Remembering the Children of the Oil Fields

Today, is the opening day of the film Sarah's Oil. The film depicts the story of a young girl, Sarah Rector of Taft Oklahoma who was alloted 160 acres of land on account of her citizenship in the Creek Nation. To the surprise of many, her land contained oil and upon that discovery, she became a target of many who wanted access to her, and her land.

The film will undoubtedly create the interest of many about her life. However, Sarah's story is part of a larger story of other oil-field children, all black children, and all descendants of former slaves held in bondage in the Creek Nation where they once lived. Sarah's story is also the same as that of Dan Tucker, Sallie Hodge, Luther Manue, twins-Edith and Edna Durant, and siblings Herbert and Castella Sells.

Sarah's story is special because she lived to enjoy the fruit of her allotment. Luther Manuel died penniless, it is said. The Sells children were killed by the plot to obtain their land. Their home was destroyed by dynamite blast, and it is not clear if anyone was ever punished for the crime. The fate of the other children of the oil fields has yet to become widely known.

However their stories belong to all of us who descend from Oklahoma Freedmen. They obtained land allotments through the Dawes Allotment Act that alloted lands to citizens of the Five Tribes, each of whom once brougt enslaved people to Indian Territory.  Before Oklahoma statehood the lands were allotted to those who could prove their ties to the Five Tribes. Over 20,000 people classified as Freedmen received allotments of land.

So as we celebrate the success of the life of Sarah Rector, we also remember the other children of the oil fields, and let the legacy of Sarah Rector Campbell Crawford encourage others to explore this unique and critical missing chapter of Oklahoma's history.

Sarah Rector

Courtesy of Sarah Campbell

Luther Manuel Gravesite,
Cane Creek, Okmulgee Oklahoma
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Edith Durant Harrison
Can Creek Cemetery, Okmulgee Oklahoma
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Edna Durant Simmons
Cane Creek Cemetery, Okmulgee Oklahoma
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Herbert & Castella Sells
Blackjack Cemetery, Taft Oklahoma
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Renewed Interest in Sarah Rector's Story

 

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Image from Trailer for MGM Studios Film of Sarah's Oil

Exitement has arisen with the recent production of the film Sarah's Oil, released this coming weekend in movie theatres around the nation.

The story highlights the story of a young girl who was a Creek Nation citizen living in Taft Oklahoma. As a citizen, she received a land allotment of 160s acres, near the Cimarron River. To the surprise of many, her allotment contain an impressive amount of oil. Once that was discovered, her life was changed, as many people tried to obtain access to her land and her money. 

Fifteen years ago I wrote a blog article entitled Remembering Sarah Rector Creek Freedwoman.

                                             

First Blog Post About Sarah from 2010

Four years later, I had  the honor of being consulted by author Tonya Bolden in her book Searching for Sarah Rector. 

Blog post about Tonya Bolden's book about Sarah Rector

Last year I had the opportunity to visit the set as the filiming was going on. And I have also learned that my name also appears in the credits at the end of the film Two weeks ago there were two screenings of Sarah's Oil, one in Muskogee and the other in Kansas City which was a gala event attended by not only the actors, and director and others who made the film, but also the descendants of Sarah Rector were present - the erandchildren of Sarah Rector and her nieces as well.  

Over the years numerous people have claimed ties to Sarah unaware that she had living relatives. Several years ago, one of the nephews from the Rector family was able to address one young man who had made claims to Sarah's story and stating that she had been killed for her land - which is simply nnot true.  Thankfully, many of those making false claims have now faded and the true relatives have now been given the opportunity to share their stories of their ancestor, who showed resilience throughout her life, and who lived to make decisions about her own life and journey.

On a recent trip to the Arkansas/Oklahoma area in October, I had the chance to meet some of the family members from Sarah Rector's family. 

Some of Sarah Rector's Family Members
Fort Coffee, Oklahoma

This week I have also had two interviews about Sarah's Oil, one was on the Afro-Indians Table Talk on KBOB Radio in Tulsa and the other on the podcast Ancestors Footprints, hosted by Bernice Bennett.

Sarah Rector was a Creek Freedwoman, a citizen of the Muscoggee Creek Nation. Her story is part of a larger story of over 20,000 Freedmen in the land that became Oklahoma. Hopefully, the film about Sarah Rector will generate much more interest in the story of all of the Oklahoma Freedmen and how they were able to shape their lives on the western frontier.