the KansasInstitute for African American and Native American Family History (KIAANAFH),which I had founded in 1991, in part to honor the memory of my GrandmotherStovall, to preserve and use her rich collection of stories and memorabilia and thatof other long-established families in the area, and to better understand and teachthe history of the African American pioneers in Kansas. (7)Many of us in the Institute were Kansas-connected African American educators andreligious leaders who had heard mention of Indian connections and long marchesin our own family folklore, but we knew no details. The ordeals blacks had sharedwith Indians, just as those of slavery itself, became muted in if not dropped from,the conversation of our people as they attempted to forget the past and lookresolutely forward to better days. In our day they still speak only vaguely of theirIndian ties. We wondered if we could flesh out and document these stories andunderstand their significance, and determine if they would provide the frameworkfor a suitable commemoration.We found many families totally unaware that their connection to Indians couldpossibly have been through enslavement to them. The fact of Indians asslaveholders is not very evident in any popular understanding of American history.Although perhaps no more than ten percent of the households of the Five CivilizedTribes ever owned any slaves, they profoundly affected the fate of both the NativeAmericans and African Americans in the South and the Midwest. (8)The institution of black slavery among some of the Indian societies differed a bitfrom that among whites. For example, some of the blacks who had experienced theearlier Upper Creek removals traveled in parties with no Indian supervisors, yetdid not attempt to escape on the way or after arrival--evidence that their

experience of \"slavery\" among the Creeks was far different from that they wouldhave known in the Southern slaveocracy or perhaps even among the Cherokee. (9)The history of these tribes was also powerfully affected by the commitment ofmembers of the secret Cherokee \"Keetoowah society,\" who vehemently opposedassimilation of many aspects of European-American culture, and extended that toinclude slavery. Thus, even the slavery connection between blacks and Indians wasa complex one. (10)There is some controversy about how and why, in the end, both those who hadaccepted the removals (the \"Treaty Party\") and their adversaries among Chief JohnRoss's faction of the Cherokees, as well as the leadership of the \"Lower Creeks,\"decided to join the Confederacy during the Civil War. (11) It would have been hardfor the Indians to defend their territory once they were surrounded on three sidesby Confederate states--Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Even the \"IndianAgents\" sent by the government in Washington to work among the Indians, wereoften secret advocates of the Confederacy who played on Indian fears by arguingthat the Union could not protect them, and that most of the money for the annuitiesthat Washington had pledged to these nations in return for relinquishing theirformer lands were actually backed by bonds of the Southern states, and thus wouldbe worthless promises from the Union. So for personal, political and economicreasons most of the Indian leadership, except for Opothleyahola, felt that the saferbet was with the South! (12)Like John Ross, Opothleyahola had owned slaves and was a major trader andplantation owner, even after the resettlement in Indian Territory. Also like Ross, hehad resisted removal of the Indian nations from their traditional homelands toterritory West of the Mississippi, but had then seen it as the only way to get free ofwhite encroachment. But, more importantly, he was a vehement enemy ofassimilationist Creek \"half breed\" leaders from the more mixed Lower Creeks.Indeed he played a direct role in provoking, if not carrying out a Creek Councildeath sentence on one of the earliest of the Lower Creek leaders, the elder ChiefWilliam McIntosh, who illegally sold Creek lands to encroaching whites, and whosedescendants never forgot or forgave the execution. The McIntosh clan led the Creekremoval to Indian Territory, and with slave labor as a foundation, reestablishedthemselves as rich and dominant political leadership there. (13)Once in Indian Territory, and with the continued encroachment of whites from theslave states, Opothleyahola attempted to rally the more \"pure blood\" elements ofhis own Creek people and the Cherokees to remain neutral--if not loyal to theUnion--in the war. (14) He tried many ways to resist the continued encroachmentof whites and the supplications of the Confederacy. (15)

