tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16920364235782348152024-03-18T11:32:35.439-07:00The African-Native American Genealogy BlogReflecting the lives of Blended families from African & Native American families.Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.comBlogger233125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-39297874304586690392024-02-14T08:44:00.000-08:002024-02-14T08:55:57.938-08:00"Only God Could Seperate Us"<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.524px;">When reading the interviews of Freedmen seeking to have their names placed on the Dawes Roll, most interviews were simply factual data recorded about their lives. So when expressions of tenderness and emotion appear from these interviews it is enough to make one pause and appreciate who the Oklahoma Freedmen were. They were men, they were women, they were people who had emotions and between many dared to express their love for their life partner to anyone who would hear it.</span><br /><br /><b style="font-size: 13.524px;">Therefore, on this Valentine's Day, it is worthwhile to share two examples of the love and passion that people shared for each other.</b><br /><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTGB15syvk1zEp1fkx9bhZ0QowEg2s9pPfHbi5J2Bgrp-2_nR3sInr299mEegpvzfaHfXc92r5CmsCi8u8kpm33_XGoJySzQObE2wdwZ7dk9OvQGnGmrWDnBK6MOELDP6Y5lwtYAMITlyIJrdTQPMQd5LzjZudQANoB2yjLWzjpPClFd9S7zY9Hlf-Axk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="251" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTGB15syvk1zEp1fkx9bhZ0QowEg2s9pPfHbi5J2Bgrp-2_nR3sInr299mEegpvzfaHfXc92r5CmsCi8u8kpm33_XGoJySzQObE2wdwZ7dk9OvQGnGmrWDnBK6MOELDP6Y5lwtYAMITlyIJrdTQPMQd5LzjZudQANoB2yjLWzjpPClFd9S7zY9Hlf-Axk" width="250" /></a><br />Joe Davis, Vinita Oklahoma</div><br /><br /><u style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Joe Davis and His Love for Belle</u><br /><br />During the Dawes Commission period, Joe Davis appeared in front of the Dawes Commission to apply for himself and his family. The usual questions were asked of Joe Davis. He answered questions about his earlier life, about his life when enslaved, and whether he was enrolled on the 1880 authenticated Cherokee Roll. <span>He was asked if he was married, and when they married, and he produced a marriage certificate from 1876. He was asked if this was his first marriage:</span><p></p><span><b>Q. Was Bell Davis your first wife?<br />A. Yes sir, she was the only woman I ever loved in my life.</b><br /><b>Q. You love her yet, do you?</b><br /><b>A. I love her yet, still harder.</b></span><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">This kind of tenderness is rarely seen in Dawes interviews, particular since many of the commissioners were known to be harsh and hostile to the Freedmen being interviewed. But the love of this man for his wife must be noted, for love is the greatest of all virtues.<br /><br /><br /><u style="font-weight: bold;">Rachel and King Kernal A Union that Endured for Eight Decades</u><br />Their grandson, Phillip A. Lewis was a Creek Freedman who lived in the Muskoge area most of his life. He had a remarkable life, and in the 1930s much of his life was captured in the <a href="https://digital.libraries.ou.edu/cdm/ref/collection/indianpp/id/5189">Indian Pioneer Papers. </a>One of the stories about his family history stood out when he expressed the love between his grandparents, Rachel and King Kernal was shared. He told his grandmother Rachel's story the way he heard it as a child. Grandma Rachel's life with her husband began at a place of heartbreak and sorrow: <u>a slave auction.</u><br /><br />Rachel's story:<br /><i style="font-weight: bold;">"When I was only a girl, I was taken to a slave market to be sold by a slave trader. Just before the sale, my attention was attracted by a very large young fellow in the crowd who seemed to never to be looking at anyone except me. Finally after working his way closer and closer to me, and the opportunity presented itself, he leaned over and whispered to me, 'If I persuade my master to buy you will you marry me?' As I looked up into his face, somehow, something made me say 'yes'. Without another word, he turned and dissappeard in the crowd.<br /> "He was gone. I was bewildered and lost in a haze of jumbled thoughts. Who was he? To come to me to come to me from among the people, the greatest number of people I had seen in my life."<br /> "Why had he said such words, received my answer and then disappeared as suddenly and mysteriously as he had came. What did it all mean? I could not understand."<br /> "Then I saw him, head and shoulders taller than anyone else, making his way through the crowd in my direction, and as he came closer, I saw there was another man with him. They came near us and stopped, stood there together, looking in my direction, and after a short whispered conversation, they approached my master, and shortly, I was the property of a new master, who was the owner of the man to whom I had given the answer "yes", King Kernal.<br /> "Our master took King and Me" to his place, and we were married immediately thereafter, though in slavery, we were happy. Our master was kind not to separate us during slavery time, and after we were made free people, <u>only God Could separate us."</u></i></span></span><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">Rachel and King Kernal would spend oaver 80 years of their lives together, with both passing away after the age of 100. King Kernal died in 1873 and was said to be 108 years old at the time. Rachel died twelve years later at the age of 103. Both had endured slavery, then the removal to the west in the 1830s, and in spite of the bondage under which most of their lives were spent--their bond of love was far greater than any restrictions of slavery.<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">* * * * *<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">These two stories are presented to reflect the basic humanity of the enslaved people, taken to the west, who were enslaved in five Indian Tribes, and later tasting a freed life in a territory that had become home. <br /><br />Though the next century their children and grandchildren would be tossed aside and expelled, due to the contemporary biases of color the descendants of both families have a strong legacy of families founded in unbreakable love. Both of these two stories reflect the humanity of a people discarded but whose humanity still shines forth.<br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;">* * * * * <br /> ".... but the greatest of these is love."</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> 1st Corinthians 6:20</span></span></div></span></div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-44696096982532785612024-01-02T11:17:00.000-08:002024-01-02T11:17:39.434-08:00New Chat Schedule for 2024<p> <span style="background-color: white;"></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">New ZOOM-chat schedule <br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Afvummi Himona Na Yukpa - Happy New Year!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 700;"> <br />Beginning in January 2024 the twice-a-week history/genealogy chats will occur on the following days: <br /><br />Sunday 4:00 - 6:00 pm <br />Friday 4:00 - 6:30 pm<br /><br />The new schedule will accomodate people who cannot make the weekday chats, and the Friday chats will hopefully allow people who are working to join the chat later in the day.<br /><br /><u>Sunday chats</u> will be open with no specified topics.<br /><br /><u>Friday chats</u> will have a </span><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif;"><b><u>Topic of the day.</u></b></span><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 700;"> The first half-hour will incorporate the Day's topic, and may occasionally be taped when unique documents are shared. The chat will then be opened up for general genealogical chatting.<br /><br />Links to the weekly chat will be posted in the Facebook group, (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/128412341200124">Choctaw-Chickasaw Freedmen Descendants</a>) and also to those wishing to be on an email list.<br /><br />Join us!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></div></div><p></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-22333144904602199622023-09-04T11:16:00.001-07:002023-09-04T13:02:56.036-07:00Labor Day Festivities in Black Oklahoma 1915<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVEO2meolqDsCinlnAzyReVETcS7dXO-myz3orss5YfZnap2eP6s6w4Q4urveQhhPIftRfss-XPwwQTNCNMytks_ZWjNu220wFt0ObThwf-zIAy9tsb-MJumB-fy5wa1lYBt7bhhm6q1jMIisDAW0P_i7-A6mD38AVrIaDjxUtoamwRneJ4NZMqmdIl2o" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="456" height="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVEO2meolqDsCinlnAzyReVETcS7dXO-myz3orss5YfZnap2eP6s6w4Q4urveQhhPIftRfss-XPwwQTNCNMytks_ZWjNu220wFt0ObThwf-zIAy9tsb-MJumB-fy5wa1lYBt7bhhm6q1jMIisDAW0P_i7-A6mD38AVrIaDjxUtoamwRneJ4NZMqmdIl2o=w307-h443" width="307" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />In 1915, the first of several events unfolded in Muskogee Oklahoma when the "Great Agricultural and Industrial Parade" unfolded at the fair grounds. The event occurred during the week of Labor Day from September 6th through 11th at the fair. One of the highlights of the event was a massive parade with dozens of find automobiles and horsemen parading through downtown Muskogee. on 2nd Street which was the heart of the black business community at that time. Each day there were horse races, in addition to automobile racing unfolding. For children there was much to amuse them with carnival rides and plenty of concessions to satisfy the crowds in attendance.<br /><br />One of the organizers of the event was Herbert A. Clark, an accountant who had come to Oklahoma from his native Ohio, and worked as an accountant in addition to also having worked as a linotype operator, which was the primary macing used to set print. He resided on 3rd Street in Muskogee, only a block away from 2nd Street which for decades was the primary business distict of black Musskogee.<br /><br />To promote the event it was also noted that much of the event was to have been captured on film, and it appears quite possibly the film maker was Solomon Sir Jones, who produced numerous films of Black Oklahoma. On one of his films an impressive parade was shown with a line of fine automobiles, and others reflecting riders on horseback as part of the parade.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkRjixfsE1e2RYwEp9YvA12fG5R_4up6fSYcyvHZG43jCOCTJzqNqWs9dB0Y3mEadpRVyJhJZYrcH2K-A2oxbCAnKy-n5RaVDUsQs3DrmaFt_28yHojliX7LoPf4Bwo-xB-L72QjkTEjzZM4C6ZPUJkdZznWSkfgrVZPPys3Y5n-o4aOs7HyBC7tmOch8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="1195" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkRjixfsE1e2RYwEp9YvA12fG5R_4up6fSYcyvHZG43jCOCTJzqNqWs9dB0Y3mEadpRVyJhJZYrcH2K-A2oxbCAnKy-n5RaVDUsQs3DrmaFt_28yHojliX7LoPf4Bwo-xB-L72QjkTEjzZM4C6ZPUJkdZznWSkfgrVZPPys3Y5n-o4aOs7HyBC7tmOch8" width="320" /></a><br />Image from Muskogee Parade Capture by Solomon Sir Jones<br />Image Captured from Global Image Works</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFK9sO__JpnLw7a2smbHC8UCM0ZIsTdbZqe5pn7k3M5qj3bthtIL86Soi8FcrdZzSyyLbP11e4SqWyh8jkwO616cv39C0p-Ez4HGrQv7eHNdh7e3toWr34a1-nroT3nwKWbkkamzMd6rWdSWpUDe3k82m3TBb7H11PCqwA6yxe77wPvYxeo4hFIbOTStM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="699" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFK9sO__JpnLw7a2smbHC8UCM0ZIsTdbZqe5pn7k3M5qj3bthtIL86Soi8FcrdZzSyyLbP11e4SqWyh8jkwO616cv39C0p-Ez4HGrQv7eHNdh7e3toWr34a1-nroT3nwKWbkkamzMd6rWdSWpUDe3k82m3TBb7H11PCqwA6yxe77wPvYxeo4hFIbOTStM" width="320" /></a><br />Parade of Automobiles from Solomon Sir Jones Film<br />Image Captured from Global Image Works<br /><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwAo8GsSkH5mQnVs6b4UYHPL89-gk4vdSBlCxQxvCky1UXhYbS802ek72WrkCEgiAUfOF7Rm2eQqSXvT0RcRTl9y8BL-4HFxkK40NmXyBzarEE1k7jHcKqtpfDWMywKmTRiC0djRsF15zD8rE0ZoiSqiX6yhRxWMmepjnV11FqJ7vDDc5540skONHmLSo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="695" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwAo8GsSkH5mQnVs6b4UYHPL89-gk4vdSBlCxQxvCky1UXhYbS802ek72WrkCEgiAUfOF7Rm2eQqSXvT0RcRTl9y8BL-4HFxkK40NmXyBzarEE1k7jHcKqtpfDWMywKmTRiC0djRsF15zD8rE0ZoiSqiX6yhRxWMmepjnV11FqJ7vDDc5540skONHmLSo" width="320" /></a><br />Marching Band in Oklahoma Parade<br />Source: Global Image Works<br /><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3SkhihiBFV3oD3U3-JvU7YX7Fsb-f-1paVRO6u_Fyfkka5idq4pn7MZfT9y59TQJnPwc6iN1QGZ48oGx_aiBpAkkSAvGSsW2QcbVlpgq9Ud0e4jVqrOMCCuKZf4-Sf-xD0sHZve5aOzO3MlX1_MS5-1c77FwIoVTAc6HrxvaYJRg26psPg5bxJLEkDiQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="498" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3SkhihiBFV3oD3U3-JvU7YX7Fsb-f-1paVRO6u_Fyfkka5idq4pn7MZfT9y59TQJnPwc6iN1QGZ48oGx_aiBpAkkSAvGSsW2QcbVlpgq9Ud0e4jVqrOMCCuKZf4-Sf-xD0sHZve5aOzO3MlX1_MS5-1c77FwIoVTAc6HrxvaYJRg26psPg5bxJLEkDiQ" width="271" /></a><br />Another Glimpse of Oklahoma Parade<br />Source: Globel Image Works<div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That first Labor Day holiday event was the first of several state fair events that were hosted in Oklahoima. For the next several years the event to grew to become favorited "Negro State Fairs" in Oklhaoma. At one time the state governor close the black schools so that black children could attend the "Negro State Fair" that was now celebrated later in the fall.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEia2gtJdIAbMubo0peNQ2N2Fp6HLVOfRSVy9l0DE8-Em9REz1zdi5_PEXiXzbwdb9sMFzzI88-KC8ovGJteZ1rYdUgQVzvB6g_5qn7BNd2Q7tMBA6rlUhkPz_TE_7zq1OrvSc5AmJBunYhwuZTgtmAuNMn7opSJUTZWwIzaTivwAkNyIsDyoESBh6tgbY8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="494" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEia2gtJdIAbMubo0peNQ2N2Fp6HLVOfRSVy9l0DE8-Em9REz1zdi5_PEXiXzbwdb9sMFzzI88-KC8ovGJteZ1rYdUgQVzvB6g_5qn7BNd2Q7tMBA6rlUhkPz_TE_7zq1OrvSc5AmJBunYhwuZTgtmAuNMn7opSJUTZWwIzaTivwAkNyIsDyoESBh6tgbY8=w333-h446" width="333" /></a> <br />Source: Muskogee Cimeter<br />Chronicling America</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For many decades Freedmen from the Five Tribes attended similar events celebrating Freedom and emancipation, and those celebrations were held usually in early August, usually on or around August 4th. Many Freedmen also attended events in Texas, and this is perhaps where the state fair concept emerged. Almost all of the events consisted of parades, music, competitions and exhibitions for the amusement of onlookers and visitors.<br /><br />Today Labor Day is usually a family based holiday where individuals spend time with loved ones, placing food on the grill, and enjoying the day. The day usually marks the end of summer with schhols reopening, and that day off has often been the much needed and appreciated change of season day to mark not nolythe calendar change but also for the family and the community to celebrate themselves and their own accomplishments.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />So we take this time to acknowledge that we are following a tradition of more than a century ago celebrated by our ancestors. Enjoy this day as our ancestors did. Celebrate your family, and you community as was done in days past.</div></div></div></div></div><br /><p></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-5182193411060841632023-06-20T08:12:00.003-07:002023-06-20T08:15:08.078-07:00"Yall as Free as I am."<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2Uj1SwPiQhuTdRwZs6koWFnRezQ-mBNA7WDQfVvIg3QNSkPMjq6fueVaX5cgfiJHzlEbB_oZbU_USGFFRY_BgQZSWbPcwJcJnH50hw8S3IB3vndqIc5fS_OOIoB5F6PrG8X30eTj7d4Oq4CJrgFei5DHkVAZVWQ9dhBtWbF2asx66dkKS-4xjqZvqVvQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="418" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2Uj1SwPiQhuTdRwZs6koWFnRezQ-mBNA7WDQfVvIg3QNSkPMjq6fueVaX5cgfiJHzlEbB_oZbU_USGFFRY_BgQZSWbPcwJcJnH50hw8S3IB3vndqIc5fS_OOIoB5F6PrG8X30eTj7d4Oq4CJrgFei5DHkVAZVWQ9dhBtWbF2asx66dkKS-4xjqZvqVvQ" width="320" /></a></div><br />Juneteenth and a Season of Freedom</b></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />We celebrated Juneteenth yesterday, which is a national holiday honoring the end of slavery and beginning of freedom in the United States for millions of people. However, for several thosand people just to the west, in Indian Territory, slavery continued. A full year after the Civil War the five slaverholding tribes finally abolished slavery by signing a treaty with the United States. Four different treaties were signed, with 3 tribes signing their own treaty--Cherokee, Creek and Seminole Nations. Choctaws and Chickasaws signed the same exact treaty, and at last slavery was abolished in Indian Territory.<br /><br />There are not many stories written explaining how freedmen came to the various communities. However, years later a few of the formerly enslaved people referred to their experiences when freedom came to them. Below are a few of these memories shared in the 1930s when the WPA (Works Progress Administration) launched the Slave Narrative Project. Thankfully a few of the stories of Freedmen from the Five Tribes were also captured in that process.<br /><br />Below are a few words documented by the project. Note that the final piece is the only reference made to freedom of an ancestor who was enslaved in the Choctaw Nation. It is a reference simply to my gr. gr. grandmother, and who had freed her. Though her own words are not there---the word "freed" is still there as part of our own family's story of freedom. <br /><br />Those enslaved in Indian Territory should never be forgotten. Though many were told that they were not worthy, and that their blood did not count--it needs to be said: It did count! They did count! And their history is there to find.<br /><br />Although our ancestors were not freed on Juneteenth, we still celebrate the beginning of the end. It would take a full year in the territory and for many such as the Choctaw Freedmen, it would be 19 years before citizenship was finally given to them. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">* * * * *</div> </span></div><b><span style="font-size: large;">~~Phyllis Pettit~~</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Cherokee Nation</span></b></div><b><br /><i>"But one day Old Master stay after he eat breakfast and when us negroes come in to eat, he say: 'After today I ain't your master any more. Yall as free as I am.' We just stand and look and don't know what to say about it."</i><span style="font-size: xx-small; font-style: italic;">1</span></b><p></p><p>After while Pappy got a wagon and some oxen to drive for a white man who was coming to the Cherokee Nation because he had folks here. His name was Dave Mounts and he had a boy named John.<br /><br />We come with them and stopped at Fort Gibson, where my own grand mammy was cooking for hte soldiers at the garrison. And I was named after her. She had a good Cherokee master. My mammy was born on his place.<br /><br />We stayed with her about a week and then we moved out on Four Mile Creek. She died on Fourteen-Mile Creek about a year later. <br /><br />When we first went to Four Mile Creek we saw some negro women chopping wood and asked them who they worke for and I found out they didn't know they was free yet."</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>* * * * *</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">~~Charlotte Johnson White~~</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Cherokee Nation</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;">"Near as I ever know I was born in the year 1850 away back in dem hills east of Tahlequah; the Cherokees called it the Flint District and old master Ben Johnson lived somewheres about ten miles east of theh big Indian town Tahlequah.</p><p>Never did know jest where his farm was and when de new towns of this country spring up, it make it dat much harder for me to figure out jest where he lived and where I was born."</p><p><i><b>...I hear about the slaves being free when maybe a hundred soldiers come to de house. Dey was a pretty sights settin' on their horses, and de men had on blue uniforms wid little caps. "All de slaves is free," one of de men said, and after dat, I jest told everybody, "I is a free Negro now and I ain't goin to work for nobdy."</b></i></p><p>A long time after de war is over and everybody is free of dey masters I get down to Muldrow (Okla) and dat's where I join de church. For 58 year I belong to the colored Baptists and I learn dat everybody ought to be good while dey is livin', so 's dey will have a better restin' place when dey die." <span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>* * * * * </b></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">~~Kiziah Love~~ </span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Choctaw Nation</span></b></div><br />...I married Isom Love, a slave of Sam Love, another full-blood Indian that lived on a a jining farm. We lived on Masater Frank's farm and Isom went back and forth to work fer his aster and I worked ever day fer mine. I don't 'spect we could of done that way iffen we hadn't had Indian masters. They let us do a lot ike we pleased jest so we got our work done and didn't run off.