Challenges for Chickasaw & Choctaw Freedmen

In recent weeks while reading messages on social media, I have been impressed when noting the serious dialogue among Freedmen descendants. At last the dialogue has moved beyond individuals merely seeking names to add to their family tree. Discussions have emerged about history, culture, and the rights to connect and enroll in the tribe to which their ancestors belonged. Many issues have been addressed, in the Choctaw-Chickasaw Descendants Group on Facebook, and some amazing dialogue has begun to unfold. In light of the rich discussion, these are a few observations that I have made:

1) For over a century, since statehood in 1907, the Freedmen of Indian Territory have been written out of existence.

2) Descendants of Oklahoma Freedmen do not know each other, do not recognize each other and have yet to embrace the effort to join forces to educate and to share resources, ideas and strategies. We do not have a publication, although we truly need one.

3) Many descendants of Oklahoma “Freedmen” do not know that their ancestors who were “Chickasaw” or “Choctaw”, were actually enslaved people in those tribes.

4) Many descendants of IT-identified ancestors have come to believe the “altered narrative” coming from the tribes. That narrative being the “noble” Indians forced west. The fact that African ancestored people were on the same trail is not known. And of late Chickasaws on one of their own websites have begun to alter their story claiming that enslaved people found “refuge” with them, implying that they somehow  practiced a “kinder” and “gentler” form of slavery.

5) Within Oklahoma, there is a large disconnect between IT-identified people—aka Freedmen descendants and the state-identified black people. The result is that celebrations of Oklahoma “Black History, focus on the Tulsa Massacre, Civil Rights leaders and Black Towns. Although many of the Black towns were in Indian Territory, the story of the IT-identified tribal Freedmen seldom emerges in that discussion.

As a result, the need to take charge of our narrative is imperative. Several scholars have begun to examine the “Freedman” story. In recent years the accomplishments of Cherokee Freedmen have garnered much needed, and well deserved attention. And some scholars have explored Creek and Seminole history as well. However, with the exception of Daniel F. Littlefield, Jesse Schreir and Barbara Krauthamer, little has been seen on a larger level for Chickasaw and Choctaw Freedmen. And in addition, no scholars who are Freedmen have explored this in-depth at all. A few attempts have been made to address this gap with the publication of  Voices of Indian Terriotry, and the Frontier Freedmen’s Journal, but the interest from descendants was been limited. Perhaps time has brought about an increased interest in expanding this narrative.

As descendants we hold to key to telling the untold stories and exploring the lesser known resources. We have an incredible story to tell and that story is as important as any story of any people. This we owe to those who came before us. And this we owe to those who follow.

It is Time to Preserve the Legacy of over 8000 Freedmen

Indian Advocate November 1, 1900
p 154, Image 21
(Article accessed on Chronicling America, Library of Congress)

In 1900, the Indian Advocate ran an article about the population of people in Indian Territory. With 4 of the 5 Civilized Tribes, they included a breakdown with number of Freedmen enumerated in the 1900 Federal Census.

Excluding the Seminole Freedmen, there were 4000 Cherokee Freedmen, 5000 Creek Freedmen, 4150 Choctaw Freedmen, and 4500 Chickasaw Freedmen. This is a total of 17,650 Freedmen from all of the Five Tribes. With Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen, there were 8,650 in the two nations combined. Eight thousand people are a significant population to study. In addition, the two populations from both tribes often had strong inter-connected families, through marriage, and by accident of geography.

Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen, also joined together to become advocates for their rights in the Territory, and for their respective rights to remain in the nation of their birth. Theirs is a story that deserves to be studied in depth from multiple perspectives, and within multiple disciplines. Historians, anthropologists, sociologists, public policy specialists and independent scholars are needed to devote some time to these two nations, in depth.

The people of both Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations, formed a community of advocates as early as 1866 when Richard Brashears formed the first Freedman gathering in the northern Choctaw Nation in Skullyville. By the 1890s, the Choctaw-Chickasaw Freedmen's Association was active and had an important conference at Dawes Academy, to organize and to bring forth their voices on behalf of the Freedmen.

We are at a critical time, when the memory and legacy of Freedmen from both nations could be forgotten. Initiatives on multiple levels are therefore needed. There are those whose goals are enrollment. That should not however, be the only goal of descendants. Preservation of historic landmarks, towns, cemeteries can be done without tribal support. Research focusing on historical accomplishments, biographies of notable leaders, educators and scholars is sorely needed.

People who numbered in the thousands have a legacy and it is ours to honor, and preserve. Over 8000 Freedmen today have hundreds of thousands of descendants after a century. Therefore, a commitment from the community of descendants is needed. Some have already begun projects, but the time to bring them to light, and to share with the larger community is now.

If you are among those quiet warriors, now is the time to share your work, your passion and your commitment. We cannot let this legacy die.

Share them with the Freedmen community! Honor the ancestors, for it is upon their shoulders that we stand.

