"Yall as Free as I am."

Juneteenth and a Season of Freedom

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

* * * * *

 

~~Phyllis Pettit~~

Cherokee Nation

"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."1

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.

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.

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. 

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."

* * * * *

~~Charlotte Johnson White~~
Cherokee Nation

"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.

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."

...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."

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." 2

* * * * * 

 ~~Kiziah Love~~
Choctaw Nation

...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.

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."3

* * * * * 

~~Sallie Walton~~
(Dawes Interview for Walton Family)

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.

"The mother of Sallie Walton was freed under my sister Emeline Perry."4

Q. Was your sister a Choctaw?
A. Yes sir

* * * * * 

Clearly, a critical task awaits us---to find our freedom story!

 1 Federal Writers' Project: Slave Narrative Project, Administrative Files. 1936. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/mesn001/>
2 Ibid
3 Ibid
4 National Archives Publication M1301, Applications for Enrollment of the Five Civilized Tribes

Reflections on the Senate Hearing & Meeting With Descendants of Oklahoma Freedmen

 

Women (left to right): LeEtta Osborn Simpson (Seminole); Rhonda Grayson (Muscogee); Sharon Linzy Scott (Muscogee), Marilyn Vann (Cherokee), Rosie Khalid (Cherokee); Angela Walton-Raji (Choctaw)
Demario Solomon-Simmons, (Muscogee), Terry Ligon (Chickasaw), Calvin Osborne (Creek)
(This group met in Senator Schatz's office after the Senate Hearing)

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.

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. 

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.

No others were present at the Senate building, except the Freedmen descendants and invited speakers.

                                         

Choctaw, Chickasaw and Muscogee chatting before hearing
Lto R: Doris Burris Williamson, Terry Ligon, Sharon Linzy-Scott, Calvin Osborne

                                                

Muscogee Creek Freedmen Band members before hearing

                                         

Choctaw/Chickasaw and Muscogee

descendants sharing info. 
Terry Ligon, and Calvin Osborne

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.

                                        

Tribal officials gather outside the Senate buidling

                                                    

                                                                                     Before the Senate hearing

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.

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. 

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.

Maxine Waters addressing the Senate Committee

                                              
                                                        Panelists listen to Congresswoman Waters address.

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.

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.

Marilyn Vann, Cherokee citizen addressed the committee

Several of the Freedmen took vigorous notes during the hearing as the panelists spoke.

                                                
                                                       Note taking during the hearing.

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.

Atty. Demario Solomon-Simmons discussing Freedmen issues with Muscogee Ambassador 

Reflections After the Hearing

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.

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 "blood" 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 less 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.

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.

 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.

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. 

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. 

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."

The Hearing on Capitol Hill

 

Senator Schatz Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs

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.

Focus of the hearing:  
Oversight Hearing on 1866 Reconstruction Treaties Between United States and Oklahoma Tribes.

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.

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. 

Congresswoman Maxine Waters speaks to Senate Committee

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. 

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.

Dorris Burris Williamson and Terry Ligon

Attendees Gathering Before Hearing

Creek Freedmen in Discussion Before Session

Panel 2 Listening as Congresswoman Waters speaks

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.

Senator Lankford of Oklahoma Listened intently to presenters

Partial view of Panel 2

Another view of Panel as seen by audience

Speakers from the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma

Speaker Representing the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

Speaker Representing the Muscogee (Creek) Nation

Speaker Represnting the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma

Speaker Representing the Oklahoma Freedmen 

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.

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.

Open Letter to Curriculum Developers of Oklahoma History

Several weeks ago an erroneous message came forth from the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma. On their website there was a statement that "slaves found refuge in the Chickasaw Nation."

Images from Chickasaw.tv website

This statement was placed on the official website until finally word was passed to those in charge that the statement was not simply incorrect. It was, in fact, placing a false narrative about the relationship between Chickasaws and people who were enslaved by most of their leaders in the 19th century.

In recent days information was shared in a social media history research group for descendants of Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen, about the curriculum for use as part of the Chickasaw elementary school curriculum. The text has a statement that does not address the history of  slavery to any degree. The piece was shared to the group, actually painted slave holders as the victims in the one small piece that mentioned slavery.