<br /><br />I was glad to be free. What did I do and say? Well, I just clapped my hands together and said thank Gof Almith, I'se free at last."<span style="font-size: xx-small;">3</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>* * * * * </b></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">~~Sallie Walton~~</span></b><br /><b>(Dawes Interview for Walton Family)</b><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br />In 1899, my great grandparents from the Walton family appeared in front of the Dawes Commission to be interviewed. Basic information was collected, and a member of the Perry family was present and testified on behalf of my great grandmother Sallie. One sentence stood out for me, that referenced how freedom came to the Perry slaves. This is the only reference to freedom from family records. and they are shared here as well.<br /><br /><b>"The mother of Sallie Walton was freed under my sister Emeline Perry."</b><span style="font-size: xx-small; font-weight: bold;">4</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Q. Was your sister a Choctaw?<br />A. Yes sir<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMG-raBWY2gPPRAQ1kwmUoUTSwbu_CSlcfFa_j4nR2boc7MIPxzorjTftKy16ZmIhEcco0EGc1V1Cnhri2U6itZ5gh7PDY6ne-HANVMa9SVUab0InCgz-qdPb-fkYwf-bi9trPViLuhbnESKxEHwVydQlBebVFczT7BZop73D5DFSjY0YFo1uiBSdPvJA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="412" data-original-width="985" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMG-raBWY2gPPRAQ1kwmUoUTSwbu_CSlcfFa_j4nR2boc7MIPxzorjTftKy16ZmIhEcco0EGc1V1Cnhri2U6itZ5gh7PDY6ne-HANVMa9SVUab0InCgz-qdPb-fkYwf-bi9trPViLuhbnESKxEHwVydQlBebVFczT7BZop73D5DFSjY0YFo1uiBSdPvJA" width="320" /></a></div></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">* * * * * <br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Clearly, a critical task awaits us---to find our freedom story!<br /><br /></span></div></div><p><span style="font-family: times;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">1 </span><cite style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #242424; font-size: 14px; text-indent: -28px;">Federal Writers' Project: Slave Narrative Project, Administrative Files</cite><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #242424; text-indent: -28px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">. 1936. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/mesn001/></span><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span></span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #242424; text-indent: -28px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"> Ibid</span><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">3 </span></span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #242424; text-indent: -28px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Ibid</span><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">4 </span></span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #242424; font-size: 14px; text-indent: -28px;">National Archives Publication M1301, Applications for Enrollment of the Five Civilized Tribes</span></span></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-61892369319846828642023-02-01T17:01:00.002-08:002023-02-01T17:04:41.907-08:00Honoring Oklahoma Freedmen: Black History from Indian Territory <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">DAY 1: FREEDMEN HISTORY MONTH</span></b><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EaYyWcL2wCE" width="320" youtube-src-id="EaYyWcL2wCE"></iframe><br /><b>Basic Genealogy & History For Choctaw & Chickasaw Freedmen</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><br />In 1906, the year before Oklahoma Statehood, the population of citizens from Indian Territory was published. These were individuals who had been present from the 1830s onward. Among the Five Tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminoles) were several thousand blacks the eldest of whom had been brought to the Territory as slaves within those tribes. Their children and grandchildren lived within those nations until statehood, and were thoroughly documented over the decades from the Trail of Tears, to statehood in 1907.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Their story is often omitted when Oklahoma Black history is mentioned, often overtaken by stories of the Black Towns, the Tulsa Massacre, and the Civil Rights era. However, each day during February, a video will be posted here, honoring the 20,000 documented Freedmen of the Five Tribes. <br /><br />For reference, their numbers are being shared here.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">Indian Tribal Freedmen Population in 1906:</b></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">Cherokee Freedmen 3982</b></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">Choctaw Freedmen 5254</b></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">Chickasaw Freedmen 4995</b></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">Creek Freedmen 5585</b></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">Seminole Freedmen 857 (+93 children born later)</b></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"> Total number of Freedmen from Indian Territory: 20, 766 </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>(Source of data: Muskogee Cimeter, Muskogee, I. T. January 4, 1906 p. 2)</i></b></div><span><b><br /><br /><br /><br /></b></span></div><p><br /></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-52294477466696978112022-12-07T13:41:00.004-08:002022-12-07T20:20:41.763-08:00Dave Roberts, Creek Freedman Businessman of Muskogee<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> An interesting obituary recently share by history enthusiast and collector Rex Campbell of Oklahoma City recently caught my attention. It was a simple article about a man who had passed away in September of 1918. The deceased man was Dave Roberts, and he was simply described as a "Wealthy Negro" who had passed away.</span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdI4Nri5KGTjvI5pYbP6JcZz9fjYfTjHycH6HTxCQKJpcK7WlABrv0iQrPNMiAPe7uKyGGjfDmxZ3_rmeYkMK3m4ckitmGyybiPDF5KHpp7B9ge0j6ef-RR9w-BprGl0ojfUNOH9CKamsMrI5nTI2WcPqp6_AP8kqn5uKVeE26F5ujs1N-zBA0AXeh/s1114/Dave%20Roberts%20Obit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="1114" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdI4Nri5KGTjvI5pYbP6JcZz9fjYfTjHycH6HTxCQKJpcK7WlABrv0iQrPNMiAPe7uKyGGjfDmxZ3_rmeYkMK3m4ckitmGyybiPDF5KHpp7B9ge0j6ef-RR9w-BprGl0ojfUNOH9CKamsMrI5nTI2WcPqp6_AP8kqn5uKVeE26F5ujs1N-zBA0AXeh/w378-h185/Dave%20Roberts%20Obit.jpg" width="378" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Muskogee Times-Democrat</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">September 23, 1915, p 4</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Accessed from Newspapers.com)</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So who was this "wealthy Negro?" The notice of his death indicated that he possessed much real estate in downtown Muskogee, so with great curiosity I became interested in more details about his life. The gentelman Mr. Rex Campbell, who recently discovered some ledgers reflecting six years of death records from Muskogee County, was able to shine more light on this man. He also found another about Mr. Dave Roberts, and again noting that he was a man of means. In addition, this article written the following day in the Muskogee Daily Phoenix, and this article appeared on the front page of the newspaper.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6P-9Hf_6c3QnoQ8y8X20HzN4YuWoUWVALXgARCt-ebw7-t9eFTvg5qqNtV8_2PaKvzAAF3YINv6QDWSsBLBMckAUUEy5i0g5LEeSZ6XljC1i7m8o9JgBrWjqbDVYc9Wm6x9oouS-q0Yilwjzqiu0TrDSaXy_ukLvKI4XwdUJrKRcUWZ_2xRF6yo4m/s1135/Dave%20Roberts%20Obit%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="1135" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6P-9Hf_6c3QnoQ8y8X20HzN4YuWoUWVALXgARCt-ebw7-t9eFTvg5qqNtV8_2PaKvzAAF3YINv6QDWSsBLBMckAUUEy5i0g5LEeSZ6XljC1i7m8o9JgBrWjqbDVYc9Wm6x9oouS-q0Yilwjzqiu0TrDSaXy_ukLvKI4XwdUJrKRcUWZ_2xRF6yo4m/w524-h263/Dave%20Roberts%20Obit%202.jpg" width="524" /></a><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Muskogee Daily Phoenix, September 24, 1915 p. 1</span><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Accessed from Newspapers.com)</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Could more be learned about Mr. Roberts, and his life? Living in Muskogee, at first it was not certain if he was a latecomer to Muskogee from another state, or whether he was a "native" meaning that he was born there in the Creek nation. However the article indicatedUn that he was born "in the Concharty Mountains, long before there was a Muskogee."<br /><br />Uncertain about the exact location of the Concharty Mountain a reference to the area was found in an image owned by the Oklahoma State University and it was in an old periodical from 1922 called the Nation's Highways.<br /></span><br /><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NDNMQxdWRbsoXp7H1oaDKD720c-bt_SdOyD_JXIqq8WZ5d4khFwSCaT4ktJ9QZtCPHIPgOJo55ssGnS-sXyIEAaAouGvSo9PJ7cx8jYZiaoQtrbjIneoepjoxXDtR2ggx5InGgls5sYj_JfF0GG_9SQMTJhLIuCPzx6PQ4vwm4oYMbapsYOzLyl2/s563/Dave%20Roberts%20Concharty%20Mountain.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="563" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NDNMQxdWRbsoXp7H1oaDKD720c-bt_SdOyD_JXIqq8WZ5d4khFwSCaT4ktJ9QZtCPHIPgOJo55ssGnS-sXyIEAaAouGvSo9PJ7cx8jYZiaoQtrbjIneoepjoxXDtR2ggx5InGgls5sYj_JfF0GG_9SQMTJhLIuCPzx6PQ4vwm4oYMbapsYOzLyl2/s320/Dave%20Roberts%20Concharty%20Mountain.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Courtesy of Oklahoma State University Digital Collections<br />Cyrus S. Avery Collections<br /><i>The Nation's Highways,</i> March 1922</span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Locating the Concharty Mountain on a modern map indicated that this area is located in what was the old Creek Nation. With this information, is most unlikely that Roberts migrated to the area, if he was born in a rural mountain area of the Creek Nation. So the next most likely question was whether or not he may have been a Creek Freedman.<br /><br />Well sure enough there was a Dave Roberts, who was on the Dawes Roll. He was married and had several children at hte time they enrolled. He and his chilren were placed on the Dawes Roll as Creek Freedmen. And at the time of enrollment he was living in Muskogee as indicated on documents such as his Dawes enrollment card.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2iXXderljGvSlt5lf49V__-BVYDUHSeUvA0lZDZVALfFBrbwRzDGRvpq-Sf97DYPic0saAAjYrOh4nrWNM5pV3nBHb-Yzf9VdK_0VN8PRkv1QTwQwGtQtuR-S9NUVT4SpzDhqiyLI5zo1mkNAVS0ogy0mw-YF465X9vjRNP-T_v5ttyqRdj4K_m1m" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="1314" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2iXXderljGvSlt5lf49V__-BVYDUHSeUvA0lZDZVALfFBrbwRzDGRvpq-Sf97DYPic0saAAjYrOh4nrWNM5pV3nBHb-Yzf9VdK_0VN8PRkv1QTwQwGtQtuR-S9NUVT4SpzDhqiyLI5zo1mkNAVS0ogy0mw-YF465X9vjRNP-T_v5ttyqRdj4K_m1m=w584-h308" width="584" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br />National Archive Publication M1186 Creek Freedman Card #300<br /><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; text-align: left;">Ancestry.com. </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #262626; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Oklahoma and Indian Territory, U.S., Dawes Census Cards for Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; text-align: left;"> [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.</span></span></b></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">From both front and back of the enrollment card it is noted that both Dave Roberts and his mother Silla had been enslaved at one time by Chief Opotholeyahola, a prominent man in the Muscogee Creek Nation. His wife at the time of enrollment, was Jenni, who was not a citizen of the nation. His first wife Eliza Yargee, and mother of his first son Elliott was deceased. All of the Roberts family listed on the card, belonged to Canadian Town, one of the Freedmen Tribal towns in the Creek Nation.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyFmm3APwIIN_jM1E4TsQOEjeusfBdWY3A_zl9RqbZwRROsRYLtTqqw9BUjvv8TgSxPi2HHZcyMko8X8yu07KYMM-XYjCErvpYp6MTByCdVfJKbUHN1d6AmUIra2YGTqYnpgO8lyUtmU9kI3M8e_CapXlllrJ6BvMtOAUPzNNLicfGkqsG5Zt3UCU-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="1212" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyFmm3APwIIN_jM1E4TsQOEjeusfBdWY3A_zl9RqbZwRROsRYLtTqqw9BUjvv8TgSxPi2HHZcyMko8X8yu07KYMM-XYjCErvpYp6MTByCdVfJKbUHN1d6AmUIra2YGTqYnpgO8lyUtmU9kI3M8e_CapXlllrJ6BvMtOAUPzNNLicfGkqsG5Zt3UCU-=w685-h359" width="685" /></a><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(back side of card #300)</span></b></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Unfortunately, the Application Jacket for Dave Roberts is missing as many of the Creek Freedmen files are, and were therefore never microfilmed. However, so much more can be learned about Dave Roberts in the Land Allotment files as well as in the Federal Census. But it is also important to note that Dave appeared in front of the Dawes Commission in 1898 as indicated in the lower right hand corner of the Dawes Card. <br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSYbQeUqcR7UvtsTlkOh1Ivz0ljsFQAXeugsh3-oIGL5dP4KeGrPHeHOy6vO4WhyH2Vh8kgz_-5ZAXrHrGySwHwBg4UzJrdstm6tBwdW2NQZMi_I8fugu6W2mW3nKgoSPr776oljNfcRL04DAWH1_4-FwwF1K6sWee7ok722ouBePo9OFUkNzaZsKh" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="454" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSYbQeUqcR7UvtsTlkOh1Ivz0ljsFQAXeugsh3-oIGL5dP4KeGrPHeHOy6vO4WhyH2Vh8kgz_-5ZAXrHrGySwHwBg4UzJrdstm6tBwdW2NQZMi_I8fugu6W2mW3nKgoSPr776oljNfcRL04DAWH1_4-FwwF1K6sWee7ok722ouBePo9OFUkNzaZsKh" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />(notation from enrollment card)</span></b></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">And he resided in the Muskogee area at the time of enrollment as evidenced by the data in the upper left hand corner of the same card. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0AL2Op14dz2OUCP8rINSEt3nc9PdsXiZ8cuMr0ZoiLV8yz46fWij7cCfjqGf2kj6S7inKPLHhYWaXcnc9ODsGUTOMw6coWEeEtbE8C5Qte0ZxhJlG5alT1InT5LSwTcEk_-c6w4NMn_YMOvhjpQiQsuDE5AYp3mhXKeOwZvGS5gMfksP4xqOUOSzO" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="166" data-original-width="784" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0AL2Op14dz2OUCP8rINSEt3nc9PdsXiZ8cuMr0ZoiLV8yz46fWij7cCfjqGf2kj6S7inKPLHhYWaXcnc9ODsGUTOMw6coWEeEtbE8C5Qte0ZxhJlG5alT1InT5LSwTcEk_-c6w4NMn_YMOvhjpQiQsuDE5AYp3mhXKeOwZvGS5gMfksP4xqOUOSzO" width="320" /></a><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Notation from enrollment card</span></b></div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">His residence in Muskogee is confirmed also by the Federal Census of 1900 and 1910. It is noted that as early as 1900, Dave and wife Jennie and their children all lived on North Side Boulevard, and that David Roberts is already a "landlord".</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhU7-OMdHNiK4dAAN2HPzEF8daicCwPLn3YHKf0VzTRkHkNw8t6ijRE-a7T03ICN9dOe-cj2ik9C2e8MiVcnuJ57KIMT3GVbdAvLgTRFqoiHjiEm0hNkRn1C0OMAjBxQ-iWvWGvDFTGgBGhteA_1bBjsKfmyS_dSdw3YZZM43cwkpdVbw4-NdXUcwxQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="1319" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhU7-OMdHNiK4dAAN2HPzEF8daicCwPLn3YHKf0VzTRkHkNw8t6ijRE-a7T03ICN9dOe-cj2ik9C2e8MiVcnuJ57KIMT3GVbdAvLgTRFqoiHjiEm0hNkRn1C0OMAjBxQ-iWvWGvDFTGgBGhteA_1bBjsKfmyS_dSdw3YZZM43cwkpdVbw4-NdXUcwxQ=w575-h83" width="575" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>1900 Federal Census, Indian Territory, Creek Nation<br />(accessed from Ancestry)</b></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">By 1901, Dave Roberts was already selcting land allotments for his family members, as he has already done so for himself by that time. Although his application jacket is missing, his land allotment file is intact and one can read his testimony as he selected allotments for his children. His son Clayton was one of his children for whom his testimony is reflected.</span><br /></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaGt2DdGzx_i_MXeSQX_zP0NtbYUGbXAxaHxwuwNo9l232tzAFc-13uk5nGk7lrr3NfNXPDtjiBN296O9CZtva_8ut-pyv-eh264D94k6M2V8O087QBPSwhUNiTQsHsZZR3TthgqvauunXZogGkTrgu7kebKcnyxp3S0wUv6gsQcV_OdWl-epWnGhF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="748" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaGt2DdGzx_i_MXeSQX_zP0NtbYUGbXAxaHxwuwNo9l232tzAFc-13uk5nGk7lrr3NfNXPDtjiBN296O9CZtva_8ut-pyv-eh264D94k6M2V8O087QBPSwhUNiTQsHsZZR3TthgqvauunXZogGkTrgu7kebKcnyxp3S0wUv6gsQcV_OdWl-epWnGhF=w599-h362" width="599" /></a><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Exerpt from Allotment file of Dave Roberts for Clayton Roberts<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">Department of the Interior. Office of Indian Affairs. Five Civilized Tribes Agency. </span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">Applications for Allotment, compiled 1899–1907. </span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">Textual records. Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, </span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">Record Group 75. The National Archives at Fort Worth, Texas.</span></span></b></div></div></div><p> <br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Since Dave Roberts had already gone through the land selection process earlier, he realized quite early that he was at an advantage, now being a land owner. Some of the land being selected for his children were in Township 15N, and Range 18E. A platmap points to some of the land Davis was selecting. The small portion shaded in black represents some of the Roberts alloted land.</span><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGg6hcKO5cpoM_A3QZa9StggJjvwGwavN13Ghu2bUyMjQe3WTNSNv9uoqDBajguYpyYwx-zmTSHw5Pqma7GTEpuE175lHFgobHdf7MIFVXvFHy_d8LM7puba8DI9HVuBYOlGLtYISDRcFAbTdFRlBY3ZWXshLC2Bx-ismeYAD0Xr8E-LfdCwl6KonC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="521" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGg6hcKO5cpoM_A3QZa9StggJjvwGwavN13Ghu2bUyMjQe3WTNSNv9uoqDBajguYpyYwx-zmTSHw5Pqma7GTEpuE175lHFgobHdf7MIFVXvFHy_d8LM7puba8DI9HVuBYOlGLtYISDRcFAbTdFRlBY3ZWXshLC2Bx-ismeYAD0Xr8E-LfdCwl6KonC=w335-h419" width="335" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Upon an analysis of the Land Allotment maps provided by the Nationl Archives website, the exact portions alloted to some of the Roberts family is reflected in Township 15 N, and Range 18E.</span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPRlpiaGOIpeY1mjKgXZcLyZ35o1GZhgbtMMoZG6IM_X2dBAK5yRIgfaQkhhgkXJqvXlhqefBPkY4r9CmGtCpHmyoy-9aidtwo_aZud4QC8TF0MmqOJFl3VsMWg7yE8wE6CObDYnPxwb-3RVo7Cd-qdqi8ITFnGoOyzhiU3Mn_3viyAQraCwHF-7B4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="933" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPRlpiaGOIpeY1mjKgXZcLyZ35o1GZhgbtMMoZG6IM_X2dBAK5yRIgfaQkhhgkXJqvXlhqefBPkY4r9CmGtCpHmyoy-9aidtwo_aZud4QC8TF0MmqOJFl3VsMWg7yE8wE6CObDYnPxwb-3RVo7Cd-qdqi8ITFnGoOyzhiU3Mn_3viyAQraCwHF-7B4=w571-h309" width="571" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Allotment Map, National Archives<br />Township 15 North, Range 18 East of the Indian Meridian, Indian Territory</b></span><br /><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Zooming in, on the same map one can see some of the land alloted to two of Dave Roberts family members. </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjWXMXwywPPe-d3DKOI0MlEo8y6Lpr7RSfsLlbulpgcf74mjQ_YL4Xa4U21RB_W-cVUdlUouR6FGHlWz8yHJI0SvIlhuBmhd47JjK1nD023J8CGM1FbXMm5UA5AkKoJ7q7zL_jhpP8V7nZoUpjvf3xiQUtPlCI5iGBniiRWqYZQ2Ohf5WavCucnPGG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="485" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjWXMXwywPPe-d3DKOI0MlEo8y6Lpr7RSfsLlbulpgcf74mjQ_YL4Xa4U21RB_W-cVUdlUouR6FGHlWz8yHJI0SvIlhuBmhd47JjK1nD023J8CGM1FbXMm5UA5AkKoJ7q7zL_jhpP8V7nZoUpjvf3xiQUtPlCI5iGBniiRWqYZQ2Ohf5WavCucnPGG=w419-h304" width="419" /></a><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(closeup of prior image)</span></b></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">And zooming out on the same map it is clear that the lands were just north of Muskogee, not far from the Arkansas River. Today that area is all part of greater Muskogee.<br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWowT9w2JUqZlW8NZLsFBJgzpuYFjvzKwvvUmyftlokeOGomCiHZH5TXgO1g2VHO8ogE_0x5-Q8ri6iTTQF_J3kvVr6i4YGCtGX52z2c-Pk2nM7y1Ap06-sMtI6KSaodMAM50y08NuFn5v3yBP4FsPcbJHGjMz3iGdpfo2-rK3HnMEiFFZYkkU58P3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="801" height="533" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWowT9w2JUqZlW8NZLsFBJgzpuYFjvzKwvvUmyftlokeOGomCiHZH5TXgO1g2VHO8ogE_0x5-Q8ri6iTTQF_J3kvVr6i4YGCtGX52z2c-Pk2nM7y1Ap06-sMtI6KSaodMAM50y08NuFn5v3yBP4FsPcbJHGjMz3iGdpfo2-rK3HnMEiFFZYkkU58P3=w612-h533" width="612" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>(same image zooming out)</b></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As Roberts witnessed the vast number of people who were pouring into Indian Territory and in particular into Muskogee, he soon realized that instead of cultivating the land as space to farm, he could now divide some of that family land into smaller parcels of land from which new arrivals could settle, and for whom he would become a landlord renting out those parcels of land as small lots to them. Those new arrivals were to become part of the growing city of Muskogee.