Finally, he sent emissaries to Kansas with letters to President Lincoln in an attemptto extract protection and support from Washington. One of these letters proposedto regroup all the loyal Indian leadership in the meeting to take place in Humboldt.(16) But time ran out, and events overtook him. When John Ross, Chief of thelargest of the tribes, finally gave in to pressures to side with the Confederacy,Opothleyahola felt there was no hope for Indian autonomy and cultural survival inthe new territory. He planned to flee.Opothleyahola rallied some 9,000 people, mostly his own Creeks along with asubstantial number of Shawnees and Seminoles, and hundreds of blacks (17)(generally males of warrior age to whom he had promised freedom in return fortheir help), in this desperate break for Kansas, the nearest free state. (18) Theirplans were discovered and Native American Confederate loyalists, troops of theConfederate General Douglas Cooper, and even units of Texas Rangers chased themdown. The pursuers included Stan Watie, a Cherokee now made an officer in theConfederate army, and Lt. Colonels Daniel and David McIntosh, sons of the slainChief McIntosh, who had personal scores to settle. (19)In three major battles nearly a third of the fleeing Indians and many of the blackswere killed. Opothleyahola's followers rather miraculously \"won\" two of thesebattles despite being seriously outnumbered. In the first conflict, they got away bysubterfuge and stealth. They fooled the pursuing Confederate rebels into thinkingthat fires they left burning marked their camp, but they had slipped away duringthe night. Their victory in a second battle was aided by the desertion to their sideof the bulk of the Cherokee soldiers who had been sent to fight them under theConfederate army banner, but who were secretly members of the KeetoowahSociety. (20)In the final onslaught, however, they were routed, and the survivors were scatteredwithout clothing, conveyance, or food. In one of the coldest winters on record, thefleeing refugees died by the hundreds from brutal attack, exposure, exhaustion andhunger. They left corpses and trails of blood from Indian Territory to Kansas, overmany miles of ice-covered barren prairie and the frozen banks of the Fall,Verdigrisand Neosho river basins.When in January of 1862, the bedraggled remnants, including Opothleyaholahimself and his family, finally reached their Kansas destinations, the help they hadexpected from Union forces was nonexistent. President Lincoln's indecisivenessabout waging all-out war and utilizing colored troops and timid Indian agents, whowere fearful to venture personally into territory subject to Confederate patrols, tobring help and protection directly to \"The Loyal Indians,\" had delayed theprovision of food, clothing and shelter, as well as arms and munitions. Soon

thereafter Opothleyahola's daughter died of pneumonia and his own deathfollowed within a year. They were both buried side by side near Ft. Belmont inwhat is now Woodson County, and not very far from Humboldt.As early as April of 1862, perhaps because of the prodding of embarrassed Indianagents including William P. Dole, the commissioner, and the leadership of Kansaspoliticians such as U.S. Senator-made-General James Lane, substantial numbers ofthe Native American and African American male refugees were permitted to jointhe Union army. These recruits provided the core of the First Indian Home Guardand the First and Second Kansas Colored Regiments.These units were actually the first colored soldiers to engage in armed battle onthe Union side in the Civil War--preceding the more recognized Massachusetts54th. Ultimately, they won crucially important battles, including ones at CabinCreek and Honey Springs, that kept the supply routes open for the Union troops atFort Gibson in Indian Territory, led to the recapture of Fort Smith in Arkansas, andhelped to sustain the pincer pressure on Little Rock, Arkansas. The success of eachof which were important factors in the defeat of the Confederacy in the westernareas. (21)Opothleyahola's promise of freedom to all those blacks that joined in the escape toKansas (mostly men of warrior age) was kept during the brief time of hisremaining life, and after his death, by the successor Creek leaders. In discussions inKansas in 1863, they drafted a new treaty that acknowledged \"the necessity,justice, and humanity\" of the Emancipation Proclamation, and promised to provideland for their freedmen \"and all others of the African race who shall be permittedto settle among them.