(excerpt from Chickasaw Elementary School Curriculum)

This focus of this appeal, is not to malign the Chickasaw Nation, nor the Chickasaw people. Nor it is a piece intending to put forth an angry narrative about the lives and treatment of Freedmen  in the difficult post Civil War era.

The goal of this piece  is to address the fact that several thousand people lived, worked, toiled, and died among Chickasaw people, as Chickasaw slaves, and later as Chickasaw Freedmen. And a similar story is found among the other slave holding tribes, that also brought their southern culture with them to the Territory--- they brought their language, foodways, burial practices, and among those who could afford it--the enslavement of human beings.

After Freedom, Chickasaw Freedmen remained in the Territory---it was their home. They spoke the Chickasaw language, ate the Chickasaw food, and practiced the culture as a Chickasaw-influenced people. And many Chickasaws today have Freedmen descendants among their friends, neighbors, coworkers, and classmates. Many Chickasaws today have Freedmen descendants in their families, and some have Freedmen descendants as husbands, as wives, and also as children. Those relatives, those family members deserve to be a part of the history that is theirs.

Most educators would agree with the following:

*To tell the story of the United States of America, without the mention of the practice of slavery would be a lie---of omission.

*To tell the story of pre-statehood Oklahoma without mention of the Trail of Tears would be a lie of omission.
But I must add to that agreement:

*To tell the story of pre-statehood Oklahoma without the mention of slavery would be a lie of omission.

*To tell the story of the Chickasaw Nation and all of the Five "Civilized" without their own involvement in the practice of slavery would be a lie of omission.

Descendants of those enslaved people who fought for freedom and won---they too are Oklahomans, living on Oklahoma soil and trusting their educators to tell them the story of the amazing land where they live. Yet, at the same time, the descendants of those Freedmen, who still remain in Oklahoma are finding that their own history is being omitted. There were thousands of Freedmen in Oklahoma at the beginning of statehood.

For reference this was the population in 1906 before statehood:

Cherokee Freedmen 3,982
Choctaw Freedmen 5254
Chickasaw Freedmen 4995
Creek Freedmen 5585

Seminole Freedmen 857 + 93 later added
Total Indian Tribal Freedmen:  20, 766

(Source of data: Muskogee Cimeter, January 4, 1906 page 2)

After more than a century since statehood, there are now hundreds of thousands of Freedmen descendants. And it is known that those Freedmen descendants who are native born Oklahomans, who speak with pride about their ancestry--they are not permitted to enroll in their ancestral nation today due to a bias against those of their race. But despite this---surely those children deserve to have their ancestors become more than a footnote in Oklahoma history. Those children who descend from over 20,000 Freedmen, deserve not to have their history overlooked and erased from the pages of their state.

Many who live in Oklahoma often see the "Friendly neighbor" advertisements coming from the Chickasaw Nation and how relations with fellow Oklahomans is so important. Yet, many young people learning their history, whose ancestors were Freedmen, see nothing of their own presence mentioned by the same "friendly" people who are influencing the curriculum.

Oklahoma African American history did not being with the Tulsa Massacre of 1921, and it did not begin with the Oklahoma Land Rush in 1889. African presence in Indian Territory began seven decades before statehood because many arrived during the years of the Trail of Tears in the 1830s. Their stories are captured in the Indian Pioneer Papers at the University of Oklahoma, and the WPA Oklahoma slave narratives of the 1930s, and the interviews of the Dawes Commission 1898-1914.

Likewise, the institutions built by Freedmen deserve more than a footnote----

-Tushka Lusa
-Oak Hill Academy
-Dawes Academy
-Evangel Mission (Now the Five Tribe Museum in Muskogee)
-Tullahassee Mission School
-Cherokee Colored High School

...........and dozens of Freedmen neighborhood schools.

They are long gone, and perhaps forgotten by the tribes, but not forgotten by those of us whose ancestors attended these schools.