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is not clear how many tenants Dave Roberts ended up having, however, he was able to amass a good amount of wealth from the rented properties that he owned. Or as it was said in his day, they were "well to do."<br /><br />With his financial success, Dave Roberts had a major concern about his family, and that concern was about his son Clayton Roberts. Clayton was his third child, and he had become quite concerned that his son was becoming influenced by less industrious people in the area. Having warned the son about staying away from gamblers and land grafters, Dave feared that son Clayton might lose his land to land grafters. As a result, he made a very bold move. In 1909, when his son was now a young teenager, he was disappointed that the boy did not have a job, nor exhibit an interest in more industrious activities. The boy did not work, and the father feared that son Clayton would come under the influence of land sharks who frequented the Muskogee area where they lived. <br /><br />Dave Roberts made an unusual appeal to local Muskogee Police Sergeant, Morrison, "Put him in jail and keep him there," he is quoted to have said. "Keep him away from these vampires who are trying to cheat him out of his land."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeJ5V6CJ9X_5LgYQ88fCWP8cTZS2Y-zihZswa3eZXuh3XXzp4OJ-r_kTX7B0pkpF5oN0JL483SMqmH0Xdkdz3P6lpuoMA7bpOFelJFfYSK8_VdkYrDTuQv5fxAfZI1TnHBSiQaQra6WG8uuN01MuSG-c1AmrYOUmwHYLcw2TZGnSP8iaGvaRLzFbuc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="1103" height="89" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeJ5V6CJ9X_5LgYQ88fCWP8cTZS2Y-zihZswa3eZXuh3XXzp4OJ-r_kTX7B0pkpF5oN0JL483SMqmH0Xdkdz3P6lpuoMA7bpOFelJFfYSK8_VdkYrDTuQv5fxAfZI1TnHBSiQaQra6WG8uuN01MuSG-c1AmrYOUmwHYLcw2TZGnSP8iaGvaRLzFbuc=w443-h89" width="443" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgocYnomNAJp5ya9SMCW1Fj9FikKzST9bFydAJQClUeSNWtT_iZBgfreNpTSL5ZIGFm-PRN1_rZb5KJs72-_Ekg9wCEOM-YHEREEoMMmkaIrLGSshX-1cEBs_dtxH1N6ymqn2BXACGvcL1t-sKNTbUQYQjj6oHVLHKKnA3VVsD7WlySPTagrM5FpiME" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="361" height="730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgocYnomNAJp5ya9SMCW1Fj9FikKzST9bFydAJQClUeSNWtT_iZBgfreNpTSL5ZIGFm-PRN1_rZb5KJs72-_Ekg9wCEOM-YHEREEoMMmkaIrLGSshX-1cEBs_dtxH1N6ymqn2BXACGvcL1t-sKNTbUQYQjj6oHVLHKKnA3VVsD7WlySPTagrM5FpiME=w326-h730" width="326" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Muskogee County Democrat<br />16 September 1909 p 5</b></span></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Not much more is known about Dave Roberts in the years that followed, but tragedy did strick the faimly in 1914 when son Clayton died, and a year later when Dave Roberts himself also died.<br /><br />The story of Dave Roberts is not often mentioned today. He was a Creek Freedman with a vision, and who made his mark on the city of Muskogee where he lived, and hopefully his story will be remembered. He is buried at Harding Memorial Cemetery, in Muskogee Oklahoma. Thanks to the lost records that were recently found, we can now call his name. May he never be forgotten.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgt__hsZbnsgEtfmZ8xstA5PNi9BGNHAZyfQdwtCQWwMpYUlCfrD1QllU2AIX-3-FIm8kdnVHPmMl0fNCFAj1pizQC4VUIZ9Q5ZYrQ0Pps4tTWPZ2PMENs0_jFngE1nPmoEgMbPTtro6XwUJFM73lXlSEVDNYCacJ2ixOSnZZV870S2bcNberrnoGF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="319" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgt__hsZbnsgEtfmZ8xstA5PNi9BGNHAZyfQdwtCQWwMpYUlCfrD1QllU2AIX-3-FIm8kdnVHPmMl0fNCFAj1pizQC4VUIZ9Q5ZYrQ0Pps4tTWPZ2PMENs0_jFngE1nPmoEgMbPTtro6XwUJFM73lXlSEVDNYCacJ2ixOSnZZV870S2bcNberrnoGF=w226-h329" width="226" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Headstone for Dave Roberts, <br />Harding Memorial Cemetery, Muskogee, Oklahoma<br /><i>Courtesy of Orange Rex</i></b></span></div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></div></div><p></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-55230325215618923032022-08-21T07:05:00.004-07:002022-08-21T16:22:04.303-07:00Reflections on the Senate Hearing & Meeting With Descendants of Oklahoma Freedmen <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCGXkicI_GASPPRiwcjPbAf3yo-VA1tb8GXY9DGW39jh7vgEdF27Dt4R9DvHSBi7mn4B48sKQKDqv0IxjGh2EhH3U4z6GYGbKrlpCL4nkklsk3vHWuqoQEmQyDS2BItj7QR8G0GsClNWya4uUUXYyX5aIJMPAetxpA2S5XPGFxEC37uYiu7mKTCpMO" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1054" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCGXkicI_GASPPRiwcjPbAf3yo-VA1tb8GXY9DGW39jh7vgEdF27Dt4R9DvHSBi7mn4B48sKQKDqv0IxjGh2EhH3U4z6GYGbKrlpCL4nkklsk3vHWuqoQEmQyDS2BItj7QR8G0GsClNWya4uUUXYyX5aIJMPAetxpA2S5XPGFxEC37uYiu7mKTCpMO=w547-h347" width="547" /></a><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Women </span><span style="font-size: small;">(left to right)</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">: LeEtta Osborn Simpson </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Seminole)</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">; Rhonda Grayson </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Muscogee)</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">; Sharon Linzy Scott </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Muscogee)</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">, Marilyn Vann </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Cherokee)</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">, Rosie Khalid </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Cherokee)</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">; Angela Walton-Raji </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Choctaw)</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(This group met in Senator Schatz's office after the Senate Hearing)</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On July 27th, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs met in Washington DC to listen to input from the five slave-holding tribes. These tribes are the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations. The purpose of the hearing was to discuss issues pertaining to the descendants of Freedmen--the African people once held in bondage in those nations. I was fortunate to be able to attend this hearing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Upon arrival at the Hart Senate building, Freedmen descendants gathered in front of the building before shortly before 2:00 pm when doors were opened. For them, it was an opportunity to meet descendants from other tribal nations, for the first time. Interactions were congenial, friendly, among the small group of descendants some of whom were meeting in person for the first time. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Before the committee convened, all in attendance gathered in front of the Hart building. There was little interaction between tribal representatives among themselves, and the gathering in front of the building was extremely quiet. But for Freedmen representatives all five tribes were present, and this was only the second time since 1866, that Freedmen descendants from all five nations were present in Washington for a hearing pertaining to their status within their own respective nations. The first time was in 2021 when descendants gathered for a hearing in the House of Representatives.<br /><br />No others were present at the Senate building, except the Freedmen descendants and invited speakers.<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNBaNL7KH1fhEtZWO2hYQiLQEbSjhSu4CN3yJhTrXg3-WOf1dXX0kljXYH7FPfrAwNuMvQAPNzoJHTqwPTNN2vHJwP71xh9vjZPXwafl0WxIVR8OK3LeXtozgKHpiy1E6URO2ybnWDPGKqGNCs8PXcEaADPOMf_gP12zj2ENtibXC5tZ71JoAim6HG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="884" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNBaNL7KH1fhEtZWO2hYQiLQEbSjhSu4CN3yJhTrXg3-WOf1dXX0kljXYH7FPfrAwNuMvQAPNzoJHTqwPTNN2vHJwP71xh9vjZPXwafl0WxIVR8OK3LeXtozgKHpiy1E6URO2ybnWDPGKqGNCs8PXcEaADPOMf_gP12zj2ENtibXC5tZ71JoAim6HG" width="320" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: small;">Choctaw, Chickasaw and Muscogee chatting before hearing<br />Lto R: Doris Burris Williamson, Terry Ligon, Sharon Linzy-Scott, Calvin Osborne</b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuKqJWRrWqXXbj0sypQva58BUi1CdyO3iBjdnYTqQ558zKpuyfNnYy_hnXwRqhodPiQ1iuOUDotonkIYywc9tWFShiqe_2IqqJLccanoI8N-1JNBiIcaFV7yj8boYaWs1Yo9SkYwMY0oz0I2h6zk0fqMDFuT02Fsoj69IEBUWGKFvbF2vXemfqqr_b" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="728" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuKqJWRrWqXXbj0sypQva58BUi1CdyO3iBjdnYTqQ558zKpuyfNnYy_hnXwRqhodPiQ1iuOUDotonkIYywc9tWFShiqe_2IqqJLccanoI8N-1JNBiIcaFV7yj8boYaWs1Yo9SkYwMY0oz0I2h6zk0fqMDFuT02Fsoj69IEBUWGKFvbF2vXemfqqr_b" width="266" /></a></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Muscogee Creek Freedmen Band members before hearing<br /><br /></span></b></div></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioJg4aqdTmwHbvEgDFiKKvQR0K5Bb69PAfpJ3O2X0DhtwcRvj6XZ0j_kcgGk9-dj_OVw9NqP7nyL8LUPhwVot3OqcyUiokFYM2lJR8-NAP_1tfwMhbJLoAvMRyvWERx2EkuMh0HxVMuebXt9PRZs5H12DmPHPKp7iIBv85yBhwodWNTtN5xs0moT9M" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="697" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioJg4aqdTmwHbvEgDFiKKvQR0K5Bb69PAfpJ3O2X0DhtwcRvj6XZ0j_kcgGk9-dj_OVw9NqP7nyL8LUPhwVot3OqcyUiokFYM2lJR8-NAP_1tfwMhbJLoAvMRyvWERx2EkuMh0HxVMuebXt9PRZs5H12DmPHPKp7iIBv85yBhwodWNTtN5xs0moT9M" width="249" /></a></div></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Choctaw/Chickasaw and Muscogee</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>descendants sharing info. <br />Terry Ligon, and Calvin Osborne</b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tribal officials soon arrived, generally keeping apart from others. Some arrived wearing traditional native necklaces and generally awaited the opening of the doors to the Hart building, near the entrance. Most were quiet and not much inter-tribal interaction or talking among each other before entering the Hart building.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVZx2DlzGJMbhxSetVlxPFsE4fWm_aiI1RLh4-nRYB_cxOurUFXQIb5aEWinFFFUwFGGCWu_VhpyeqCT75Qj4wC37pWkozewmCytmXmy9OOSggnAHHYnR-4zYB0V51R_2OKuTUonsQlPjtDcHJsAnV8ggwGfNq45NkmfAHH_dQ_EltLBx275KsDShm" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="986" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVZx2DlzGJMbhxSetVlxPFsE4fWm_aiI1RLh4-nRYB_cxOurUFXQIb5aEWinFFFUwFGGCWu_VhpyeqCT75Qj4wC37pWkozewmCytmXmy9OOSggnAHHYnR-4zYB0V51R_2OKuTUonsQlPjtDcHJsAnV8ggwGfNq45NkmfAHH_dQ_EltLBx275KsDShm" width="320" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: small;">Tribal officials gather outside the Senate buidling</b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiF6ekjU_V9zxJa6guA3el8MdzB8fhTn9YnNgH8K7OwM_S8guLUuplDW271FJSaW5Ap6QGDoboDLyFe4q6LG_lwrhmGYJQeLMsnTUbkVtkE_YPeYlb6BzXeVsU0aXpE3GGgBWJARoCC5Zl4CYVlM5-IvNBbB5hDLVaHQkjdp4flcj-63HVJgOdv6Doe" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="593" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiF6ekjU_V9zxJa6guA3el8MdzB8fhTn9YnNgH8K7OwM_S8guLUuplDW271FJSaW5Ap6QGDoboDLyFe4q6LG_lwrhmGYJQeLMsnTUbkVtkE_YPeYlb6BzXeVsU0aXpE3GGgBWJARoCC5Zl4CYVlM5-IvNBbB5hDLVaHQkjdp4flcj-63HVJgOdv6Doe" width="235" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Before the Senate hearing</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once the doors opened, the small group of about a dozen of us were directed to the room for the senate hearing once we were cleared and names of invited guests were confirmed. The hearing room contained some large television monitors so that those of us seated behind the speakers could actually see their faces as they spoke.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Freedmen descendants sat behind listening to the spesakers. Only one spoke with honesty and heartfelt sincerity about their history and historical mis-treatment of Freedmen and then offered a sincere apology to descendants. That was Cherokee Chief Hoskins who also mingled freely with Freedmen before and after the hearing. <br /><br />The hearing began with Congresswoman Maxine Waters addressing the Senate Committee. She was then followed by others representing the BIA, and the various tribes. The only speaker on behalf of the Freedmen was Marilyn Vann long time Freedman advocate, and now an enrolled Cherokee citizen.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIVfH6pd0fXxfp3y_jYL4m_sYuRyva5XTtfndd8PJRDCyrJhEAM_44sN2-yFclLGPejeD_l8hv_hDEKm4YoKCXKk680VbWQb-ty4e5pSqQIjNeokkS-LkWzwlu6z_A2Zr0LuQFu4z4w2ScLqemv4t7y8j_jhotQJUhXL361ywljEoQrGFb4ZWEcMZO" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="780" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIVfH6pd0fXxfp3y_jYL4m_sYuRyva5XTtfndd8PJRDCyrJhEAM_44sN2-yFclLGPejeD_l8hv_hDEKm4YoKCXKk680VbWQb-ty4e5pSqQIjNeokkS-LkWzwlu6z_A2Zr0LuQFu4z4w2ScLqemv4t7y8j_jhotQJUhXL361ywljEoQrGFb4ZWEcMZO" width="315" /></a><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Maxine Waters addressing the Senate Committee</span></b></div><br /><br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhj1o3jP32zARVXNpLlEkbD7Qb2ide5H8klAL2dgsKnlGlJSA9DmnNknGh8BJ-I6NO5zh5Oa7U-jNWU63dw5kzw-jCtwIsDA33JEtYWIFsL6cfUKpsfL9ZkWNHyKdX9rzPLUqrRjevn9Y55mTOdHb_v4cnUc2AdqFGR2tIxcz8VwGQ6KwrG-sF7RYox" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="611" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhj1o3jP32zARVXNpLlEkbD7Qb2ide5H8klAL2dgsKnlGlJSA9DmnNknGh8BJ-I6NO5zh5Oa7U-jNWU63dw5kzw-jCtwIsDA33JEtYWIFsL6cfUKpsfL9ZkWNHyKdX9rzPLUqrRjevn9Y55mTOdHb_v4cnUc2AdqFGR2tIxcz8VwGQ6KwrG-sF7RYox" width="224" /></a><br /><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Panelists listen to Congresswoman Waters address.</span></b><br /><br />Other speakers spoke about blood--ignoring that they also prevented Freedmen who were connected by blood to them, from being placed on the blood rolls. One after another they spoke, some never answering the questions asked, and others simply clinging to their security blanket of "sovereignty" as sssomething to hide their race-based biases behind.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Only one voice was heard speaking on behalf of the disenfranchised Freedment descendants. Ms. Marilyn Vann spoke and was the lone voice speaking for Freedmen descendants. Ms.Vann is now an enrolled Cherokee citizen, so technically no voices of disenfraned Freedmen were heard, while tribal officials sent attorneys, ambassadors, and even BIA officials who uphold tribal policies and who also spoke against any concept of Freedmen equal treatment.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfWouUSNa41yIxHTWkwilZRneB6boFBxOBZz0tvk-uQMzAizNzJ4nVd3UzQqk6Sj3snpNawqo-0YjXb-bkf1uIgnaeT3fIMtaszi0jkrFD024G2tg2ueSmKDBERsJeyiISy5uA1wwQPGL300M3OvTDCfDUFirDuINxytEhmoV6dwandhBL-982kx6t" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="500" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfWouUSNa41yIxHTWkwilZRneB6boFBxOBZz0tvk-uQMzAizNzJ4nVd3UzQqk6Sj3snpNawqo-0YjXb-bkf1uIgnaeT3fIMtaszi0jkrFD024G2tg2ueSmKDBERsJeyiISy5uA1wwQPGL300M3OvTDCfDUFirDuINxytEhmoV6dwandhBL-982kx6t" width="320" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Marilyn Vann, Cherokee citizen addressed the committee</b></span></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Several of the Freedmen took vigorous notes during the hearing as the panelists spoke.<br /><br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTs-Lq5LK11R1L24Kdk4U68ikm_-7WKv3JXL75xxSD_khhDpQ59YZjjOqEtJ95ONAMqYAHhtpb_M0ywzkKcGEXRUyyQy4h2MypGBT4A4XGoZPvue8xWmScMARRbtogElIkJjLNCaKDzzpXoyEOorHPDQOTELzdm1zeZelEdCmi4hOeTY5Kh2av5ZjB" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="596" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTs-Lq5LK11R1L24Kdk4U68ikm_-7WKv3JXL75xxSD_khhDpQ59YZjjOqEtJ95ONAMqYAHhtpb_M0ywzkKcGEXRUyyQy4h2MypGBT4A4XGoZPvue8xWmScMARRbtogElIkJjLNCaKDzzpXoyEOorHPDQOTELzdm1zeZelEdCmi4hOeTY5Kh2av5ZjB" width="223" /></a><br /> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Note taking during the hearing.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After the hearing only a few of the tribal speakers conversed or had dialogue who with Freedmen descendants, and most of them quickly left after the hearing. Later, a smaller group of 9 Freedmen descendants (pictured at the top) from all of the Five Tribes met with Senator Schatz in his office for a brief discussion about moving ahead.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBW-ivKiFKrY1d0EMKEcGzp0ZqACfPYD9REhTGnAL4nVbXE3KQ9ieAWktD8rub_SMuhwdEA-ybbU81QwL8wIN4x1QYgq_IOlqa_a3TBAne8zm5_Eh3vBdCil77werytiPRWR9YKFTTMLjDRF5lrPERulzJsRjwCdhyI1MyqcAvdOBTRZ5YnOw-sE61" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1002" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBW-ivKiFKrY1d0EMKEcGzp0ZqACfPYD9REhTGnAL4nVbXE3KQ9ieAWktD8rub_SMuhwdEA-ybbU81QwL8wIN4x1QYgq_IOlqa_a3TBAne8zm5_Eh3vBdCil77werytiPRWR9YKFTTMLjDRF5lrPERulzJsRjwCdhyI1MyqcAvdOBTRZ5YnOw-sE61" width="320" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Atty. Demario Solomon-Simmons discussing Freedmen issues with Muscogee Ambassador </b></span></div><br /><br /><b>Reflections After the Hearing</b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Moving ahead, today, 156 years after the treaties were signed by each tribe, the descendants of the Freedmen are still seeking justice. Why? Because four federally recognized tribes prevent them from having basic rights coming from their own family ties to them. These nations claim to be "sovereign" nations, while they refuse to offer services to all who are part of them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />Freedmen descendants are those whose ancestors lived with them, were enslaved by them, remained with them when later freed, abided by the same laws created by them, and were part of them. However, today---the descendants of only those who have a certain <i>"blood"</i> are allowed to be a part. Sadly that blood policy also means that if you have a blood tie to a slave, then you are <b><i><u>less</u></i></b> than they and are to be shunned and forced to remain so--forcing people to carry a "stain" of slavery--a status they never sought.<br /><br />In Oklahoma today in these nations, educational doors are opened for children, summer camps prevail, STEM educational training abounds, and scholarships and educational grants, are offered, and so much more. There are health benefits for the elderly, housing assistance for those in need, mental health assistance for those also in need, all of which are funded by US Federal dollars.---but the black children have no such access, nor do the elderly black people, many of whom are related to their lighter-skinned enrolled tribal members. Those light to white skinned members are welcomed into the nation, and live with these enriching benefits because they are allowed to have association with the tribe of their ancestors. But the Freedmen cannot have association with the tribe of their ancestors---some of whom are the same as enrolled members. That is the irony and the bittersweet aftermath of American slavery and Indian tribal practice of black chattel slavery.<br /><br /> Today the struggle continues. It is noted that when post Civil-Rights years-- in the 1970s and 1980s these former slave-holding tribes had now embraced the the same "old-south" racist feelings to black citizens, and with the aid of friends and colleagues who had become federal BIA workers. They simply changed their constitutions and quietly removed descendants of slaves from eligibility.<br /><br />Since then, these same tribes have been able to execute racist policies in the name of "sovereignty" and have been able to ride on national sympathy as victims of the Trail of Tears, bringing in millions of tourist dollars and wealth from casino monies. Their wealth is enhanced by federal funds, and now these slave-holding tribes have become wealthy, large employers, and "good neighbors" to Oklahomans, as long as the neighbors are not Freedmen descended people. <br /><br />The resilience of the Freedmen from the past is found in the resilience of their descendants today. The fight for equal opportunity continues to fight for the same opportunities that are their birthright. Freedmen never imposed themselves upon tribes it was the tribes that imposed their laws and culture upon them. Today thousands of Freedmen descendants still have a strong identity to the same tribes--simply because that is what they are. <br /><br />Descendants seek to live full lives complete with the same opportunities that their fellow neighbors, friends and even kin have. This struggle continues because "it is the right thing to do."