\" (22)This was in keeping with the action by the Seminole leadership decades earlier,who in the negotiations to settle the Seminole wars and to arrange for that tribe'sremoval to Indian Territory, refused to allow the U.S. officials to separate theIndian and the African components of the tribe. Ironically, some of the same blackinterpreters participated in each of the discussions which provided for citizenshiprights to the blacks. (23)The 1863 Creek treaty, which was subsequently rejected by the Creeks because ithad been amended by the U.S. Congress, occurred about the same time as aresolution was passed by the Cherokee National Council, likely influenced byKeetoowah members, to abolish slavery and promise full citizenship in theseIndian Nations to the freedmen.I had heard vague stories in my youth that not only my own, but several of theearly African American families to settle in the Humboldt area had Indianconnections, and had involved lost land, perhaps oil revenue and other rights. Such

stories were not unusual among the African American families with whom we inthe KIAANAFH were working. Could these stories be fleshed out and documented?I remembered hearing of my grandmother's legal inquiries about rights that mightstill be due her through her grandfather Charley Davis, who had been born in thelate 1840s in Tahlequah, the Cherokee Capital in Indian Territory, and whoseKern-Clifton Cherokee roll number she had carefully preserved. She had been toldonly that \"time had run out for such claims.\"After my grandmother's death, when I started to research that dimension of ourfamily history, I was as surprised as anyone to find that the roll was only forfreedmen. Did he have any blood tie? There was no information passed downabout that, and it seems he never claimed one. His Freedman connection hadproduced a payment in the 1890s of considerable importance to his family, but hedied soon thereafter before it was renewed or extended to his children. It was noteasy to pursue his genealogy, but with the help of staff at the National Archives inWashington D.C., I was finally able to copy his affidavit that, backed by threewitnesses, named his owner. I have since discovered much about that owner, butso far I have yet to document Davis's life before Humboldt. We are not even sureexactly when and how he came to Humboldt. Perhaps he had no direct connectionwith the Great Escape. But it seemed likely that some black families did.I wondered if the Great Escape story would throw light on the more generalpattern of the coming of the first black families into Southeast Kansas area. Couldthese families have come in the Escape itself, or its immediate aftermath? Howcould we piece together a plausible answer to such questions?In pursuit of information about my own ancestors I was struck by several featuresof the 1860 federal census rolls for Arkansas, which includes the schedules forIndian Territory. Most notably, nearly all the Creek Indians were listed as \"Black.\"Would that designation have today's significance?I had read about extensive African and Creek mixing. After all, it was probably tothe Creeks that blacks had escaped as early as 1526 from L. Vasquez deAyllon'sshipwrecked settlement on the Carolina coast. I had read about the ancient Creekmigrations from the Southwest, where the indigenous populations wereconsiderably darker than the Cherokee and other Iroquoian speaking peoples ofthe East, and may have mixed with Africans during early Spanish exploration andcolonial times, as seems evident among Mexican populations, and some say evenwell before that! But could such mixing have been so extensive as to affect themajority of the Creeks? (24)I began to suspect these particular white census enumerators impulsively listedpersons of dark complexion simply as \"black.\" This would not necessarily reflect

the standard \"one-drop\" American practice and imply \"African.\" Moreover, many ofthe dark Creek Indians have very straight hair, so I became skeptical.Another interesting feature of the census for Indian Territory was the special noteby the enumerator that the Seminoles refused ever to allow a listing of \"slaves\"; itseemed to be a reaffirmation of the earlier removal-treaty negotiation experience.However, the Seminoles, whose Nation arose out of a significant social, political,and genetic integration of persons of Native American and African Americanbackground, were not all listed as \"black.\" Perhaps the color designations for theCreeks were valid clues to their identity after all.The key breakthrough in this genetic conundrum came with an examination of anadjutant general's descriptive record of the First Indian Home Guard Regiment,where color designations were quite nuanced. Seven variations were used, from\"light,\" to \"Indian,\" through \"red\" and \"copper\" to \"black\" and \"Negro\" and even\"African.