From the Chickasaw Nation to Skullyville

The Treaty of 1866 abolished slavery in the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nation. For many however, living in Chickasaw country, that was not easily adhered to, and many people who were being held enslaved, had a difficult situation to face.
some Chickasaw held slaves were sold on the auction block illegally after slavery ended, in spite of their leaders having signed the Treaty.

Some former soldiers returning home, found that their families were still held in bondage and they were then threatened with death if they were to return in their Union Army uniforms. One group of individuals wrote a letter to the Fort Smith Freedmen's Bureau office seeking assistance. The result was that Federal soldiers had to intervene to have the enslaved, released. One interesting case is gleaned from an interview found in the Indian Pioneer Papers.

Indian Pioneer Papers, interview with William Nail, of the Choctaw Nation.

For those Union army soldiers returning home, their fears and concerns were expressed in a letter to the Freedmen's Bureau. I wrote a detailed article about their letter in a blog post several years ago.

The tensions felt by many former slaves in Chickasaw country, brought about a small migration of former Chickasaw slaves to the Choctaw Nation, and into what is now Le Flore County. That area at the time was Skullyville County, and it became home for numerous Chickasaw Freedmen, who found life unbearable in the rural parts of the Chickasaw Nation. Thus many of those seeking a more peaceful and welcoming life, found their home in Skullyville, and many of their descendants remain there to this day.

Ardena Darneal's mother was Fanny Parks a, Chickasaw Freedwoman. Like others from Chickasaw. Fanny found the Oak Lodge community in Skullyville to be a better place. Subsequently shd had a relationship with Silas Darneal, a Choctaw man from the local area, with whom she had a child, Ardena. 

The family remained in the Skullyville Oak Lodge area, and descendants are still present and active, in the same part of the old Skullyville Community today. Those struggle to establish a new life in freedom, found some peace and were able to plant their family seeks on the soil of Skullyville, where their legacy is strong.

The Freedmen Elders of Skullyville

Enrollment Card of Malindy and Smith Brown
Choctaw Freedman Card No 711

While studying the community of Skullyville during this Black History Month, I have been curious as to who the elders were at the time that Freedmen were going through the Dawes Commission. I decided to look at the cards from that community, and to see how many individuals were applying for enrollment who were at least 60 years of age, or older.

Of course the community of Freedmen of Skullyville was not exceptionally large. As I pointed out earlier, there were less than 300. Among those scattered through the Skullyville County of the Choctaw Nation were a handful who were elders.

They are mentioned here, because these would have been among individuals who were among the first generation to have been born after in the Territory after Choctaw arrival. The Choctaws arrived in the Territory in 1830-1831. The Dawes Commission began the interview process among Choctaw Freedmen, in 1898. Thus those who were at least 60 years of age had spent most of their life in the nation, and would have been eyewitnesses to most of the stages of settlement, adjustment, enslavement and eventual freedom in the Territory. These were the elders to whom the Freedmen community would have also looked to for guidance, comfort, and advice to life. These are the elders who saw so much and are mentioned so seldom, on the pages of history.

This small number of survivors who lived to see the transition of a people, should be honored, for having chosen to survive.

Their legacy deserves to be honored and celebrated.

Choctaw Freedmen Elders:

Card #            Name  (Age)
690                 Rachel Brown (64)
704                 Eliza Owens  (65)*
710                 Rose Wilson  (84)*
711                  Malindy Brown (78)
711                  Smith Brown  (76)
750                 Phoebe Brown  (63)

* Eliza Owens and Rose Wilson, died before the enrollment process ended and neither lived to select their land allotment. Nevertheless, they went through the process, staking their claim as citizens of the Choctaw Nation. 

Skullyville County Freedmen School Rosters

Several years ago, I looked at some rosters of students attending the Freedmen Schools in the Choctaw Nation. Skullyville had several schools and I made a small pamphlet from some of the records that I copied. I decided to see if I could find more of these records, and spent several hours at the local Family History Center, to examine the records more closely. I was surprised to see that I had missed several schools. I also realized that there was much more to learn about the settlements where Choctaw Freedmen lived in the Skullyville area.

The records will have to be examined to determine whether or not Freedmen are on each of the rosters, but these records are part of a microfilm group of Choctaw Nation Records, recorded at the Oklahoma Historical Society.

These schools were called "neighborhood" schools and I realized that by examining the records from the neighborhood schools, once could get a better idea of the exact communities where Freedmen lived. in the 1890s, before and during the Dawes enrollment era.

Skullyville was the northernmost county in the old Choctaw Nation. There were settlements of Freedmen scattered throughout the rural county at that time and it appears that where were school age children, neighborhood schools were created for them. The following is a list of the schools and neighborhoods where many Freedmen children received primary education in the late 1800s.

(I will later provide a definitive list of all schools that were targeted for Freedmen children, in the Choctaw Nation.)