</div><p></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-74787010290412382892022-07-31T12:09:00.002-07:002022-07-31T12:09:47.338-07:00 Sadly, it IS about RACE and not about Blood<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiz5S7ZpLlTl_v9dojeA7pM6XixBg121RzArRo9i55TlId5YVebeASM-Ke9flhJJTYECMIQNT9x0X-wf7Lpxiebt3vO06HQcENicAaF3hDhTDfAPvosJPS9XKW_jCumzfxhmBq6BnigIK0EFfnUIwEOkEskvCfrEVA-6TNFfxPHBcCYKoW5xIdNDst5" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="787" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiz5S7ZpLlTl_v9dojeA7pM6XixBg121RzArRo9i55TlId5YVebeASM-Ke9flhJJTYECMIQNT9x0X-wf7Lpxiebt3vO06HQcENicAaF3hDhTDfAPvosJPS9XKW_jCumzfxhmBq6BnigIK0EFfnUIwEOkEskvCfrEVA-6TNFfxPHBcCYKoW5xIdNDst5" width="305" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>From Terry Ligon's blog: <a href="https://bit.ly/3PYBdd8">Bettie's List</a></b></span></div><br /><br /><br />Last week's Senate Hearing about the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866, was most revealing, including the official statements by the speakers who made the effort to defend their stand on why they do not provide full citizenship to the descendants of the people who were enslaved in their nation, in their space, and in their families.<br /><br />On his blog, Terry Ligon shared a <a href="https://bettieslist.blogspot.com/2022/07/tribal-membership-is-based-on-blood-not.html?fbclid=IwAR0SSeK3QimoXajqjmZxLsf6g5GzEBYmcayAGtyiSKqP9ZWooZ_VGQ9xgPs">poignant article from 1910</a> about the pushback against Freedmen wishing to be transferred to the rolls by blood, because they had Indian fathers. He included quotes from the article including one critical statement: <br /><br /> <i style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">"<b>The negroes must remain negroes. They can not be transformed into Indians." <br /></b></i><br /><u>That is clearly a statement about race, and no matter what today's spin from Durant says---it has to be stated---this is ALL about race. <br /></u><br />One can only wonder if that is the reason why Chief Batton, who reached out to the Freedmen a year ago, chose not to attend the hearing this year. Tribal lawyers have advised people in the nation to not enage with Freedmen who reach out and who make calls in response to his open letter. Yet, no descendants of Freedmen are enemies of the Nation from which they claim identity. So why is engagement now not possible?<br /><br />As stated before, there appears to be a fear that somehow the presence of fear of people of African descent in significant numbers will somehow lessen their <i>"appearance" </i>as an Indian Tribe. Yet---both Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations that signed the same treaty together claim to be sovereign nations. <br /><br />It should be pointed out that one characteristic that all sovereign nations have--is that they exist as a political structure of <i>multiple</i> people from numerous families, clans, and communities who share something in common----history, space, longevity, language, and continuous contact. Freedmen <i>had</i> that and those still in Oklahoma <i>still</i> have that. <br /><br />In addition----<u>-the treaties of 1866 do NOT use the word "blood".</u> But today, and every day since 1983, when the constitution was quietly changed----the use of the word "blood" swas inserted into the tribal discourse, which is a word that stirs up emotion and creates a <i>false illusion</i> that somehow families being threatened or put in danger. And furthermore the continuous insistance of blood being the bottom line, suggests to the public and that tribal sovereignty is being threatened by decendants of former African slaves in their midst. <br /><br />This continuous "this-is-about-blood cry," and thefear of African Choctaws, is quite similar to such statements that were often made by the "gentle" southern people of the old racist south that truly believed that being in the mere space of people with brown and black skin did them physical harm. This in their minds justified laws posed against them, and acts of violence agains them without punishment. <br /><br />Is this what the sentiments are in the Choctaw Nation? Truly? Is the fear of Freedmen descendants the security blanket that justifies in your mind the act of preventing them from being in your space---but they have always been in your space?<br /><br />To the Honorable Chief Batton, and Mr. Burrage:<b style="font-style: italic;"> </b><b><i>What actual threat do Freedmen descendants in your space pose to the nation?</i></b><p></p><p><b>*What harm did those who were freed from bondage do to the nation that they claimed as theirs also?</b><br /><br /><b>*When people "by blood" were given 8 times more land than the Freedmen, how did their disadvantage placed upon the Freedmen threaten the sovereignty of the Choctaw Nation?</b><br /><br /><b>*When 254 different families followed the steps of <a href="https://digital.libraries.ou.edu/utils/getfile/collection/cornish/id/1850/filename/1851.pdf">Bettie Ligon</a> and <a href="https://dp.la/item/664bf32374733c1a2b144256e0069464">Joe & Dillard Perry</a> seeking to be placed on the blood rollm how were the Choctaw people harmed and how did these Freed people threaten the nation or its sovereignty?<br /></b><br /><b>*When people were identified as </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Choctaw</i><b> Freedmen and not freedmen people of any other of the 274 Federally recognized tribes----</b><u style="font-weight: bold;">how can you look at their descendants in the eye, and declare openly that they are not among a popultion of Choctaw people?</u><b> They were once Choctaw slaves, and then Choctaw Freedmen, so how can one say that they were not Choctaw people? What is in this race based that can makes you comfortable in doing this? </b><br /><br /><b>*Is THIS how a sovereign nation conducts itself?</b><br /><br /><b>* What is the real threat to the sovereignty of the Choctaw Nation?</b><br /><br />There is no threat to sovereignty, BUT---the real threat is public sympathy towards the nation. <u>The threat is that the image of an oppressed people forced from their homeland to an unfamiliar land will be tarnished.<br /></u><br />However, this universal sympathy is tainted somewhat when the history is told of an oppressed people, dragged enslaved people of another race with them. The sympathy is lessed, when others learn how teh nation has a continuing policy of keeping distance from the descendants of the freed people.<br /><br />And furthermore, public sympathy is affected when the stories of not only enslavement of people of another race, but the choice to fight for the south in the Civil War.<br /><br />But note <u>Note that when the Civil War ended, and the United made former slaves citizens---there was NEVER a clause in the 14th amendment that they had to have the blood of white people to become American citizens.</u> Yet----today the Choctaw Nation states that descendants of enslaved Africans, to become citizens, must contain the blood of the tribe that enslaved them.<br /><br />African slaves arrived in the Territory with Choctaws, on the same forced migration. They worked as enslaved laborers for generations in the Choctaw Nation with no pay since they were human chattel. After Freedom came, the Choctaw Freedmen waited a full 19 years before the act to give them citizenship occurred, <u>although the treaty said they would give citizenship within two years. </u> <br /><br />It must be said:<br />-The United States became a better nation when slavery was abolished.<br />-The United States became an even better nation when the 1964 Civil Rights act was passed erasing Jim Crow. <br />-The Cherokee Nation became a better nation when it was decided to embrace the decision of 2017.<br />-The Cherokee Nation has become a better nation with almost 12,000 Cherokee people once disenfranchised Freedmen descendants have been admitted.<br /><br /><b><u>To bring about change going forward, here are some suggestions:</u></b><br /><br />-A simple admission that these policies are all about race is an <u><b>honest</b></u> beginning. <br /><br />-Allowing Chief Batton to continue to explore the initiative that he state in his Open Letter of 2021 is a beginning.<br /><br />-The establishment of opportunities of contact between Freedmen and tribal council members is a beginning.</p><p><u>We are not the enemy. We live our lives with a strong identity as a Choctaw population in spite of what is said.<br /></u><br />The opportunity to make the Choctaw Nation an even greater nation awaits. Today it is simply a Federally recognized tribe that is choosing to stand behind a blanket of fear, and calling it "sovereignty". This does not make the Choctaw Nation as strong as it can be. Embracing race-based policies that alienate people in your space, who have a documented historic tie to you, does <i>not</i> make you sovereign and it does not make you strong. <br /><br />It weakens you and places you in the same space of the old segregationists of the Old South during the Jim Crow era. They were <i>not</i> honorable people. They lived in senseless fear of people whom they had also oppressed. Those states are now better since those policies are gone. They are not perfect, but they are so much better than they were.<br /><br />At last week's hearing Cherokee Chief Hoskins was comfortable as he mixed and interacted with Freedmen from all of the Five Tribes before and after the hearing. No such comfort or interaction came from representatives of Choctaw or Chickasaw Nations. They kept their distance, interacting only with those with whom they were comfortable---those who were not black. <br /><br />Sometimes simply addressing those issues and facts that give you fear, can also make you free and allow you to move freely in all spaces where you find yourself.<br /><br />Today's policies <i><b>are</b></i> about Race. <br /><br />Simple admission of this fact can allow the blanket of fear to unwrap itself from around you, and allow you the freedom to return the handshake that is still extended to you.<br /><br />We are among the Choctaw Proud.<br /><br />Yakoke.</p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-21398062735985910442022-07-28T10:14:00.005-07:002022-07-28T12:48:30.860-07:00The Hearing on Capitol Hill<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2BVP13XkDfYyl9xNyaJy20yXqvaOJv05JZ4goR1mefAjOyabrsHdzz20RHKlrcF9aQc4T7-GcVVGi_ovrobJ9-_X0IdlerV8wJPIZ-2tfozszjNvfIYmoIoROhuhsG5Vagz1AW9fiYMMy71_-dqW1yYTGRdiwLXH-_7nOT7WnHXNBHe5_y0Q0OsGW" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="917" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2BVP13XkDfYyl9xNyaJy20yXqvaOJv05JZ4goR1mefAjOyabrsHdzz20RHKlrcF9aQc4T7-GcVVGi_ovrobJ9-_X0IdlerV8wJPIZ-2tfozszjNvfIYmoIoROhuhsG5Vagz1AW9fiYMMy71_-dqW1yYTGRdiwLXH-_7nOT7WnHXNBHe5_y0Q0OsGW" width="320" /></a><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Senator Schatz Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs</span></b></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">July 27th 2022 was a landmark date. For the first time in history a hearing on the status of Freedmen of the Five slave-holding tribes, occurred to address the neglicence of both tribal officials and Congress in issues pertaining to those once enslaved.<br /><br />Focus of the hearing: <br /><b>Oversight Hearing on 1866 Reconstruction Treaties Between United States and Oklahoma Tribes.</b></span><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The hearing was chaired by Senator Brian Schatz (D. Hawaii) and in attendance were descendants of Freedmen from all five tribes, whose ancestors were once enslaved in those nations. The tribes sent their own representatives to testify on their behalf. Representatives from the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations were all present. Each represenataive was given 5 minutes to present an official statement. Only one speaker on behalf of Freedman was included.<br /><br />The first panel consisted of only one presenter--Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who had long recognized the issues affecting descendants of Freedmen, many of whom now live in her district in California. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgx3Z42zakohudfwqFekY_CLnzJdv9RJB2cHtePOee6KxsMhnlsJ_sZGDiaMeBPlFmpO3vYxPdGxE23TiXrw4VTi83BnLhSc414vnrqvibvpJNFz7bOGanMATJxVi5mrnBNLOWQkIy-pJf7E6Bmp-8em2Xw46QNpt2EgJHehvhUAuK0JtNuzENl7a_C" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="597" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgx3Z42zakohudfwqFekY_CLnzJdv9RJB2cHtePOee6KxsMhnlsJ_sZGDiaMeBPlFmpO3vYxPdGxE23TiXrw4VTi83BnLhSc414vnrqvibvpJNFz7bOGanMATJxVi5mrnBNLOWQkIy-pJf7E6Bmp-8em2Xw46QNpt2EgJHehvhUAuK0JtNuzENl7a_C" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Congresswoman Maxine Waters speaks to Senate Committee</span></b></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">The second panel consisted of multiple speakers from the Five Tribes, in addition to a representative from the Department of the Interior, Bryan Newland, and the sole speaker from Freedmen, Marilyn Vann an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and President of the Descendants of Freedmen Association. <br /><br />The audience consisted of Freedmen from all five tribes, many of whom met and gathered prior to the hearing outside of the Hart Building on Capitol Hill and who met for the first time. The hearing was historic because Freedmen who have ancestors documented ties to each tribe were present for the first time in Washington to attend an event addressing their issues.</span><p></p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqYlOznGs6kO9wHO-B6xm-S_afDgkq0e51kkGfwWb3EnCl9nj9lKUx2K42xQ1-FEpiKZrZMdPlcdkJQlhp5mMRdzYf0vhr9f8pHtWSXFgze1V_NhUr0EqaQrOfpkGfZDYiLOm0OtINN5lgY2gfG4kXV71GGs6-PeHc2Feh_vjFqKlerxode9iYpByH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="515" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqYlOznGs6kO9wHO-B6xm-S_afDgkq0e51kkGfwWb3EnCl9nj9lKUx2K42xQ1-FEpiKZrZMdPlcdkJQlhp5mMRdzYf0vhr9f8pHtWSXFgze1V_NhUr0EqaQrOfpkGfZDYiLOm0OtINN5lgY2gfG4kXV71GGs6-PeHc2Feh_vjFqKlerxode9iYpByH" width="215" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Dorris Burris Williamson and Terry Ligon</b></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_TMzOhuskuiQSXhoABqCC4Z6fWpzU1kvCUQ8esdvHIyjpNQ1aBoZVLgAxstRrHCDKjrVfNStbfHv407nXheVtXCWtb2tegC33POk13AKy44oRZ-v-lgvaUcE33lpIEYqNY7It70dPnH5D01kODscAQBqGEuevGtk7Yf9MEVAehiEb-v6vdK3pSTZA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="751" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_TMzOhuskuiQSXhoABqCC4Z6fWpzU1kvCUQ8esdvHIyjpNQ1aBoZVLgAxstRrHCDKjrVfNStbfHv407nXheVtXCWtb2tegC33POk13AKy44oRZ-v-lgvaUcE33lpIEYqNY7It70dPnH5D01kODscAQBqGEuevGtk7Yf9MEVAehiEb-v6vdK3pSTZA" width="307" /></a><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Attendees Gathering Before Hearing</span></b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9cZRC_6gtT_7D-g7HbbVWdLVcmfs009RfyylUSkgGQzV5XoU0DHWfsLqSF_Zx7ex2F5i8tfrgH9azDIJQWEcwjTNzdW3MZGBHnPsr98xvhXEd0JiALpTDMj3BTlGpSQAYqJT5dwhE3xPFX3oXkoztESMY9cZgstocpsuHeQtRnFHrL2STdgojaVHx" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="830" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9cZRC_6gtT_7D-g7HbbVWdLVcmfs009RfyylUSkgGQzV5XoU0DHWfsLqSF_Zx7ex2F5i8tfrgH9azDIJQWEcwjTNzdW3MZGBHnPsr98xvhXEd0JiALpTDMj3BTlGpSQAYqJT5dwhE3xPFX3oXkoztESMY9cZgstocpsuHeQtRnFHrL2STdgojaVHx" width="320" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Creek Freedmen in Discussion Before Session</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVNbmKnC9LRs_aDhqFtFkQfcaclAIU8AZc4TsLCYhdpXYXxrVuG4Y73PyiICnQrhaw6GuYHRhQJhNat37x06pS29yqMycq6FnIKPFiFRvIx3Ky3xb40VmDgj1eYHAp-vrOb1fjMymWPDr0VfjBg8qmGfnV2vfLMNH8QIgaEhkxOlxt7qptH-2cAUx6" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="613" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVNbmKnC9LRs_aDhqFtFkQfcaclAIU8AZc4TsLCYhdpXYXxrVuG4Y73PyiICnQrhaw6GuYHRhQJhNat37x06pS29yqMycq6FnIKPFiFRvIx3Ky3xb40VmDgj1eYHAp-vrOb1fjMymWPDr0VfjBg8qmGfnV2vfLMNH8QIgaEhkxOlxt7qptH-2cAUx6" width="267" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Panel 2 Listening as Congresswoman Waters speaks</b></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It did appear that there was a strong interest expressed by the committee as they listened to the presenters. In addition some of the questions asked by the committee members were left unanswerable because the issues such as the size of the Freedmen descendant popultation have never been studied.</span><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDzBW-94i300laTFy2yKKQMwKJXdhHh1Nkkz_Qve_s_Ze58TddsYjBl1jtktIaK39YUHkIzJjy2oBwWelUSjtKVeV9-1BIx8rMPLJVq43dTZzlZ14XHV1i8cFGLrtNkd_1TrgAaKGWdfkz4wsEy047oP2v9jGlrX_SygOwLMsafGMTZ17eLSzfcc83" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="445" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDzBW-94i300laTFy2yKKQMwKJXdhHh1Nkkz_Qve_s_Ze58TddsYjBl1jtktIaK39YUHkIzJjy2oBwWelUSjtKVeV9-1BIx8rMPLJVq43dTZzlZ14XHV1i8cFGLrtNkd_1TrgAaKGWdfkz4wsEy047oP2v9jGlrX_SygOwLMsafGMTZ17eLSzfcc83" width="320" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Senator Lankford of Oklahoma Listened intently to presenters</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDTPDQOvZhwAA5UDzLtL9qymcwQqr6zRoF7GcqP4RJlWgbcXEN-nFePspmgWLtD28zcKOda0iprlGIoofZ7A0boLj5lThx4Pb5wMjF0l359c8x4JtbW7wZUES-C4QsskZp1ALgHP0w5x0zQcY-jqGvOcguYXzVmNI4c70iAsXUgqxlX5gfyr3xqXR1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="851" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDTPDQOvZhwAA5UDzLtL9qymcwQqr6zRoF7GcqP4RJlWgbcXEN-nFePspmgWLtD28zcKOda0iprlGIoofZ7A0boLj5lThx4Pb5wMjF0l359c8x4JtbW7wZUES-C4QsskZp1ALgHP0w5x0zQcY-jqGvOcguYXzVmNI4c70iAsXUgqxlX5gfyr3xqXR1" width="320" /></a></div></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Partial view of Panel 2</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLLuzE8B02xLA56ikaU4KZkRUQe3RnlQKKRTtd0l08_YL5NAZiIHvhVwB3rFJnMJUA2yWtd_0rzlmNQCNilVbyVAFVomW34FqG4TEPyZVO5dK7MNdflqNHEntwi4YAgQbY_LOqqSvlGe-4lncGLkcZw8eNQ4e_tVIdvXOl8gK8TFoG-Ei3I9jb7p--" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="1085" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLLuzE8B02xLA56ikaU4KZkRUQe3RnlQKKRTtd0l08_YL5NAZiIHvhVwB3rFJnMJUA2yWtd_0rzlmNQCNilVbyVAFVomW34FqG4TEPyZVO5dK7MNdflqNHEntwi4YAgQbY_LOqqSvlGe-4lncGLkcZw8eNQ4e_tVIdvXOl8gK8TFoG-Ei3I9jb7p--" width="320" /></a><br />Another view of Panel as seen by audience</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyQB7dJWreedrByWXRn1CDjAlGj6bAe-k_w5snMc9QriA6hiko5jgtMKlQJ_94qa3wfMXZhuAV7puabXRqXwes48B8WHbzuqqEYXYoaMFRQLLE06fMu3vMcvb5n6IirKS2p-l6Ws3kjfgPQXhoH4bTE2i8v3Jvq2qXTorOuNSHBZdpAsNGqLotODJR" style="font-size: small; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="867" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyQB7dJWreedrByWXRn1CDjAlGj6bAe-k_w5snMc9QriA6hiko5jgtMKlQJ_94qa3wfMXZhuAV7puabXRqXwes48B8WHbzuqqEYXYoaMFRQLLE06fMu3vMcvb5n6IirKS2p-l6Ws3kjfgPQXhoH4bTE2i8v3Jvq2qXTorOuNSHBZdpAsNGqLotODJR" width="320" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: bold;">Speakers from the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma</span><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQR8obw7BEwUN0rS7fO2zRC4HqRm99T47lb9kvGGdvcUKMaZ_ZY04-mocRfhFXClfOX8LxEhClA8DbU-SEkYcKnGlK_tTwZQ9mLFXOIEmy634ibKevDQLjRhtfdcx9k2A8E8P4-iLoIq4O4oGYpojHKbJRkRwmWLAnglf-4MGVkwZHoPsC-G7Camom" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="295" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQR8obw7BEwUN0rS7fO2zRC4HqRm99T47lb9kvGGdvcUKMaZ_ZY04-mocRfhFXClfOX8LxEhClA8DbU-SEkYcKnGlK_tTwZQ9mLFXOIEmy634ibKevDQLjRhtfdcx9k2A8E8P4-iLoIq4O4oGYpojHKbJRkRwmWLAnglf-4MGVkwZHoPsC-G7Camom" width="220" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">Speaker Representing the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKUtnwXPIHG96auFMjXS9-INTk462l--FomLtuO4pejo80DWQMvGQaXqqHuNee0v-20eGDQVr_19Ymj2G_8b1MQCXFfMBEyoElQg3UjsZ46pdblCQya3KhJradeAaGkBL6rBZhCZblN_cuApTlJMdwIZOcfrvQ5iDbfdyEiMhEWGZSDPrR9Nxkihwz" style="font-size: small; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="525" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKUtnwXPIHG96auFMjXS9-INTk462l--FomLtuO4pejo80DWQMvGQaXqqHuNee0v-20eGDQVr_19Ymj2G_8b1MQCXFfMBEyoElQg3UjsZ46pdblCQya3KhJradeAaGkBL6rBZhCZblN_cuApTlJMdwIZOcfrvQ5iDbfdyEiMhEWGZSDPrR9Nxkihwz" width="320" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: bold;">Speaker Representing the Muscogee (Creek) Nation</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4NCB5mdaYJ8AUTUs53FhYOJfYbagBJ91-XuCWGM7LCt9otml8c0644excu4Ns2UdVBJ2mdNo2HHzqMM8k8wQUnVZXKBlDrAfwGlCwVveI7WPwJplSIugGrNp1IjOYV5Nuh3uJljGjIfwDvVZlrZJ9PuGDapUz08z9IwJT4rPN3httMTnqOfYS_ayw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="339" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4NCB5mdaYJ8AUTUs53FhYOJfYbagBJ91-XuCWGM7LCt9otml8c0644excu4Ns2UdVBJ2mdNo2HHzqMM8k8wQUnVZXKBlDrAfwGlCwVveI7WPwJplSIugGrNp1IjOYV5Nuh3uJljGjIfwDvVZlrZJ9PuGDapUz08z9IwJT4rPN3httMTnqOfYS_ayw" width="279" /></a><br />Speaker Represnting the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma<br /><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaMdxSq-HyFaX6YK7AnSXIe-1-Oyj0vOcU7ZbBtn_LnvG7GG_OBCcy9W7ASFyWMRQq2ms0Fv3Affh3IUZxmIl8u0Q_Er8THlSKIgRfiL7PHi4PqAaR6BsmS3VYKWEWwQXA2aCqpvqkiy5W5dUYRTpKUNXVnaU69E4BosrcD1gw8XTEgMMVHnhVRL36" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="386" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaMdxSq-HyFaX6YK7AnSXIe-1-Oyj0vOcU7ZbBtn_LnvG7GG_OBCcy9W7ASFyWMRQq2ms0Fv3Affh3IUZxmIl8u0Q_Er8THlSKIgRfiL7PHi4PqAaR6BsmS3VYKWEWwQXA2aCqpvqkiy5W5dUYRTpKUNXVnaU69E4BosrcD1gw8XTEgMMVHnhVRL36" width="275" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: bold;">Speaker Representing the Oklahoma Freedmen </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The hearing began shortly after 2:30 pm and lasted until about 4pm. Some evaded questions directed to them and others answered questions when directly asked. The outstanding voice pertaining to the treaty and its history came from Principal Chief Chuck Hoskins of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. who addressed the past as well as the present. Since the ruling in 2017 that confirmed the status of the Freedmen in the Cherokee Nation, Hoskins pointed out that close to 12,000 descendants of Freedmen have been admitted to citizenship in the nation and he was quoted as saying that they are a better nation because of it.<br /><br />There will clearly be multiple disussions in many forums and platforms over the next few weeks. It is hoped that the hearing will be a new beginning in the movement to create awareness of the history of the Oklahoma Freedmen, and many more of the stories that pertain to their presence on the soil of Oklahoma will emerge.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="font-size: small; text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-58510388170429209052022-07-18T20:43:00.003-07:002022-07-18T20:45:25.627-07:00DOES A YEAR MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Back to Capitol Hill<p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">