\" The majority did not fall on the darker end of this range, but I did countabout fifty persons in the last three categories.Most importantly for me, this group included a Daniel Landrum, whose color wasdescribed as \"Negro.\" I knew we had Landrums in my own extended family, andthey had hailed from Neosho Falls, one of the towns where the refugees in theGreat Escape had encamped. So, I went back to the state census records for theWoodson and Allen County areas in 1865, the earliest full record that would havebeen taken after the Great Escape. Lo and behold, there were scores of \"black\"persons having come from \"the Creek Nation,\" or \"the Seminole Nation,\" or otherparts of \"Indian Territory.\" They must have come on the Escape, or immediately inits aftermath, because they were not in the 1860 federal census for the Kansasterritory. Among them were surnames I knew from personal experience to includeAfrican American families--Crosslin, Grubbs, Jackson, Perryman, Ross, Vann.Several families, living close to each other in Neosho Falls were enumerated as\"Landam,\" which is not a name I could find in the standard lists of Cherokee orCreek freedmen, but Landrum does show up in them. One Benjamin FranklinLandrum, a Cherokee slaveholder, had achieved some notoriety for having taughthis slaves to read. (25) I was very excited to find that Daniel Landrum had enrolledin the Indian Guards at Leroy, a town near Neosho Falls. He rather quickly desertedfrom the Indian Guards, but appears to have enlisted soon thereafter in Company Cof the Second Kansas Colored Regiment, where he became a petty officer. Maybethis was one of Benjamin Landrum's former slaves who could read, and perhapsthat capacity was more appreciated in the Colored Regiment than in the IndianGuard. Who knows? (26)There was also a Jackson in the Guards and Jacksons living among Landrums as

listed in the 1870 federal census, when there were still several branches ofLandrums in Neosho Falls. Some included first names--a Franklin and aBenjamin--that show up a decade later among my Landrum family connection (bychance?). The Landrums had married Jacksons. The records are not detailedenough for a definitive conclusion, but it seems very likely that these are branchesof the same families.I once again looked at the records regarding the pioneer black families ofHumboldt. Several of those already there in the early 1860s had been born inIndian Territory, were enumerated as Indians, or were married to NativeAmericans. One of the most interesting was \"Aunt Polly\" Crosslin (later known asCrosby), in whose cabin the town's \"Colored Church,\" the Poplar Grove BaptistChurch, was later founded (in the late 1870s). That church has been the heart ofHumboldt's community of blacks and Indians ever since. She was one of theearliest African Americans to settle in the town, was married to an interpreter forthe Seminoles, and is reputed to have been a Cherokee freedman from Florida orAlabama. She, like others in the town, is reported to have harbored escaping slavesin her cabin, which had a trap door over a tunnel that ran to the nearby river bluffs.(27)It had become evident that several of the pioneer black families in the Humboldtarea indeed had Indian connections and at least some of them, including distantbranches of my own family, most likely did come into area as part of the drama ofthe Escape. Some of these families stayed. Others may have returned to IndianTerritory. What difference did the Escape episode make in their subsequent life?The 1866 treaties that settled the Civil War between the U.S. Government and therebel tribes, especially with the Cherokees and Creeks, renewed andinstitutionalized the promises that had been made in 1863 as a result of theexperience of the Escape and its aftermath. This included some citizenship rights inthe Native American nations for those freedmen who were in these territories atthe end of the war, or who returned there within six months. Such rights includedallotments of land, sharing in the annuity payments, and access to services.Sometimes they included voting and office holding rights. There were manyproblems and obstacles for the freedmen to overcome in securing theimplementation of these provisions, and some who would have qualified werenever able to benefit. The tribes varied greatly in applying the provisions of thesetreaties. The Creeks complied most fully, but the Chickasaws never honored them.Maybe some of the Indian freedmen stayed in Kansas because of these difficulties.Upon their mustering out, however, many of the black soldiers returned to theterritories of their respective Indian nations. A great many of the former slave