There is much that can be done from the education community, and hopefully the curriculum of Oklahoma will reflect that. And hopefully Freedmen descendants will not see the lives of 20,000 people from the Five Civilized Tribes, swept under the proverbial rug as if they did not exist, and were not a part of the land that became Oklahoma.

And Chickasaw Freedmen children, whose ancestors were disenfranchised by their own tribe after the war, will not see once again, no mention, no story, no acknowledgement of their existence from the nation in which their history is rooted.

As a descendant of one whose ancestors lived in the Choctaw Nation, and who arrived in Indian Territory with the Perry clan from Yalobusha Mississippi, I can only hope that the someday the children of those who remain in the state of Oklahoma will have their history told.

I am an independent researcher, and an educator by profession, and many for whom I conduct research, live in Oklahoma. They are often quite shocked when I share records with them, reflecting that their ancestors were slaves right there where they live They then ask me, why they were never taught that in school. I can only respond by telling them to talk to their educators and talk to their leaders.

An Opportunity

This is a wonderful time and a wonderful opportunity for scholars of multiple disciplines, (history, sociology , anthropology and archaeology) to allow their spirit of academic inquiry to expand into other arenas. Tell those stories of Freedmen settlements, find this historic sites where the Freedmen schools once stood, research their past--and tell the stories of the people who made these events unfold.

But this can't happen, if the state of Oklahoma cannot even teach the history correctly. Without the full story, historians cannot truly explore the many unwritten chapters in its history. Without the full story, a false narrative emerges, and entities will create false myths such as slaves seeking refuge in the tribes that were, in fact slave owning tribes.

My appeal is that the full history be included as the curriculum is developed, so all of the sons and daughters of Oklahoma----native people, Freedmen descendants, and pioneers--will all find their story put back on the historical landscape where it occurred.

The Sanders Family - Freedmen of the Choctaw Nation

This final piece in my 52-week blogging effort focuses on the Sanders family of the Choctaw Nation. The names of the children were found on Choctaw Freedman New Born Card #230. Their mother Louisa, was already enrolled on a regular Choctaw Freedman Card. George Sanders was the head of the family at the time, and the children of this family, are an extension of the family of Samuel and Sallie Walton.

They are the grandchildren of Sallie Walton, through her daughter Louisa, who was on Choctaw Freedman card #777 with the rest of the Walton family. 

Choctaw Freedman Enrollment Card #777
The National Archives at Ft. Worth Texas 1868-1914, NAI Number:  251747
Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75

Louisa Ingram married George Sanders and with her husband she had several children, including the three children on the enrollment card #320 of Choctaw Freedmen. John Henry, Ethel and Eastern were the three oldest children. Two other children Bennie and George were later born, but they were born after the rolls closed and were never added to the file.

Choctaw Freedman Newborn Card #230

Among some family records an old photo was located taken at a small country school in the Choctaw Nation. Easter Sanders identified who her siblings were before she passed away in 1999. 

Sanders Children in Old Family photo

Personal Collection

The Application Jacket

The first items found in the application jacket were three birth affidavits for each of the Sanders children. John Henry, Ethel and Easter Sanders all had birth records that were recorded. A surprise for me was to learn that my great grandmother Sallie was listed as the midwife attending the births of her grandchildren.

National Archives Publication M1301, Applications for Enrollment
(Also accessed from Fold3.com, Native American Collection, Choctaw Freedmen

(Same as above)

(Same as above)

 The interview was conducted with George Sanders the husband to Louisa. Questions were initially focused on the parents of Louisa Ingram. Louisa was previously enrolled on Choctaw Freedman Card #777 with Sallie Walton who was her mother. Her step father Samuel, and her brothers Houston and Sam Jr. were also on the same card. However the focus remained on her father who he was. Sanders was asked if he knew anything about John Williams as her father and his reply was that he did not. He mentioned that Samuel Walton had raised her and she always called him Pa.

Questions were also asked regarding Louisa's mother Sallie. In that exchange a references was made to a nickname that they used for Sallie. Sometimes they called her "Kittie".

Upon reading about her nickname I personally recall an uncle visiting the home speaking with Sallie, and him asking her "didn't they used to call you Kitty?" I remember that conversation from my childhood only because I thought it so odd. I recall that she did not reply, but she simply smiled at him, when he called her that name.