</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrhycSJUZ289rlEXKGGNzIliBGvjy2p6rDRjsq37NDQiPnB1hQlDlFSBFw9-euoNET_6z9a65ASjlz8AVisl-f6oFd1rmq5zJ7MuVhb5OBQAB8fVe3EG_801tsNc92wjYIQdr9plMVF2Dk7FmcebKfeDIvpg24t1V185RGXDsLIql48xGIEGdgJYOQ" style="font-size: 15px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="739" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrhycSJUZ289rlEXKGGNzIliBGvjy2p6rDRjsq37NDQiPnB1hQlDlFSBFw9-euoNET_6z9a65ASjlz8AVisl-f6oFd1rmq5zJ7MuVhb5OBQAB8fVe3EG_801tsNc92wjYIQdr9plMVF2Dk7FmcebKfeDIvpg24t1V185RGXDsLIql48xGIEGdgJYOQ" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 15px;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Meeting Congresswoman Maxine Waters after Hearing ing on Capitol Hill</b></span></div><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">
How ironic that last year July 28th a hearing occurred on Capitol Hill. Many descendants of Freedmen descendants from all Five tribes attende in support of language in the NAHASDA bill to include text pertaining to the Freedmen of the Five Tribes. We did have an opportunity to meet various members of Congress, including Congresswoman Maxine Waters and others, in suppor of language mentioning the Freedmen in the NAHASDA bill.</span></span><p></p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">And now---a year later on July 27th of 2022 a hearing THIS TIME ,exclusively ABOUT the Freedmen will occur in front of the Senate's Commission on Indian Affairs. No one from the community of disenfranchised Freedmen have a voice at the table. </div><div style="text-align: left;">
The speaker for the Freedmen will be Marilyn Vann, President of the Descendants of Freedmen Association. She is also an enrolled Cherokee citizen. She will have 5 minutes to speak. </div><div style="text-align: left;">
The chiefs will also have 5 minutes---but collectively as a group--- in total, they have 25 minutes to speakm while the speaker on behalf of disdenfranchised Freedmen will have only 5 minutes.</div><div style="text-align: left;">
It shall be interesting to see how things will unfold next week on Capitol Hill. Myself, along with a few others will be present and observing the hearing, for the second year in a row a meeting ABOUT us, but EXCLUDING us.
</div><div style="text-align: left;"> We can only hope that something of itnerest and benefit, will emerge from this event.</div></span>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-20678228432740656352022-06-19T13:31:00.005-07:002022-06-19T15:25:55.119-07:00Celebrating Freedom in Indian Territory<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhj-sOSG6BQH8FnyaWSG8jDNokoNMgCbyowoqVmLK_X-w-Mq5pK4js2YJ2F-i59XRe94N6LTbhRBDoUappl97SJhfuh4KmbAbPAUHBUE8inmf22kKIct7SgFEu8JtaJ4lsTW_C72UTGb5is-INZ4dQBoXj_WUgrRv-1qNY0fmdusQ4s42tltwh4FGxR" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="413" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhj-sOSG6BQH8FnyaWSG8jDNokoNMgCbyowoqVmLK_X-w-Mq5pK4js2YJ2F-i59XRe94N6LTbhRBDoUappl97SJhfuh4KmbAbPAUHBUE8inmf22kKIct7SgFEu8JtaJ4lsTW_C72UTGb5is-INZ4dQBoXj_WUgrRv-1qNY0fmdusQ4s42tltwh4FGxR" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><br /><br />For many years in the late 1800s Freed people from the Five Tribes celebrated freedom throughout the summer months. Many Indian tribal Freedmen, in the eastern most part of the Cherokee and Choctaw Nations, started celebrating Freedom the same time their neighbors did in nearby Arkansas. Some in the southern part of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations started celebrating Freedom the same time their neighbors did in nearby north Texas. <br /><br />However, the most interesting part of the Freedom story is reflected in the fact that throughout many parts of Indian Territory, a celebration of Freedom actually occurred for many years on August 4th. Several references to the August 4th celebrations were mentioned by former slaves when interviewed in the1930s and their intervviews were captured in the Indian Pioneer Papers. The day was celebrated for many years and believed by many to be the day that Freedmen came to their families, but so far, the actual choice of August 4th still is unexplained. Nevertheless, Freedom was embraced and honored and celebrated by those once enslaved and freed from bondage. <br /><br />In the 1930s Elizabeth Ross, a field worker for the <a href="https://digital.libraries.ou.edu/whc/pioneer/">Indian Pioneer project</a>, spoke with several former slaves about the celebrations they frequented during their lifetime. She spoke with two individuals who provided her with rich information, E. P. Harris and Dennis Hendricks. Here are some excerpts from her article about <a href="http://digital.libraries.ou.edu/cdm/ref/collection/indianpp/id/8128">Freedom celebrations</a>. (1)<br /><br /><b> Cherokee Nation</b><br /><br /><i><b>"During a number of years when Cherokee government was in existence, it was a custom of the Freedmen or former slaves of Cherokees and their descendants to observe August 4th as the anniversary of their emancipation. As a matter of historical fact, the Cherokee emancipation was issued in the month of February 1863. Just why the August date was selected is not clear, but no doubt many were of the belief that the fourth day of that month was the date up which freedom became their possession."<br /></b></i><br />In the Cherokee Nation, large outdoor picnics unfolded in Talequah, Fort Gibson and other large Freedmen settlements, consisting of speakers, singing events, and of course large amounts of food for the celebrations. Many of the invited speakers were local leaders, of all background, whites, tribal leaders, and well known preachers.<br /><br />One of the larger events was observed in Tahlequah in the late 1870s where a long line of horsemen formed part of an impressive parade. Ross describes the event:<br /><br /><i><b>"A long line of horsemen formed on the banks of a small stream nearly a mile south of the town, and then a procession headed by a man with drawn sword, beside whom rode another man carrying a United States flag, rode back and through the main street of Tahlequah."</b></i> <br /><br />Years later celebrations were occurred on the "May Party Grounds" the same spot where the 7th of May anniversaty celebrations occurred. Years later, large events were also noted in communities like Four Mile Branch in Fort Gibson.<br /><br /><b><u>Creek Nation:</u></b><br />Aaron Grayson was interviewed in the 1930s and described the celebrations that he recalled from the 1870s till the early 20th century. (2)<br /><br /><b><i>"There was an annual celebration held each year from the period from 1870 on up until the early part of 1900, which was held by negroes and freedmen. The white people observed Independence day on July 4th, while the colored people observed the Emancipation Day on August 4th. The observance of this Emancipation proclamation was mainly for and by negroes and freedmen, yet the Indians and whites were welcome to attend the celebrations.<br /><br />There were always good times, because no one became drunk, quarrelsome or tried to pick a fight, but only a feeling of good comradeship was felt by all who participated in the events. Of course the Lighthorsemen and the United States marshals were present to check any trouble and to keep peace and order. Many new acquaintances and lasting friendships were often made at these gatherings.</i></b><p></p><p><b><i>..."When the day of the big celebration arrived, the people did not come poking around one by one but they came in groups or by bands, such as the Bruner band, the Topkafka band, etc. These people had assembled at one of the tribal towns from where they had come to the celebration as early as they could. They came on horses at a gallop, laughing joking and yelling and were heard miles away before they finally came to the chosen place of the event."</i></b></p><p>Aaron Grayson goes on to describe how the various bands arrived and the cannons would be fired as they arrived and marched in circles around the flag pole signaling their arrival. The food was prepared by the women which was a massive barbecue feast. All in attendance, native Creeks, whites as well as Freedmen and state negroes who all shared in the massive amounts of food. Grayson also described events such as selection of the day's queen, and his descriptions of the clothing worn by many of the horsemen was quite colorful. Many of these events were held at Wetumka and Wewoka, and the last major event occurring in Tuskegee town.<br /><br /><b>Choctaw Nation<br /></b><br />In August of 1938. Sallie Henderson Moss was interviewed by James Russell Gray of the Pioneer project. She desribed her life in the Skullyville district near Brazil Station, in the Choctaw Nation. In her interview, she recalled the celebrations of emancipation in August. (3)<br /><br /><i><b>"The colored people used to have picnics on the 4th of August. They would have big barbecues with lemondade, stick candy and everything. They were celebrating the freeing of the slaves. The Choctaws freed their slaves, you know on August 4th. They would kill hogs and beeves, and have dances and general good times"<br /><br />Sometimes the colored people would take sacks full of herbs called "devil's shoestring" and put the stuff in the creek the way the Indians taught them to. This devil's shoestring made the fish drunk and the fish floated to the top of the water and could be caught. We would have fish fries for our picnics."</b></i><br /><br />The stories about the celebration of emancipation is an interesting one, particularly because so many embraced August 4th as the day to commemorate freedom, although freedom was actually not uniformly in August. Each of the tribes eventually abolished slavery officially when the treaties of 1866 were signed. However, it should also be remembered that many found freedom much earlier than that time. <br /><br />Many had become free during the Civil War when some had joined various regiments of the union army. And sadly, at the same time, in some parts of the Chickasaw Nation many did not enjoy freedom until at least two years after the war, as there was much resistance in parts of the Chickasaw Nation to allowing their enslaved people to taste freedom.<br /><br />Nevertheless, now that there is a legal holiday where descendants of the enslaved perhaps some of the long forgotten traditions will emerge again. To think that there has never been before now, any effort to celebrate freedom from slavery is quite incredible. We must celebrate our freedom, like the people of Galveston. Freedom is a basic right of all people, and truly we must find ourselves among those celebrants. Our own ancestors truly knew the value of being free to make one's own choices in life. Whether it it June 19th or August 4th or all days in between---we must embrace the joy of Juneteenth and how at some point in the lives of our ancestors--the trajectory of their lives changed when Freedom came.<br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">H a p p y J u n e t e e n t h ! ! !</span></b> </div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhavnaKolHBOKiPataQq_R3IiZrHVabvkaJ4anxEnUpfhroKtFsTeWY7CgpdEW_rGgvgRfuhMSm3OaTmIH_aLGOjSEqoriSTyFTybFKW2NCbPvJo6Tte5V54uTLBZfPirDqWevU3f4Fiv_aNfqACXKGHuqzg9BsFdjahJ7Pvm6Dfe3O9jLxqUtpErdv" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="461" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhavnaKolHBOKiPataQq_R3IiZrHVabvkaJ4anxEnUpfhroKtFsTeWY7CgpdEW_rGgvgRfuhMSm3OaTmIH_aLGOjSEqoriSTyFTybFKW2NCbPvJo6Tte5V54uTLBZfPirDqWevU3f4Fiv_aNfqACXKGHuqzg9BsFdjahJ7Pvm6Dfe3O9jLxqUtpErdv" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><b><u>Citations:</u></b><p></p><p><b><u><br /></u><span style="font-size: x-small;">1 Digital Collections, University of Oklahoma, Western History Collections, Indian Pioneer Collections, Elizabeth Ross, Volume 109, Interview ID 6764 Freedom Celebrations<br /><br />2 Ibid Volume 35, Interview ID 7458 Aaron Grayson<br /><br />3 Ibid Volume 65 Interview ID 13620 Sallie Henderson Moss</span></b></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-40722254984174754352022-02-13T17:16:00.003-08:002022-02-13T17:16:32.086-08:00The Interesting Case of Moses Whitmire, Cherokee Freedman Trustee<p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjL5UxC2eihqkUfgTVDlk7OuNufvHvvnEsM2SuyyO_K_mKVkP7nrL1kaWr8Bti8EGElDQ24GdVj_tJIrUftuEhFB10tbWFSC0inlDG66zvhPyR3PScYlfrNF25Ehsg_3bTsvU99oD9m5YkdF2VmTkPkvBMhPLGMXGUDYbi2g09r87x76UVgKONgRjET" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="969" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjL5UxC2eihqkUfgTVDlk7OuNufvHvvnEsM2SuyyO_K_mKVkP7nrL1kaWr8Bti8EGElDQ24GdVj_tJIrUftuEhFB10tbWFSC0inlDG66zvhPyR3PScYlfrNF25Ehsg_3bTsvU99oD9m5YkdF2VmTkPkvBMhPLGMXGUDYbi2g09r87x76UVgKONgRjET=w572-h381" width="572" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>When studying articles from the 19th century Indian Territory, anyone with an interest in Freedman history will note that numreous articles in the press appeared about the former slaves and the many struggles that they encountered. Some articles were about struggles for citizenship and equal rights and others made interesting references to schools and institutions established by and for Freedmen. <br />And one interesting case arose pertaining to funds set aside for Freedmen emerged in the Five Tribes, and one of them was the case of <a href="www.https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/223/108">Moses Whitmire trustee for the Freedmen of the Cherokee Nation.<br /></a><br />A special commission was appointed to represent the nation in a major suit known as Cherokee Nation v. Moses Whitmire, a case which began to cause much discussion in the late 1890s. The case involved not only specifically the rights of Cherokee Freedmen, but specifically the issue pertaining to funds that were to be set aside for Cherokee Freedmen.</p><p>The issue was that of $400,000 to be provided for freedmen, and from 4% to 10% to go to two attorneys from St. Louis---Robert H. Kern, and J. Milton Turner. Whitmire was an elderly man had been appointed as trustee for the freedmen, but soon charges were brought up against him about the funds and a mishandling of funds, and allegations that he had promised a larger amount of the money to the attorneys and allegations arose about mishandling of funds. Whitmire refuted this, and made his own statement. He pointed out that he was unable to read or write and that a document that he was said to have signed was not read or understood fully by him. An article from the St. Louis Globe Democrat carried his statement in a piece about the matter.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirtuKlCyMd6dLfXFsvSrT3z_jVCaHnLAmP2-eYzNoCGuaqu2EkpKpPFN90MPaweYGr5B6OnaPG_lK0KtIn4x8AHQYtbUjgn8alkJfkeIh0woJ_Py8HeS2QcTyOPvhT4p2aXX5wWZrIm2ytvLo4IRodj5AiA2tR-qCajCu5ilTI9hwYAYk0BIj3XcJd" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1034" height="692" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirtuKlCyMd6dLfXFsvSrT3z_jVCaHnLAmP2-eYzNoCGuaqu2EkpKpPFN90MPaweYGr5B6OnaPG_lK0KtIn4x8AHQYtbUjgn8alkJfkeIh0woJ_Py8HeS2QcTyOPvhT4p2aXX5wWZrIm2ytvLo4IRodj5AiA2tR-qCajCu5ilTI9hwYAYk0BIj3XcJd=w618-h692" width="618" /></a></div><br />Ten years later the issue was still being discussed. by that time, Moses Whitmire had died but an interesting summary of the case appeared in a publication from Nowata, C.N.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhCOsILSzgvblHPXgSksAZC_EBcnjL4Ro7rBZOMTV8U-BOKF3tyD7VrTh5WxCGk5u6-wKlUYXFx_WUjbenvofsRTXLvqx49aR7Rd4Ef0ZKZHzcG994rHpy3QDy6avkYkOi65G1rDPs59BQQ9ryav-leiGdx8MMg0XbnoTCh6Cm-uVwJzLPWObL1V3UN" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1927" data-original-width="814" height="1126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhCOsILSzgvblHPXgSksAZC_EBcnjL4Ro7rBZOMTV8U-BOKF3tyD7VrTh5WxCGk5u6-wKlUYXFx_WUjbenvofsRTXLvqx49aR7Rd4Ef0ZKZHzcG994rHpy3QDy6avkYkOi65G1rDPs59BQQ9ryav-leiGdx8MMg0XbnoTCh6Cm-uVwJzLPWObL1V3UN=w474-h1126" width="474" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Two years later the issue had reached the U.S. Supreme Court, and a brief article from the Chicago Tribune describes how the issue was handled.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhePVODtwi-da7jGxGpvIAQGCcbjPjAkoX7YP-XVXyLWNHMael6FZUOYe_HfYwmZbtfZ-VIKK2ux-5570tqQwVopxEfdrIW3ONtRFJyJIrwb7rDsl2dLi0M9TkxjLka8fCX2kG4WrwLaEXc1q1xzlCjexE_SfPQTEV3fP1GHdxc6wOdMlNHhopfP5Ws" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="790" height="415" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhePVODtwi-da7jGxGpvIAQGCcbjPjAkoX7YP-XVXyLWNHMael6FZUOYe_HfYwmZbtfZ-VIKK2ux-5570tqQwVopxEfdrIW3ONtRFJyJIrwb7rDsl2dLi0M9TkxjLka8fCX2kG4WrwLaEXc1q1xzlCjexE_SfPQTEV3fP1GHdxc6wOdMlNHhopfP5Ws=w571-h415" width="571" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Moses Whitmire case is a rare instance of a case from Indian Territory pertaining to Freedmen, appearing in the US Supreme Court. A few years earlier Equity 7071 involving Chickasaw Freedmen was to have been argued in front of the Supreme Court, but the attorney never filed the brief and thus, it was never heard. The Whitmire case appears to be one of the few cases that appeared, even if only briefly in the nation's highest court.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The plight of Freedmen from all of the tribes was one that was disputed and argued repeatedly in the post Civil War years, and it appears that the case of Moses Whitmire was no exception. It is also clear that victories were few if ever won during those trying years before statehood. <br /><br />And for Moses Whitmore the man, very little is known. In his younger years he was enslaved by Cherokee George Whitmire. By the time of the Dawes Commission, he was 70 years old, and he was most likely one who also came to the Territory during the Removal period. His mother's name was Peggy, also enslaved by Whitmire, and his father's name is not known. He resided in Hayden, in the Cooweescoowee District of the Cherokee Nation. As an elder his being selected as a trustee it is clear that with his being given such a position, he may have demonstrated other aspects of being a leader or man of influence among Freedmen.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Not much is known about the descendants of Moses Whitmire and after over a century is it not known if they are aware of their ancestor's quest and position as a trustee for Cherokee Freedmen. Hopefully more will be known about Mr. Whitmire, the man, and of his quest to represent his community.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpcfnUrkCluhdAv9x7YmGIzH4KPEMvBqEbzAjb-mvkWRV233rbbYmJD9i4CbYj17oSAHlScwz-3i3Y2n7u00eRp9pUgF3XeFydSn3iOb390LemnBPhyNRHBuU1RwesVnhGzhHjd2hmytGC4WnvepII0crIsIMnYwAZDxzowByDWGxApkHdbKftJ2aD" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="1214" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpcfnUrkCluhdAv9x7YmGIzH4KPEMvBqEbzAjb-mvkWRV233rbbYmJD9i4CbYj17oSAHlScwz-3i3Y2n7u00eRp9pUgF3XeFydSn3iOb390LemnBPhyNRHBuU1RwesVnhGzhHjd2hmytGC4WnvepII0crIsIMnYwAZDxzowByDWGxApkHdbKftJ2aD=w621-h231" width="621" /></a><br /><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Cherokee Freedman Card #972</span></b><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; text-align: left;">Ancestry.com. </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #262626; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Oklahoma and Indian Territory, U.S., Dawes Census Cards for Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; text-align: left;"> [database on-line]. </span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; text-align: left;"><b>Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.</b></span></span></div></div></div><p></p><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #262626; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; text-align: left;">Original data: Enrollment Cards for the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914; </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; text-align: left;">(National Archives Microfilm Publication M1186, 93 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C</span></b></span></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div></div><p></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-31184334482617149442022-02-03T09:54:00.003-08:002022-02-03T09:54:59.255-08:00Oklahoma Freedmen History Month 2022 Unfolds<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8ag9q1GBUnhPSOAoOgHxNSOjauXz34eGzwaD1pJYv6XqEV23IQpZZ24C44Nf8NJIJnQk1FWgVXuHFKt-gIjAV-hjfEw8P6BNf_QOYybu4oKHx1Q5toVJ3Ll_cyyCaeufpKj1SjVBlsEnpm_MYBNqasJqc8Ka3yLmQdpMMEF9RhUp97bGFIz0lsdIz" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="830" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8ag9q1GBUnhPSOAoOgHxNSOjauXz34eGzwaD1pJYv6XqEV23IQpZZ24C44Nf8NJIJnQk1FWgVXuHFKt-gIjAV-hjfEw8P6BNf_QOYybu4oKHx1Q5toVJ3Ll_cyyCaeufpKj1SjVBlsEnpm_MYBNqasJqc8Ka3yLmQdpMMEF9RhUp97bGFIz0lsdIz" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">February has arrived and there are numerous expressions and celebrations of "Black History Month" that are unfolding throughout the nation. For genealogists of African descent of course every month is a celebration of "black history."<br /><br />However, from the perspective of Oklahoma history, and "Black history" the story of Freedmen---those once enslaved on Oklahoma soil, and their descendants---the story is missing. Yet, before the Civil Rights era in Oklahoma, before the Tulsa Massacre of 1921, and before the emerging of the "black towns of the early 20th century, people of African descent were well documented and present on the soil of Indian Territory. Brought first as enslaved people, then later classified as "Freedmen" these survivors created communities, built schools, established churches and contributed to the history and culture of their time. <br /><br />Therefore it is time to honor our Freedmen ancestors and to celebrate Freedmen History Month. This can be done in multiple ways. Here are a few methods of celebrating Freedman History Month.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><b>Methods of Celebrating Freedman History </b><br />-Share photos of your Okla. Freedman Ancestor in your social media groups.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-Write an article about your favorite Freedman Ancestor<br />-Share images of you Freedman Ancestral town or community.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-Take photos of important landmarks in your Freedman town<br />-Start a weekly blog about your Freedman community.<br />-Document on film your visit to the Freedman family burial ground.<br />-Interview a Freedman elder descendant about their life and share that interview.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-Explore some newspapers sites to find stories of the Freedman community.<br />-Tell a story that you have heard about your Freedman family.<br />-Take pictures of the old homestead where your family once lived.<br /><br /><b>Create Your Own Celebration Schedule<br /></b>You can honor your history any way you wish. <br /><b><br />Daily Option: </b><br />-You may wish to post a photo every day of your freedman family. <br />-If you are a writer or blogger, commit to writing a piece every day--short or long--about your history, or family or community<br />-If your Freedman ancestor was a crafter, share an image each day of their work---quilts, clothing, woodworking masonry work, art.<br /><br /><b>Weekly Option:</b><br />-Select one Freedman ancestor each week and devote the week about him/her. <br />-Interview one elder each week to collect some additional information about the family.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-Speak to anyone in the community who can talk about the old school where Freedmen attended.<br />-Share one family artifact each week.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Step Outside the Box---Get Creative</b><br />-Musical Talent? Write a song about the Freedman History (Ode to an Ancestor)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-Write a story featuring the Freedman ancestor as central character.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-Draw or paint rendering a Freedman ancestor or the whole family, at their work (farming, teaching, preaching, building, etc.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-Broadcast your passion for Freedman history: Create or host a blog radio show, or create a Freedman Youtube channel.<br />-Create a journal! Historical Journals can be once a year, or quarterly, or monthly! Create one. -Collaborate with others and become proactive with a unique project! (A mural, or an anthology of stories about the community, or assemble a team to create a montly or yearly journal about the Freedmen ancestors.<br /><br />You are only limited by your own imagination!<br /><br />Honor the ancestors during Freedman History Month! It could lead to new ventures in new arenas! Such an undertaking could bring about changes in your own life.</div><p></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-23111197574275653402022-01-30T14:47:00.000-08:002022-01-30T14:47:12.131-08:00New Book Discusses the AME Church Among Oklahoma Freedmen<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhCkIr57jSr-wl0FQRZ3dxE6wsu9jbxO7ir-zQWHEvtVZFUTlFSVvvITXtQueC6mrE5OMAiDCvL_ygPSV885SS1URlrShyeGTzUuadJNrejerGEunJqpqldkfB4xhFJHY4YAZvAEV1LWdUEUV-aLONHNumoIacz2Yq4P0Fw1xyFdYPjJ3XOrTeSour3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="435" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhCkIr57jSr-wl0FQRZ3dxE6wsu9jbxO7ir-zQWHEvtVZFUTlFSVvvITXtQueC6mrE5OMAiDCvL_ygPSV885SS1URlrShyeGTzUuadJNrejerGEunJqpqldkfB4xhFJHY4YAZvAEV1LWdUEUV-aLONHNumoIacz2Yq4P0Fw1xyFdYPjJ3XOrTeSour3" width="168" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Black-Indians-Freedmen-Methodist-Indigenous/dp/0252086252/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3AUR5IXOQL4MW&keywords=Black+Indians+and+Freedmen&qid=1643395723&sprefix=black+indians+and+freedmen%2Caps%2C70&sr=8-1">Black Indians & Freedmen</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><b>"By the time of emancipation, the enslaved population among the Five Civilized Tribes had become a hybrid people with both African/African American and Indigenous language culture and ancestry. After emancipation these Black Indians attempted to build lives for themselves in Indian Territory. They also sought to validate their Indigenous heritage by gaining formal citizenship within the Five Civilized Tribes. The tribes sometimes resisted such inclusion and denied that they had any cultural or blood ties to those they had formally enslaved."</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i> -Christine Dickerson-Cousin, author<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>* * * * *</i></b></div></i></b><br />A fascinating new book by Christine Dickerson-Cousin has recently been published. Entitled<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Black-Indians-Freedmen-Methodist-Indigenous/dp/0252086252/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3AUR5IXOQL4MW&keywords=Black+Indians+and+Freedmen&qid=1643395723&sprefix=black+indians+and+freedmen%2Caps%2C70&sr=8-1"> "Black Indians & Freedmen. The African Methodist Episcopal Church & Indigenous Americans, 1816-1916</a>.<br /><br />By the title one might think the book has an exclusive focus on the Freedmen from Indian Territory. By the sub-title one might think that the book is mostly a book about AME Church history. However, both assumptions are correct and there are some fascinating surprises with interesting data found in this 2021 published work.<br /><br />Author Christina Dickerson-Cousin has examined the role of the AME Church and the influence that the church had on both Freedmen and native communities throughout the Territory. The book eloquently presents fascinating pieces of data about people from all of the Five Tribes, and she has crafted a story opening a new chapter in the story of Freedmen. <br /><br />When discussion usually emerge about the impact that various church missionaries had in Indian Territory the story is one usually of the influence of Presbyterian Church, or the Baptist Church. Institutions such as <a href="https://african-nativeamerican.blogspot.com/2011/02/remembering-oak-hill-academy-for.html">Oak Hill Academy</a> established by Presbyterians, or <a href="https://african-nativeamerican.blogspot.com/2011/07/evangel-mission-school-for-creek.html">Evangel Mission</a> established as a Baptist school are well known.<br /><br />But one will learn about two more institutions seldom mentioned in Oklahoma history, nor in Freedmen history specifically. The mention of two AME church institutions are found among the many gems in this book. There is the final-chapter story of of the old Tullahassee Manual Labor School, which is found in the story of <u>Sisson Industrial Institute </u> and the story of <u>Flipper-Key-Davis University</u>.<br /><br />Some have asked questions about what eventually happened when the Tullahassee School ceased to be a school for Freedmen. The answers are found in this book, when the author points out that the school later became <u>Flipper-Key-Davis University</u> operated by the AME Church. <br /><br />Some smaller gems appear when names of some additional Freedmen groups are mentioned in passing, such as the <u>CCCA--the Choctaw Colored Citizen's Association</u> and the <u>Choctaw-Chickasaw Freedman's Grievance Association</u>. The mere mention of these little known groups in this book, provides opportunity for researchers to go and find information about the group, the members and some of their activities. Such an article was found in a newspaper from Broken Arrow, in 1905. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcHsnj6HkQTDHVHTXDI0x-_CuKzAaKVwFNd4f9pzgRsP6kajNTF_PHOC2PoXNMxTNAaePbosXl5FYdlbWtfS9_sgPnoejVWGbZTUfztzaVBJOQcucJlNvl6991WpAGNBxCTVsq7cwEpR0EYSBSOoy4wQbe6RD6GHUesmwnbcY561jkHukAt0-W7y2s" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="566" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcHsnj6HkQTDHVHTXDI0x-_CuKzAaKVwFNd4f9pzgRsP6kajNTF_PHOC2PoXNMxTNAaePbosXl5FYdlbWtfS9_sgPnoejVWGbZTUfztzaVBJOQcucJlNvl6991WpAGNBxCTVsq7cwEpR0EYSBSOoy4wQbe6RD6GHUesmwnbcY561jkHukAt0-W7y2s" width="317" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The <u>Choctaw Colored Citizens Association</u> also advocated for the rights of Freedmen and an account of some of their efforts are found in a publication out of Atoka in 1905.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVfTJwzB_oIImGRdhbNI9ljgpY5GSrle2p0udiaz_mTqUHD6WjeDyXxSOgayVIUshCpIQZGZ1K-mMmPmo51XFDzaKZRxty2OsTbplF9xFHdqxf1gUkbbU0OZUYtwgKjwN5BnlnPHmuL5zsnZ7OI3G4JYFJHjMCjVFtpHUfdT2d8JjV7-sCgdKf4FAB" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1701" data-original-width="1202" height="808" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVfTJwzB_oIImGRdhbNI9ljgpY5GSrle2p0udiaz_mTqUHD6WjeDyXxSOgayVIUshCpIQZGZ1K-mMmPmo51XFDzaKZRxty2OsTbplF9xFHdqxf1gUkbbU0OZUYtwgKjwN5BnlnPHmuL5zsnZ7OI3G4JYFJHjMCjVFtpHUfdT2d8JjV7-sCgdKf4FAB=w572-h808" width="572" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The book is quite useful to have in one's library, because it reveals the rolls that many other people took in their church, but also the greater community. Persons such as Emma Thompson Hampton, (daughter of Freedmen Pink and Lucy Thompson), and also Annie Keels, and both were mentioned reflecting other dimensions of their lives. The immersions of both into their communities and not only the involvement in church affairs but their status as people living within thow distinct cultural groups---their tribal community and also an African community.<br /><br />The most distinct aspect of this book as been the rare analysis of the Freedmen as a whole. It is appreciated that she clearly defines the Freedmen who they were coming from the worlds into which they were born. In the beginning of her she defines the Freedmen from the Territory in a seldom described and truly accurate way.<br /><br /><b><i>"By the time of emancipation, the enslaved population of the Five Civilized Tribes had become a hybrid people with both African/African American, and Indigenous language, culture and ancestry."</i></b><br /><br />She goes on to describe how Freedmen attempted to build lives for themselves, in the Territory where they were born. At the same time the author points out how the Freedmen sought to "validate their Indigenous heritage" by seeking citizenship in the nations of their birth. It was pointed out that the tribe sometimes resisted the inclusion of the Freedmen, and occasionally denied that there was any cultural or blood ties to the people that they had once enslaved. Because of this complex immersion into the two worlds, many Freedmen welcomed the presence of the AME Church and many found not only a church home, but also found a method of negotiating life in an occasionally hostile territory.<br /><br /><b>AME Church and Black Towns</b><br />One portion of the book also focuses on the role that the AMEChurch had in the development of Freedmen communities--the historic black town.. In one chapter the author goes into depth about how the AME Church helped established some of the Black Towns, and contributed to the success of those towns. She specifically mentions AME church members who were town residents of Red Bird, Clearview, Tatums, and Grayson.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Black-Indians-Freedmen-Methodist-Indigenous/dp/0252086252/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3NEWUEA5Q44VL&keywords=Black+Indians+and+Freedmen&qid=1643569884&sprefix=black+indians+and+freedmen%2Caps%2C320&sr=8-1">Black Indians & Freedmen</a> offers numerous gems that family historians, genealogists as well as church historians can all appreciate. Numerous scholars have bypassed the community<br /><br />It is a welcomed piece of scholarship that belongs in the personal libraries of many with ties to the Territory. The book is available on Amazon, and also directrly from the University of Illinois Press.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-24973699381950892702021-10-06T13:18:00.003-07:002021-10-06T13:18:24.607-07:00Seminole Freedmen Win Rights for Health Services<p> Earlier this year many were shocked when one of the members of the two Freedman Bands in the Seminole Nation showed up to receive a Covid Shot. She was refused service, then the Lighthorse police were called to escort her out of the building.<br /><br />The Freedman was a member of the tribe, and even serves on the tribal council as Chief of the Bruner band. Many were shocked how a person who serves her tribe, was turned away from a life saving vaccine, during a worldwide health epidemic. <br /><br />Well, today an interesting ruling has come down from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, declarining that Seminole Freedmen are eligible for Health Services of Indian Health Services--IHS.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7j36BBuJGw9WONIMBuIbNEXW-wUCmZ4yt-X9qlM10-gshM2z_VAR3LT4k6EyH38K-kBplosPVqsf8iS_1gvZ9dqeVSjtf_2YW9YRlFK376r2LZa64vjPogW9ReXSKPx_VF17YZn_lw0/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="819" height="571" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7j36BBuJGw9WONIMBuIbNEXW-wUCmZ4yt-X9qlM10-gshM2z_VAR3LT4k6EyH38K-kBplosPVqsf8iS_1gvZ9dqeVSjtf_2YW9YRlFK376r2LZa64vjPogW9ReXSKPx_VF17YZn_lw0/w640-h571/image.png" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">As enrolled members of a Federally recognized tribe they are eligible to receive these benefits. For many years health services have been denied to Freedmen. <br /><br />Seminole Freedmen are generations long members of the Seminole Community having arrived in Indian Territory in the 1840s many as free people. They lived among Seminoles for generations, and have been a part of the political structure of the tribe continaually. They are also people of African descent.<br /><br />However, the past 3 decades have brought many challenges to Seminole Freedmen with their status being challenged. In the 1980s a strong anti-black sentiment arose, and even to the point of disenrolling the Freedmen from the tribe. They filed suit and won their case, and were re-admitted. However, their admission came with a price. They were to receive no benefits as citizens. The only thing that they could do was vote for people running for office, but nothing more. No health services, no educatonal benefits, no assistance with housing issues, etc.<br /><br />The letter of October 5th from the Department of Human Services signals a change of direction. Those in the Freedmen community applaud this new development and many are hopeful that more changes will be seen coming from the other tribes of eastern Oklahoma.</div></div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-48915330880802554312021-03-02T21:44:00.003-08:002021-03-03T10:40:15.806-08:00Remarkable Freedwomen of Indian Territory<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkHPpCM3qlYweLTvP6YiCg32u7UPn0fFZUP5dMKHYtKHsnx-9qPVY93OPbiZ6s-vFRiQpxHkk_tCcnIIzki082tjiZhcVQVL7Ew96ElfZwMV1-XB3rdxe_LQ-P_NHPGB462k_b5egJzOQ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="790" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkHPpCM3qlYweLTvP6YiCg32u7UPn0fFZUP5dMKHYtKHsnx-9qPVY93OPbiZ6s-vFRiQpxHkk_tCcnIIzki082tjiZhcVQVL7Ew96ElfZwMV1-XB3rdxe_LQ-P_NHPGB462k_b5egJzOQ/" width="320" /></a><br />Left to Right:<br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Top Left-Sallie Walton, Top Center-Bettie Ligon, Right Center-Hagar Meyers<br />Bottom Left-Malinda Hall, Bottom Right-Lucinda Davis</span></b></div><br /><br />Since March is Women's History Month, I thought that I would honor some often overlooked Freedwomen from Indian Territory. <p></p><p>There are some women whose name should be said aloud. They are seldom mentioned in annals of Oklahoma history and even less so in the texts of tribal history. However, freedwomen from the Five former slaveholding tribe were not passive pawns in a system that worked against them. They lent their bodies and minds and spirit to cause to uplift those of their community. Some spoke up and showed courage during times of conflict. Others dared to resist and insist that they be acknowledged for who they were. Others simply told their story with all of the cultural nuances that they embraced. And others nurtured children who lived to tell their stories.</p><p>These were patient souls from whom we descend. Some were well known, and others were simply quiet steadfast warrior women, worked tirelessly in their own domain. It is from such women who were the matriarchs of the families, and we must speak their names. These daughters of Oklahoma soil should no longer be bypassed in the annals of history. We honor them.</p><p>So weekly I shall profile at least one Freedwoman from Indian Territory, whose life was an inspiration and whose story deserves to be told.<br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>To be honored this month: </b></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b><br /></b></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Sallie Walton</b>, Choctaw Freedwoman, Matriarch of the Walton family of Skullyville</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Bettie Ligon</b>, Choctaw & Chickasaw Freedwoman - Head Litigant in Equity 7071</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Hagar Meyers</b>, Creek Freedwoman - Peacemaker woman of courage of the Green Peach War</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Malinda Hall</b>, Choctaw Freedwoman - Instructor and Educator of Choctaw Freedmen</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Lucinda Davis</b> - Creek Freedwoman - Survivor of Slavery, cultural storyteller of life in Creek culture</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">May they never be forgotten.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-66296754689828657562021-02-21T19:39:00.000-08:002021-02-21T19:39:21.031-08:00Honoring Black Soldiers of the Indian Home Guards in the CivilWar<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">There are many men from Indian Territory who were enslaved in the Civil War. They escaped with Opotholeyahola into Kansas. Some joined the Kansas Colored Regiments, and they later became part of the US Colored Troops. But there were many who also remained with the Creeks and they too enlisted in the Union Army. The would participate in every major battle of the Civil War. From Cabin Creek, to Honey Springs, and points in between.</span></p><div>It is important to know that the Home Guards (1st, 2nd and 3rd) were the only Indian Union Regiments.</div><div>The remaining 20+ Native American regiments from the Five Tribes, were Confederates. <br /><br />The following is a partial list of soldiers who were of African descent. who served with the Indian Home Guards. May their legacy as freedom fighters in the Civil war be added to those of the Kansas Colored infantries and the regiments of the US Colored Troops. May they always be remembered.