(I would only learn later that "Kitty" was also the name of her grandmother--her mother Amanda's mother's name was "Kitty Perry." I would also learn in a court document when Nail Perry would state that Kitty was sometimes called "Old Kit".)

Again the questions would drift back to the identity of Louisa's father.

(Same as above)

There was some concern whether papers had been submitted on time to enroll the children. George Sanders pointed out that he did mail in papers for Ethel and they had been submitted many months before. They became part of the official file as evidence for the case.

(Same as above)

It appears that in spite of the mother's status as an enrolled Choctaw Freedman, the fact that a deadline had been missed, put the children in jeopardy of being enrolled as Choctaw citizens. The stipulation was focusing on  submission of an application for the children prior to November 1906 and even the evidence submitted on Ethel's behalf, the case was denied. Appeals were made but the decision made "adverse" to the applicants was upheld.

(Same as above)

The Sanders family still had access to land that was obtained through the enrollment of Sam and Walton, and Louisa's brothers Houston, and Sam Jr.  For many years, this Sanders lived in what became Le Flore County Oklahoma, around Heavener Oklahoma  as George the father worked in the mines. He and Louisa raised their children in Le Flore County, where they remained well into the 1940s. 

Their close cousins the Waltons had moved into Fort Smith to obtain high school education for the Walton sons, Samuel Louis, and Richard Daniel . They, like the Sanders remained in Fort Smith. And meanwhile, another branch of the Sanders line moved to Bakersfield California where they remain to this day.

Descendants Today

Through Bennie Sanders and daughter Ruthie Sanders Bradley, the family continues to thrive in Western Arkansas. Through George Sanders Jr., the line continues through the families now based in Bakersfield California.

 Within various families branches of the extended family, the ties to the cultural base in which they lived remained strong. Sallie, the family matriarch was always known to be Choctaw, as she spoke the language, and practiced many cultural traditions. Many of her great grandchildren from both Sanders and Walton branches, recall her teaching them words and phrases in Choctaw. Her brother "Uncle Joe" would occasionally visit the family in Arkansas, and some elders still recall his visits.

Ethel, the one of the daughters of George and Louisa died as a young girl at the tender age of nine years. John Henry lived to adulthood, and worked as a mechanic for Texaco in Poteau Oklahoma for most of his life with his wife Augustus Sanders a popular school teacher in the black school in Poteau. Easter Sanders lived to be 91 years of age and died in 1999 in McAlister Oklahoma.

Easter Sanders - Personal collection

The family always knew and spoke of their Grandma Sallie and considered her to be a traditional Choctaw woman. Cousins in California who descended from George and Louisa throughout the years spoke of having been denied their rights as Choctaws, since their mother Louisa had been enrolled.

I first made contact with some of the California Sanders cousins who descended from George Sanders, one of the younger children of Louisa and George. Their father George had asked in his final days that they continue the family's quest to prove their Choctaw history. 

There is no land to obtain now, and admission to the nation will not come to them, but through history, their history and documented tie to the land of their father's birth has been completed. Born of the Choctaw Nation, their roots are already proven, and hopefully they will find  peace knowing that their ties are there and cannot be denied.

-John Henry, Ethel, Easter,  and later George and Ben were the children of George and Louisa Ingram Sanders.
-Louisa  was the daughter of Sallie Walton
-Sallie was the daughter Amanda Perry.
-Amanda was the daughter of Kitty Crow
-Kitty  whose parents are unknown came with the Perrys clan from Yalobusha County Mississippi on the Trail of Tears.

Kitty was the oldest person enslaved in the Perry clan, and Kitty, Amanda, and Sallie would not see freedom until 1866. Their ties to the Choctaw Nation before and after removal are strong and are well documented and the descendants of all from George Sanders Sr. to Ruthie Sanders Bradley can know that their history is strongly rooted upon the soil, and upon the pages of history.

These families are important to me, because they, like myself, all descend from Sallie Walton. Our legacy is a strong one, and status on the roll or not--we have a history that deserves to be told, to be honored and to be celebrated.