</div><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGMlHxsCvmYvCOWWDMLatfOLSh-bdFXTV1vIne9KpekTRvQOCfEko5c93g7uquCoH6SPVSmmxvb-gXyU3dRgi6OoatH-IFqRbQVrQs5ayixlBr9u1pE_LErXfoc-Y5YXVaapMG6vZRHY/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="883" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGMlHxsCvmYvCOWWDMLatfOLSh-bdFXTV1vIne9KpekTRvQOCfEko5c93g7uquCoH6SPVSmmxvb-gXyU3dRgi6OoatH-IFqRbQVrQs5ayixlBr9u1pE_LErXfoc-Y5YXVaapMG6vZRHY/" width="320" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Index to Pension File of Sugar George, Company H, 1st Indian Home Guards</b></span></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="text-align: center;">Black Soldiers of the Indian Home Guards </b></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Sugar T. George </b><br /><b>Wheat Baldridge</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Adam Dyle</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Samuel Barnett</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Dennis Harrod</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>George Marshall</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Green McGilvray</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Saucer Bradley</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Robert Benjamin</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Abram Colonel</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Harry Stedham</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Jacob Bernard</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Snow Sells</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Simon Brown</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>George Monday</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Abe Prince</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Billy Caesar</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>William Hawkins</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>John Cooks</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Jacob Perryman</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Dennis Marshall</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Manam Marshall</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Troy Stedham</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Sage Barnwell</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Toby Drew</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Thomas Marshall</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>James Quabner</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>William Peter</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Love Jimboy</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Tally Lewis</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Thomas Al </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Gabriel Jimison</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Solomon Renty</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Jacob McGilvray</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Pickett Renty</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Charles Renty</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>August Deer</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>George McGilvray</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Thomas Bruner (Identified as a free man of color)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>August Deer</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Abraham Caesar</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Latah Harjo</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Benjamin Ab</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Scipio Sancho</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Morris Kernell</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>James Kernell</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Ben Sancho</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Redman Kernell</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Peter Stedham</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Joseph Sambo (Sango)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Billy Hawkins (Identified as free man of color)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>John Kernell</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Jim Barnett (Identified as free man of color)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Aaron Sancho</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Samuel Wade </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Joe McGilvray</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>William Grayson</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Isaac Smith</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Tucker (This was Silas Jefferson)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Adam (Identified as free man of color)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Alex Hawkins</b><br /><b>York McGilbra<br /><br /></b><img alt="" src="http://www.blackpast.org/files/blackpast_images/jefferson_silas.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society)</span><br /><b style="font-size: small;">Silas Jefferson (enlisted as Tucker) was also a leader within the Creek Nation</b><br /><b><br /><br /></b></div>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-89049164292347882832021-02-20T19:10:00.006-08:002021-02-20T19:10:55.457-08:00Honoring Creek & Seminole Civil War Veterans<p>African Creeks were among the first men of African descent to find themselves in battle in the Civil <br />War. They were among the many who travelled with Creek leader Opotholeyahola into Kansas early in the war. <br /><br />Entering the free state of Kansas, new options were presented to them and they seized their freedom, enlisted in the Union Army and became soldiers in two regiments of the US Colored Troops. Their enlistment began as the 1st and 2nd Kansas Colored regiments. <br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;">By 1862, they engaged in battle in Missouri at the battle of Island Mound. They then moved into northern Arkansas, and were involved in numerous battles in Arkansas, and later their native Indian Territory. Their record is a distinguished one, and notable depictions of their actions at the Battle Honey Springs have been well documented. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Their courage and honor should never be forgotten. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWunvZZk3gLSQdI3xHfk6Jw87uoh0VjWSkcCg_cP8Iux8_donnCDijJqNBOR1dWFciZF4_PBuCTYMXNtXU1cUUUolE1KL456-pViIzb1jB0rjfZwqO0Dfe75RDSLrqwWohaxwCohDW3IA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="307" height="401" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWunvZZk3gLSQdI3xHfk6Jw87uoh0VjWSkcCg_cP8Iux8_donnCDijJqNBOR1dWFciZF4_PBuCTYMXNtXU1cUUUolE1KL456-pViIzb1jB0rjfZwqO0Dfe75RDSLrqwWohaxwCohDW3IA/w299-h401/image.png" width="299" /></a><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Headstone of Robert Bowleggs - 79th US Colored Infantry<br />National Cemetery, Ft. Smith Arkansas</span></b></div><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Partial List of Creek Freedmen in the 79th US Colored Infantry</span><br /><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-decoration-line: underline;">79</b><b style="text-decoration-line: underline;">th US Colored Infantry </b><br />Benjamin Barnett<br />William Bruner<br />August Deer<br />Scipio Gouge<br />Billy Island<br />George Jonah<br />Smart Lewis<br /><u><b><br /></b></u></p><p style="text-align: center;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">83rd US Colored Infantry</u><br />Abran Caesar<br />Edward Caesar<br />Phillip Caesar<br />William Caesar<br />Samuel Chambers<br />Henry Daniels<br />Adam Doyle<br />Tony Doyle<br />Jackson Gouge<br />Henry Grason<br />Aaron Grayson<br />Robert Grayson<br />William Grayson<br />Jack Hampton <br />Samuel Harry<br />Israel Hawkins<br />Jackson Holmes<br />William Jackson<br />Gabriel Jameson<br />George Jeffrey<br />Nessa Lovett<br />Isaac Marshall<br />Moses Marshall<br />Sandy Marshall<br />James McGilbry <br />Quash McGilbry<br />Wm McGilbry<br />Sandy Morrison<br />Jackson Perryman<br />Wm Peters<br />Adam Prince<br />Samuel Ranty<br />Soloman Ranty<br />Samuel Renty<br />Simon Renty<br />David Robinson<br />Jesse Taylor<br />Benjamin Thomas<br />Samuel Wade<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>Seminole Freedmen in the US Colored Troops<br /></b></u></span>Samuel Davis<br />Cyrus Bowleggs<br />George Bowleggs<br />Robert Rowleggs</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-177620632450604892021-02-18T21:16:00.006-08:002021-02-18T21:17:38.052-08:00Honoring Chickasaw Freedmen Civil War Veterans<p>Because the Chickasaw Nation was located farther away from military conflicts, opportunities for Union occupation, and recruitment of enslaved men to enlist in the Civil War were limited. Among the enslaved men in Indian Territory, Chickasaw-held people in bondage faced further restrictions on their movement. In addition, other tribes had begun to come into Chickasaw country with their slaves to avoid conflict and to reduce chances of enslaved people to get to the Union line and to find freedom.</p>However, some enslaved men of African descent did manage to find their way through war torn country in the Choctaw and Creek nations and they did manage to enlist. And for those few Chickasaw who managed to make their way from bondage, they are also honored here. In their honor an image from their military service file is placed here.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlYkT_aT4wDeneGvMKi6v1Z5rvrQA98UsuKVjgJSCtfRxVMr9tOeXGUzKwaWjc4wOBrn8ho8bWQxCfy6lbYoJ5kFSbCFIWuTxt11NRtoqACFO7sXl0pxpm3ELWCowzDGiqD6yzPx-msy8/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="395" height="485" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlYkT_aT4wDeneGvMKi6v1Z5rvrQA98UsuKVjgJSCtfRxVMr9tOeXGUzKwaWjc4wOBrn8ho8bWQxCfy6lbYoJ5kFSbCFIWuTxt11NRtoqACFO7sXl0pxpm3ELWCowzDGiqD6yzPx-msy8/w311-h485/image.png" width="311" /></a><br /><b>Boynton Colbert <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Bynum Colbert)</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">54th US Colored Infantry</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9cM55ETn5iTYaaAtLxmXfPoYnhqQliJi9kqtSEoEtGL_du-12M4Dbx_82DNByn90yRc8Waei7MgufIJVmUzjO1E2bGpYdYEd6UC1VlAI-AmZgEgeNSOhSAtvO4rhlspHmtUJyp9d533Q/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="278" height="644" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9cM55ETn5iTYaaAtLxmXfPoYnhqQliJi9kqtSEoEtGL_du-12M4Dbx_82DNByn90yRc8Waei7MgufIJVmUzjO1E2bGpYdYEd6UC1VlAI-AmZgEgeNSOhSAtvO4rhlspHmtUJyp9d533Q/w309-h644/image.png" width="309" /></a><br /><b>Isaac Alexander 79th US Colored Infantry</b></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiuSzzlJXpsNBv1UolYcD0NAD-itYIi5aWrAyf8wQnpXlWdOqAYXNhGkyHgZaZjDLECICGxJGR6U3tLVyjI-V5cGmzdGTLt-seF_57Jq27c-vk9hlGS-MfKV6IuR666NSR7VnEMH-afE0/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="468" height="710" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiuSzzlJXpsNBv1UolYcD0NAD-itYIi5aWrAyf8wQnpXlWdOqAYXNhGkyHgZaZjDLECICGxJGR6U3tLVyjI-V5cGmzdGTLt-seF_57Jq27c-vk9hlGS-MfKV6IuR666NSR7VnEMH-afE0/w292-h710/image.png" width="292" /></a><br /><b>Quash Bear, 79th US Colored Infantry</b></div><br /><br /><br /><p></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-69623837028897310372021-02-17T10:55:00.000-08:002021-02-17T10:55:01.850-08:00Honoring Choctaw Freedmen Civil War Freedom Fighters<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvE98eTCXR1qU01kkDUbhEl-nKdndOHrDOcUEjVLp72xZA9wU_01Vw6E04uOZV4IngyB_Ya1c7B_-bHYqZG76s-4ShHwDXQaRebnwFsC8qxA3xlMAXyQRVphoNi6dZlJmsYg880ya9CU/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="472" height="708" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvE98eTCXR1qU01kkDUbhEl-nKdndOHrDOcUEjVLp72xZA9wU_01Vw6E04uOZV4IngyB_Ya1c7B_-bHYqZG76s-4ShHwDXQaRebnwFsC8qxA3xlMAXyQRVphoNi6dZlJmsYg880ya9CU/w295-h708/image.png" width="295" /></a><br /><b><a href="https://www.fold3.com/image/295625661"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Accessed from Fold3.com:<br />Civil War Service Records (CMSR) Union-Colored Troops 56th-138th Infantry<br />83rd US Colored Infantry (New)<br />Dickson Williams</span></a></b><br /></div><p></p><p>People enslaved in the Choctaw Nation found themselves close to incredible activity that would change the trajectory of their lives. The time was 1863 and the conflicts of the Civil War was close by. Many lived in proximity to the Arkansas state line, and nearby Fort Smith provided an opportunity to seize their own freedom and to enlist in the Union Army. Several regiments recruited soldiers from both Cherokee and Choctaw Nations when they were encamped there. For the enslaved men, with their slave holders and overseers from the two tribe having joined the confederate army, there was no one to prevent them from seizing their freedom and enlisting. They walked off the plantations and farms were they were held in bondage, and walked into freedom, and committed themselves to fight for the freedom of those left behind.</p><p>When Union forces came into Fort Smith one of the regiments that was organized in that city was the 11th US Colored Infantry. Some from the Skullyville district of the Choctaw Nation heard the call for able bodied men, and they enlisted. Others living in close proximity to Cherokee and Creek areas enlisted in the 79th and 83rd, which had been formed from the Kansas Colored regiments. And later when those units came back through Fort Smith more opportunity came for Choctaw held slaves to enlist.<br /><br />As the war continued and they entered the conflict, some would not survive the war and live to see freedom. But others would survive, and lived several decades afterward, but died before statehood and the land allotment era, in their native Choctaw Nation. But these men served and are honored here. And it should be noted that for many their service is the only footprint on paper that is left that bears their name.<br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;">This is written to honor those men of courage whose names are seldom mentioned, but whose names belong on the Wall of honor of freedom fighters of Indian Territory. They are among the forgotten sons of Oklahoma, whose names I call, as Freedman History Month continues.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Partial List of Choctaw Freedmen in the Union Army</b></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">11th US Colored Infantry</u><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Theodrick Birgit</div><div style="text-align: center;">Thomas Blackwater</div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>79th US Colored Infantry</u></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Samuel Burris</div><div style="text-align: center;">Jefferson Rogers</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>83rd US Colored Infantry</u></b></div></b><div style="text-align: center;">Mobile Boyd</div><div style="text-align: center;">George Boyd</div><div style="text-align: center;">Ephraim Clark</div><div style="text-align: center;">Simon Clark</div><div style="text-align: center;">Joseph Dunforth</div><div style="text-align: center;">Phillip Fulsom</div><div style="text-align: center;">Austin Geary</div><div style="text-align: center;">Robert Hawkins</div><div style="text-align: center;">Hommedy James</div><div style="text-align: center;">Richard La Fleur</div><div style="text-align: center;">Jackson Monroe</div><div style="text-align: center;">Aaron Newberry</div><div style="text-align: center;">Cannon Ormsby</div><div style="text-align: center;">Thomas Phillips</div><div style="text-align: center;">Phillip Rushington</div><div style="text-align: center;">Duncan Walker</div><div style="text-align: center;">Dickson Williams</div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><p></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-91545556586338694142021-02-16T11:34:00.005-08:002021-02-17T11:28:26.638-08:00Honoring Cherokee Freedmen Civil War Freedom Fighters<p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></blockquote><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcI8VoyID2dvmJbHLXznoJQ9kh8X8hfaZxaXaFkDD6YrP47AkFu0n-FCpKvqTMe84B0mjWg7wnvFKWPIRKVMugDriMOGRxfFObwr1zjw2naCFvzQrdfLHOAvLD_n78ccoV7W3Ee0XlUc/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1084" data-original-width="470" height="760" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcI8VoyID2dvmJbHLXznoJQ9kh8X8hfaZxaXaFkDD6YrP47AkFu0n-FCpKvqTMe84B0mjWg7wnvFKWPIRKVMugDriMOGRxfFObwr1zjw2naCFvzQrdfLHOAvLD_n78ccoV7W3Ee0XlUc/w329-h760/image.png" width="329" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p> In the US Civil War, men of African Descent were active in the quest for freedom. Some had followed Creeks into Kansas. While there, some found themselves in a new status--that of free men. The opportunity to engage in the battle for freedom, several enlisted in one of three groups--Indian Home Guards, 1st and 2nd Kansas Colored Infantries, or the US Colored Troops. Note that the 1st and 2nd Kansas Colored regiments were later re-designated as the 79th and 83rd US Colored Infantries, respectively.</p><p>Cherokee Freedmen are found mostly among US Colored Troops, in both 79th and 83rd regiments. However, a few names are found in other regiments as well. <br /><br />To honor Cherokee Freedmen Civil War Soldiers a partial list is placed here. Additional research is much needed to compile a comprehensive list, and hopefully someday such a project will be undertaken. Many of these men died during the war, and others died prior to the Dawes enrollment era, so many names have simply been forgotten with time. And some were born and enslaved in the Cherokee Nation, but moved away from the Territory in later years. Thankfully, Civil War records reflect their names, and their place of birth, their names can still be called and should be remembered.<br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Partial List of Cherokee Freedmen Civil War Soldiers</span></b><br /><br /><u><b>Indian Home Guards</b><br /></u>Buck Bushyhead<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>11th US Colored Infantry</b></u></div><div style="text-align: center;">Aron Alberty <br />George Bench</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>79th US Colored Infantry</b><br /></u></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">Moses Carter</div><div style="text-align: center;">Wiley Carter<br />Thomas Daniels<br />George C. Davis<br />Isaac Rogers<br />Franklin Ross<br />Nelson Ross<br />Thomas Ross<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>83rd US Colored Infantry</b></u></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">Amos Adair</div><div style="text-align: center;">Andrew Brewer<br />Jacob Brewer<br />George Bushyhead</div><div style="text-align: center;">Moses Fields<br />Zachary Foreman<br />William Funkhauser<br />James Geary</div><div style="text-align: center;">Ephraim Isaac<br />Andrew Johnson<br />George Johnson</div><div style="text-align: center;">Israel Johnson<br />Moses Johnson<br />Henry Kidd<br />Dick Linch (Lynch)<br />George Martin<br />Hugh Martin<br />Toby Martin<br />Melton Washington<br />Edward Peter<br />Lewis Theodore<br />Burgess Thomas<br />John Webb<br />Daniel Webster<br />David Whitman<br />William Anderson<br />Aughter Williams</div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">May the service of these men of the Cherokee Nation who served honorably in the Civil War and the quest for freedom, be remembered and honored. </p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-38839040824183536442021-02-15T09:50:00.001-08:002021-02-15T09:50:28.704-08:00Honoring I.T. Freedmen Civil War Veterans <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs017vsa8ZjzYPrmp1hhNp5PACUw5mqqocOGxSEKY_5qt4Pxv7oTsgjAhI6i9Tu9xFBN412PRujA-CRxKt3Kg-MR632oPyZGj0XI7na2yCIOoz9txiPm3lIHUAwTXaEvaGucPyXx5ApDk/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="893" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs017vsa8ZjzYPrmp1hhNp5PACUw5mqqocOGxSEKY_5qt4Pxv7oTsgjAhI6i9Tu9xFBN412PRujA-CRxKt3Kg-MR632oPyZGj0XI7na2yCIOoz9txiPm3lIHUAwTXaEvaGucPyXx5ApDk/" width="320" /></a><br /><u><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Painting Depicting 1st Kansas Colored Infantry<br /><span style="color: red;">This unit consisted of many men from both Cherokee and Creek Nations</span><br />Image accessed from Black Past.org</span></b></u></div><br />Among the missing stories fromt Oklahoma and it pre-staehood history are the stories of slavery, the quest for freedom and the stories of the Freedmen. Embedded in the quest for freedom comes the story of men both enslaved and free, who enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. This untold Oklahoma story is rich reflecting stories of courageous of these black freedom fighters who joined the battle for freedom. They are honored this week during Freedmen History Month<p></p><p>Almost 200,000 men of African descent served in the American Civil War. Within that large number were men who served in several portions of the Union Army--the United States Colored Troops, the Indian Home Guards and the 1st & 2nd Kansas Colored.</p><p>Within these units were men who had a background that distinguishes them from other soldiers. These men had lived in Indian Territory, within Five native tribes. Many had been slaves while in these tribes, and some or their parents had come to the Territory on the forced migration known widely as the Trail of Tears. The tribes from which they came are Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations.</p><p>Many of these men have their names inscribed on the Civil War monument in Washington DC. Their participation in the Civil War is not widely known, even by many who descend from them. However, their legacy is a strong one, and as a result they are to be honored throughout this week, of Freedmen History month.<br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Regiments in Which They Served</span></b></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">1st Indian Home Guards</div><div style="text-align: center;">2nd Indian Home Guards</div><div style="text-align: center;">3rd Indian Home Guards</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">1st Kansas Colored Infantry</div><div style="text-align: center;">2nd Kansas Colored Infantry</div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">11th US Colored Infantry</div><div style="text-align: center;">54th US Colored Infantry</div><div style="text-align: center;">79th US Colored Infantry</div><div style="text-align: center;">83rd US Colored Infantry</div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Battles in Which They Fought</span></b></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Baxter Springs</u>,</b> October 6, 1863 Kansas 2nd US Kansas Colored Infantry</div><u><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>Boggs Mills</b>,</u> January 11, 1864 Arkansas 11th US Colored Infantry</div></u><u><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>Cabin Creek,</b></u> Cherokee Nation July 1-2 1863 and Nov 4,1865 2nd Kansas Colored, & 83rd US Colored Infantry</div></u><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Clarksville</u> </b>January 18th 1865 79th US Colored Infantry</div></b><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Cow Creek</u></b>, Kansas November 14th 1864 54th US Colored Infantry</div></b><u><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>Ft. Gibson, </b></u>September 16,1864 79th US Colored Infantry</div></u><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Horse Head Creek</u></b> Arkansas February 17, 1864 79th US Colored Infantry</div></b><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Honey Springs </u></b>July 17m 1864 1st Kansas Colored Infantry</div></b><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Island Mound, </u></b>Missouri October 27th & 29th 1862 1st Kansas Colored Infantry</div></b><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Jenkins Ferry</b> Arkansas April 30th 1864 83rd US Colored Infantry</div></b><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Lawrence</u></b> Kansas July 27th 1869 79th US Colored Infantry</div></b><u><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>Lotus Steamer</b></u> (near Dardanelle) Jan 16, 1865 83rd US Colored Infantry</div></u><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Poison Springs</u></b> Arkansas April 18th 1864 1st Kansas Colored Infantry</div></b><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Prairie D'Ann</u></b> April 13th 1864 1st & 2nd Kansas Colored Infantries</div></b><u><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>Timber Hills</b></u>, November 19th 1864 1st Kansas Colored Infantry</div></u><p></p><p>May the forgotten freedom fighters from Indian Territory long be remembered. Their legacy should no longer be overlooked.<br /><br /><br /></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-65986689980334604462021-02-13T21:49:00.000-08:002021-02-13T21:49:44.957-08:00Remembering Oak Hill Academy & Dawes Academy<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvldq7rkB28PaHGt5uvU3KRFj0XV5r5s_nCQEw1mBZa8RYo473IWgbnFwn0qNyPDSML93Jld2zJerDdzceEZPOOSDtPOoCqGuBm2fP23ixCCuBOBiT9MxoT4wY2JaV8Z3go904dhYeEA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="651" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvldq7rkB28PaHGt5uvU3KRFj0XV5r5s_nCQEw1mBZa8RYo473IWgbnFwn0qNyPDSML93Jld2zJerDdzceEZPOOSDtPOoCqGuBm2fP23ixCCuBOBiT9MxoT4wY2JaV8Z3go904dhYeEA/w508-h383/image.png" width="508" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thanks to the work of Robert Flickinger, the history of <a href="https://heritagebooks.com/products/101-f2222?_pos=1&_sid=1c4c364b9&_ss=r">Oak Hill Academy</a> is known. This school was founded by Presbyterians who lived and worked in the Choctaw Nation. The school was established in the late 1880s when the goal was to bring education to children of Choctaw Freedmen. The school was noted for the immaculate grounds and the structures of dormitories for both boys and girls. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Many of the graduates of Oak Hill remained in the area to emerge as leaders. <a href="http://choctawfreedmenlegacy.blogspot.com/2013/04/wiley-homer-minister-educator-and.html">Wiley Homer</a> established a church in the area working with the Presbytery of Kiamitia. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4fXTvzjP2_W3MmGqKIuoredcIt7Qh2ME6_v5MIniM7u36859ofeoYcywD7V8wWVvLAOVyUZWQ6tWV6OBhVbHmXHq0TUXTmiw65zxKmr-F-kxBRr0-V4d9nguS5CxYpoaA2CoCx6gbGo/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="623" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4fXTvzjP2_W3MmGqKIuoredcIt7Qh2ME6_v5MIniM7u36859ofeoYcywD7V8wWVvLAOVyUZWQ6tWV6OBhVbHmXHq0TUXTmiw65zxKmr-F-kxBRr0-V4d9nguS5CxYpoaA2CoCx6gbGo/" width="320" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Wiley Homer with Presbyterian Church in Grant, I.T.<br />Homer was a notable graduate of Oak Hill Academy</b></span></div><br />A roster of students who attended has not yet been found, but the work by Flickinger written in 1914 did include some impressive images of several of the students, staff, and also the grounds of the school. The name was later changed to Elliott Memorial in 1912 and was remembered for many years after that time as Elliott Memorial. A historical marker is located near Valiant Oklahoma dedicated to the memory of the school once known as Oak Hill.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-g94k8UKMz6eQQBcpf-RUYvGzhwqw7JeedKs-GRQt6ip8zLsagilb8UTjGn8AWu0fkUCGG2Oi1eU9pJqeqp2mb8Qlcx0wGydACiBfT-Stnv0y3zoK8IbDZzM4qNeCgmzUyNzwOZcOynU/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="412" data-original-width="280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-g94k8UKMz6eQQBcpf-RUYvGzhwqw7JeedKs-GRQt6ip8zLsagilb8UTjGn8AWu0fkUCGG2Oi1eU9pJqeqp2mb8Qlcx0wGydACiBfT-Stnv0y3zoK8IbDZzM4qNeCgmzUyNzwOZcOynU/" width="163" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Marker for Elliott Academy - Oak Hill Academy<br /><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">* * * * * </span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNFNrYZynZmiEdvozj6f4zfww8Lhx1b1xQksgdl43qmbNMCqxbhNlvO4KIAI9X-58vqPMUDpO8nvh5DYQMn8W_KPtE_Wc9HaqgT672GA6eU90NOesvjkUP8F9a8MpKdlPm0FYYIMwfPg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="288" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNFNrYZynZmiEdvozj6f4zfww8Lhx1b1xQksgdl43qmbNMCqxbhNlvO4KIAI9X-58vqPMUDpO8nvh5DYQMn8W_KPtE_Wc9HaqgT672GA6eU90NOesvjkUP8F9a8MpKdlPm0FYYIMwfPg/" width="246" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Source:</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Daily Oklahoman<br />Oklahoma City, Oklahoma<br />August 8, 1971</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In 1901 a decision was made by a group of Chickasaw Freedmen to establish a literary and industrial school near Berwyn. An appeal was made to the public for assistance in purchasing the property to become Dawes Academy.<br /><br /><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRv3Z1k2vW5Odu7saXn04g4y7XYzhHmWBuZHKlqNuJ3oA7YNoRd2bbT3it_kJMJhxWFfuHiDzlSdm4r0xyInOOUx8R3cxapzQegPBRxY795lSXAgTkLj-UFJ9-X6NlaHChOveIwd2E1hQ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="546" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRv3Z1k2vW5Odu7saXn04g4y7XYzhHmWBuZHKlqNuJ3oA7YNoRd2bbT3it_kJMJhxWFfuHiDzlSdm4r0xyInOOUx8R3cxapzQegPBRxY795lSXAgTkLj-UFJ9-X6NlaHChOveIwd2E1hQ/" width="142" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The school did not last many years after statehood, and by the 1920s a segregated school system was established throughout Oklahoma, and local public schools were established. Years later an article appeared in the local newspaper, the Daily Ardmorite about the school in May 1969. Following that article Mrs. Gladys Rhodes wrote a letter to the editor, describing the exact location of Dawes Academy in response. Additional notes about the school were later added to the letter as note, perhaps by the recipients interested in the school's history on the newspaper staff.<br /><br />Transcription of letter</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><b><i> Sulphur Oklahoma<br /> May 16th 1969</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i>Dear Sir:<br /><br />In regard to the Reporter's Notebook in the Daily Ardmorite of May 15th, the Dawes Mission School is about three miles north of Berwyn, now Gene Autry, and six miles east of Springer, in later years it was known as Dawes Academy.<br /><br />A church is still there, known as Calvary Baptist. You ask for this information.<br /><br />Very Respectfully,<br /><br />Mrs. Gladys Rhodes</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>1428 W. Vinita<br />Sulphur 73086</b><br /><br />An image of the letter, followed by a close up image, both appear below. Also several interesting notations were written upon the letter clearly written in a different handwriting, possibly by newspaper staff.<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFtoIA6gwdMfIExZpQNMXhHfSZiTgYt3mu0tuZC1TigHvCCoEikOY31Sm0rOtXn2_83xEKBf12CPb0_MHa49B3_rxFupN7fDY5j0cDOwrnRUU4L2npT5dfcdjZH5AjvI6hpg0WNNRFd4/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="474" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFtoIA6gwdMfIExZpQNMXhHfSZiTgYt3mu0tuZC1TigHvCCoEikOY31Sm0rOtXn2_83xEKBf12CPb0_MHa49B3_rxFupN7fDY5j0cDOwrnRUU4L2npT5dfcdjZH5AjvI6hpg0WNNRFd4/w280-h360/image.png" width="280" /></a><br /><i><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Letter sent to Daily Ardmorite about Dawes Academy in 1969</span></b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2gABan3X2CrKr09vaS9msIg-JVzcRfCwt6es6oGuToKH1TT4GOv6kTSGMIK7LGE9t_e0CctEERcL_vGzXxsAjXiJunhQtFqWzafqis8_Ne1SBZ_UN3k01zyk35KxZzcWagcsWagqsfs/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="737" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2gABan3X2CrKr09vaS9msIg-JVzcRfCwt6es6oGuToKH1TT4GOv6kTSGMIK7LGE9t_e0CctEERcL_vGzXxsAjXiJunhQtFqWzafqis8_Ne1SBZ_UN3k01zyk35KxZzcWagcsWagqsfs/w481-h414/image.png" width="481" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Close up of letter sent to the Daily Ardmorite</span></b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span class="ark__cite--author" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Gladys Rhodes, Mrs.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="ark__cite--title" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Dawes Academy</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">, </span><span class="ark__cite--type" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">text</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">, </span><span class="ark__cite--type" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Date Unknown; </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">(</span><a class="ark__cite--permalink" href="https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1625461/" id="citation-permalink" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #7d430e; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; outline-offset: -2px; outline: -webkit-focus-ring-color auto 5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: start;">https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1625461/</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">: </span><span class="ark__cite--accessed" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">accessed February 13, 2021</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">), </span><span class="ark__cite--site" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">The Gateway to Oklahoma History, <a href="https://gateway.okhistory.org/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c26716; text-decoration-line: none;">https://gateway.okhistory.org</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">; crediting </span><span class="ark__cite--partner" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Ardmore Public Library</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #575656; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">.</span></span><b style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></b><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">A sketch of the school was found in an old article from the Daily Oklahoman. The article described the history of the old Calvary Baptist Church, and included an image of the old church with attached school.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Over the years various articles about Dawes Academy have appeared in the press. One such article about education in the Territory included a statement written by Attorney B.C. Franklin. </div></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBlQ1A1_9wURt4AakqfhG-GajSJVbKY5G9Xv6SqB1Swo2pXkRRMrBquLvcL5t4tr5BVhD7x25E_U3Iaw2rzfrBpGgHHqpa_xbDqv_cthMqJTdCRQKhZZPxBuMbFxFCs6619PnGD1WP8zg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="223" data-original-width="490" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBlQ1A1_9wURt4AakqfhG-GajSJVbKY5G9Xv6SqB1Swo2pXkRRMrBquLvcL5t4tr5BVhD7x25E_U3Iaw2rzfrBpGgHHqpa_xbDqv_cthMqJTdCRQKhZZPxBuMbFxFCs6619PnGD1WP8zg/w427-h195/image.png" width="427" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>In the same article from the <i>Daily Oklahoman </i>(cited below image of church) it is revealed that Miss Mary Elizabeth Allen, who married Hiram Dawes, and it was they who migrated to the Territory to work "among the Negroes in Muskogee." After her husband's death she raised about $1000 and started a school in Berwyn. In 1893 she gave management of the school to the Baptist Home Missionary Society. It is said that the school was named in honor of her husband. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXAYJ7PM0lLq-cM1jT-dwf3wgHfo0GekjORhz7Rpd1VVEm4OgZ7fRKkfyc0ptl3HYk9omZU3QlWY5lLOmpAc7M8Ga-BniAfDiTYct7VFFj1RIJpycMQtvjwq5EjaHNwPqFHdA-YiF6BCI/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="300" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXAYJ7PM0lLq-cM1jT-dwf3wgHfo0GekjORhz7Rpd1VVEm4OgZ7fRKkfyc0ptl3HYk9omZU3QlWY5lLOmpAc7M8Ga-BniAfDiTYct7VFFj1RIJpycMQtvjwq5EjaHNwPqFHdA-YiF6BCI/w332-h406/image.png" width="332" /></a><br /><b style="font-size: small;">The Daily Oklahoman<br />Oklahoma City, Oklahoma<br />August 8, 1971</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Although little else is known about Dawes Academy, hopefully it will not be forgotten as one of the pre-statehood schools for Freedmen of Indian Territory.<br /><br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-36831478373053515882021-02-12T15:21:00.007-08:002021-02-13T13:53:59.284-08:00Remembering Evangel Mission for Creek Freedmen in Muskogee<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgWVRR_i7Dom-pNvBrWCdFcj2E_hg9kQveZFzfr5eOD2mns6rP5O5CLOyUNwyUOFumyNPLV2ngQ6RKYr61yb8rb2E2uRJ8quJ_FKMKm_CQsQ2depiJ6_oqE8UBNQqhBjZIaDwUxAaVII/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="857" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgWVRR_i7Dom-pNvBrWCdFcj2E_hg9kQveZFzfr5eOD2mns6rP5O5CLOyUNwyUOFumyNPLV2ngQ6RKYr61yb8rb2E2uRJ8quJ_FKMKm_CQsQ2depiJ6_oqE8UBNQqhBjZIaDwUxAaVII/w507-h317/image.png" width="507" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Evangel Mission School, Muskogee I.T.</i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>At the top of the old Agency Hill area in Muskogee, one finds the only Freedman school from the 19th century, that is still standing. The school was once known as Evangel Mission School, which was a school and residence for Creek Freedmen. Prior to the establishment of the school in the 1880s, itw as the site of the old Creek Agency, from which the term Agency Hill comes.<br /><br />Beyond the <a href="https://african-nativeamerican.blogspot.com/2011/07/evangel-mission-school-for-creek.html">original article</a> that I wrote about Evangel Mission in 2011, this is simply an effort to place the history of this school in the minds of those who study the African American presence in Muskogee, Oklahoma.<br /><br />This building that now holds the only still-standing structure built for Oklahoma Freedmen, is now known as the Five Civilized Tribes Museum. Many historical markers and notable aspects of the history of the area are found upon the grounds of the Museum. However, unfortunately, not one item mentioning the school, its founders, nor the students can be found. The black history of this former structure has been omitted.<br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">A few facts about Evangel Mission School</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">-Established in 1883 by Baptist Missionaries</div><div style="text-align: center;">-Ira A. Cain, President/Superintendent of the School</div><div style="text-align: center;">-Located in the old Muskogee Agency building</div><div style="text-align: center;">-Names and Number of Students and Teachers: unknown to this day.</div><div style="text-align: center;">-Uses of the school building--Dance Hall, Tea Rooms, American Legion</div><div style="text-align: center;">-Current use: Five Civilized Tribes Museum</div><br /><p></p><p>Hopefully someday more details about the school, the staff, and students will be known, but it is remembered during Freedmen history month. May those with ties to this part of Muskogee history, and Creek Freedmen history bring forth it's story.<br /><br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieywuDdpEYfjAmc3XwtJvWgM-inzz4HbKRL__HaWuc2W-gvI8sYQVo3VLLg1ND-1jO2H4uTHYqdvL1BvbtVzaD-dm6ZvPy60HMiWIXMietxtyuHl9YYI1XDL_9LEimNPlxe7O-tD9WDr4/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="1035" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieywuDdpEYfjAmc3XwtJvWgM-inzz4HbKRL__HaWuc2W-gvI8sYQVo3VLLg1ND-1jO2H4uTHYqdvL1BvbtVzaD-dm6ZvPy60HMiWIXMietxtyuHl9YYI1XDL_9LEimNPlxe7O-tD9WDr4/w516-h266/image.png" width="516" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Evangel Mission School Today</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ldz-DEB4ARKBLiA30XiXtSTehu6SDmtSrtHxGuzAWFdMlmoAisXAPi_Tje4Hvp5HpQtEHPCDzBZlHy9ql1guSUwoGBa3QiG5OfmIbZugs1g6lfHvDyhFneEfGP-Wjc6h-5vYR07BqL0/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="795" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ldz-DEB4ARKBLiA30XiXtSTehu6SDmtSrtHxGuzAWFdMlmoAisXAPi_Tje4Hvp5HpQtEHPCDzBZlHy9ql1guSUwoGBa3QiG5OfmIbZugs1g6lfHvDyhFneEfGP-Wjc6h-5vYR07BqL0/w466-h354/image.png" width="466" /></a><br /><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Five Civilized Tribes Museum</b></span></i></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692036423578234815.post-81444253240960875432021-02-11T15:16:00.001-08:002021-02-11T15:16:23.330-08:00Remembering the Creek and Seminole College of Boley<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmQxN07uiCEdau-Xr_2L-Kcd1x_eEYp1dCG4R8WagkZ385jiWXGVYL61yschVlkjlK1UkEFP7k_JEV9Jwgi56z3EINJ__PeFS54yXja1oyyPOY5akt4PAACXV0mHoYtY7AZ_sMlKXH8w/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1262" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmQxN07uiCEdau-Xr_2L-Kcd1x_eEYp1dCG4R8WagkZ385jiWXGVYL61yschVlkjlK1UkEFP7k_JEV9Jwgi56z3EINJ__PeFS54yXja1oyyPOY5akt4PAACXV0mHoYtY7AZ_sMlKXH8w/w503-h347/image.png" width="503" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b>Courtesy of Oklahoma Historical Society</b></i></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Like the other institutions, nothing remains of the old Creek and Seminole College, an educational institution built on five acres of land donated by Lucinda Holloway McCormick. The founder was John Leftwich of Alabama who was strongly influenced by Tuskegee founder, Booker T. Washington.<br /><br />The school was sustained mostly by donations and endured several years of financial distress. In 1912 a tragic fire struck the school, which resulted in the deaths of 5 of the students. The fire closed the school for several years, but by 1916 the school was removed to Clearview, and the Creek Seminole Baptist college was established there. The school operated till the mid 1920s before closing its doors, never to reopen.<br /><br />The few short years of the Creek Seminole College were an effort to bring education to Freedmen communities in Oklahoma, a land where the new state law of segregation brought more obstacles to the descendants of Freed people. Though the life of the school was short, its history is remembered here, in an effort to honor institutions that should be a part of the narrative of Oklahoma's Freedmen.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Angela Y. Walton-Rajihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987860835348165902noreply@blogger.com0