This is the 52nd article in a 52 article devoted to sharing histories of families once held as enslaved people in Indian Territory, now known as Oklahoma. The focus has been on the Five Civilized Tribes, and these posts have been part of an ongoing project to document 52 families in 52 weeks.

Tom Owens & Family, Choctaw Freedmen

Coming from Red River County of the Choctaw Nation, in the town of Harris, Indian Territory, we find the Owens family of Choctaw Freedmen. Tom Owens appeared in front of the Dawes Commission April 18, 1899 to enroll himself, his wife Charlotte, their daughters Mollie, Lettie, and son Charley and another child, Martha Ann. Charley was born enslaved and he was enslaved by Lorenzo Harris of the Choctaw Nation. 

Choctaw Freedman Card #186

The National Archives at Ft. Worth, Ft. Worth Texas 1868-1914

NAI Number: 251747 Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75

From the back of the cards, it is revealed that Tom's father was also a man called Tom Owens. His mother was Jinsey Dradner who was enslaved by Betsey Harris, wife of the enslaver Lorenzo. 

Tom's wife Charlotte was from the Butler family and her father was Henry Butler, once enslaved by Tom Pitchlynn. The Pitchlynn family was a prominent family in the Choctaw Nation, and Peter Pitchlynn was once the principal chief of the Choctaw Nation. Charlotte's mother was Carrie Butler, and both Henry and Carrie (Charlotte's parents) were both on the earlier 1896 Roll. The had been enslaved by William Harris

(same as above)

From The Application Jacket

At first glance the standard interview is found in the packet. Basic information is collected. As a Freedman it was asked if he had been a slave and who the slave holder was. Questions were also asked about his wife and whether she was a "state woman" , meaning from the United States. The reply was that she was a Freedman of the Choctaw Nation.

Another more interesting question was asked, if he had collected $100 and agreed to leave the Territory, and he replied that he had not.

National Archives Publication M1301

Applications for Enrollment

(Also accessed from Fold3.com, Native American Collection, Choctaw Freedmen)

Another Witness was called Bill Cole, and he was asked to confirm the name of the slave holders of Tom Owens, and he confirmed that Lorenzo and Betsy Harris were his slave holders. He confirmed that Tom was also considered a Choctaw Freedman.

The file was surprisingly large with additional papers about people not part of the family. Among one of the pages was a document reflecting the death of daughter Lettie who died in 1902. But what stands out in the file is a large number of pages pertaining to cases of omission by the Dawes Comission to enroll various individuals who had come through the interviews with the commssioners. They had met requirements for enrollment, but for some reason they had been previously omitted.

(Same as above)

However, those pages were quite extensive. The name that appear on those multiple pages represented people from other tribes who should have been enrolled. Among all of the people on those pages were Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws. In an effort to clear up confusion it was pointed out that all had been omitted previously and should have been enrolled.

(Same as above)

(Additional pages from the same collection NARA Publication M1301)

And the paragraph reflecting Tom Owens family information was included about Martha Ann Owens whose name had previously been omitted. It was also noted out that the people on the enrollment card were the children of Tom and Charlotte and that they all should also be placed upon the approved roll of Freedmen as well.

(Same as above)

Also found were birth affidavits that one often sees in files, reflecting children born after the interview process had begun.

(same as above)

And from the final pages of the lengthy it was concluded that the Henry and Martha should also be included as Choctaw Freedmen

Land Allotted

Like all families members of the Owens family was allotted land. Each person received a portion of land, appropriately.

Ancestry.com. Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Land Allotment Jackets for Five Civilized Tribes, 1884-1934[database on-line].
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2014.

(same as above)

The Cole family lived for many years in the community of Harris, but years later subsequent generations relocated to central Oklahoma to the Oklahoma City are where some descendants reside today. Their history of survival of enslavement and their continued life for many years in the Choctaw Nation is a testament to their sense of family, survival and legacy.

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This is the 32nd article in a 52-article series devoted to sharing histories of families once held as enslaved people in Indian Territory, now known as Oklahoma. The focus is on the Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, and these posts are part of an on-going project to document 52 families in 52 weeks.