Neighborhood Schools of Skullyville, Choctaw Nation

Clarksville
Dog Creek
Fairview

Fort Coffee

Huly Tushka

Milton

Oak Lodge
Of The Tapa

Opossum Creek
Pine Log
Pocola
Poteau
Skullyville

Short Mountain

Two Prairie

Walnut Grove

Ward
Wolf Creek

Student Roster of Fort Coffee Neighborhood School
in Skullyville County, Choctaw Nation

From Skullyville: The Lone Slave of Fort Coffee Academy

When studying the slave schedule of 1860 from the Choctaw Nation one small entry was out of the ordinary. Instead of listing the name of a slave holder, and the number of people enslaved there was one unusual entry---the slaveholder of record was "Fort Coffee Academy".

This kind of entry is most unusual, and there is nothing written about the 50 year old woman who toiled at the Academy in the school at Fort Coffee. The school was established in the 1840s for Choctaw males, and much can be found about both Fort Coffee Academy as well as New Hope, a school for females. However, the lone enslaved woman who worked at the Academy, is not mentioned. Beyond the mention of a few instructors or school staff, it is no surprise that an enslaved woman would not garner a mention by name.

The school did not last very long, and by the end of the Civil War, it was gone. Only a few images of the school exist. One photograph of the school exists and that photo reflects the remains of the school when it was in a state of deterioration and disrepair. The school was built on the site of the remains of the old military fort, but it was burned during the Civil War, and the Choctaw Nation no longer focused on the site for a school.

After the war, when slavery ended, with the Treaty of 1866 the few enslaved people who lived in the area, worked as servants for many Choctaw households in the area. No knowledge exists at all of this woman, past her prime, but working at the school.

It can only assumed that she was cook, cleaner, and tended to numerous tasks that required physical labor at the school. Was she treated kindly? Did she endure sexual harassment in the all male environment of the school? Was she required to also live on the premises? Did she have a room or her own? Would the privacy of a lone female slave even have been considered? Did she sleep on the floor, near the fireplace? Did she have children and family of her own for whom she pined? If she had children, could she visit them? Or would she have had to wait until freedom came to connect with her own family? And importantly, did she live to see freedom and to breathe free air?

Though there are no answers, and the likelihood of a slave having freedom of movement is slim. With the daily demands of a school, there was always food to prepare, clothing and bedding to wash, and fires that needed tending. The work of this lone slave had to be difficult, lonely and sad.
There was nothing on the slave schedule indicating that a separate cabin for this enslaved woman existed, as there is no tic mark reflecting a "slave dwelling" counted. So chances are that her life consisted of every task focused on the school and her place of rest was most likely the same place as her work. On a mat perhaps, near a hearth or fireplace in the winter and near a doorway in the warmer months.

This 50 year old woman forever unnamed, would have been in her 90s if she lived until the Dawes era. Identifying her is an impossible task, but acknowledging her presence in the northernmost part of the Choctaw Nation, is as important as calling her name. She is not to be forgotten.

Slaveholders of Skullyville & Sugar Loaf, Choctaw Nation

1860 Slave Schedule Skullyville, Choctaw Nation

The 1860 slave schedule of the Skullyville area in the Choctaw Nation is a small one, reflecting about 201 enslaved people. There were 48 slave holders named on the record although in some cases there were additional people who had an "investment" in a group of enslaved people. In those cases, a note was made that others had an interest in that small group of slaves.

In the case of Jos. R. Hall, he was listed as the slave holder of record, but a note on the record indicates that there were 7 others who had an interest in the same slaves.

Slave holders of Skullyville

E. P. Massey

James Boyd

Samuel Allen

Dennis Folsom

F. M. Monks

Armstrong Frohling(?)

Walker Folsom

William Merriman

George Gunter (of Cher. Natio

James Choate

Samuel Bridges

N. B. Breedlove

Mrs. Breedlove

Clem Vann's wife

F. E. Williams

L. B. Dow

I. I. Phillips(?)

Tandy Walker

William Frazier(Frayon?)

Nathaniel Folsom

Bowlin Perry

Edmund Folsom

Peter Folsom

Edmond Riddle

Emeatubbee

Campbell Le Flore

John G. Ainsworth

A. W. Gary

Margaret Gary

Eli Mitchell

Plarcide Krebbs

Simon Hancock

Sina Pickens

Willis Burns

James Frayon(?)

Claudine Kincaid

William Cooper

Jerry Riddle

Eliza Hampton

Mary Jack

Edward Moore

Fort Coffee Academy

Widow C. M. McCurtain

Jos. R. Hall (and 7 others)

Mrs. Thompson McKinney (and 3 others)

Mrs. James M. Coleman

James M. Colman

Henry Keyser

In Sugar Loaf, the number of enslaved people was even smaller, with only 51 people held enslaved. They were held enslaved by 17 slaveholders. (In the case of the McClain heirs one guardian was appointed as the "owner" of record, and is therefore counted as one.)

Slaveholders of Sugar Loaf County

Steven Holson

Kennedy McCurtain

Thomas Lewis

Rhoda McCurtain

Emmaline Folsom

Nail Perry

Sukey Perry

Morris Nail

Widow James

John Page

McKee Folsom

Robert McCarty

Eliza & George McClain minor heirs

Sophia McClain

James McClain

Sophia Eubanks

Matthew Moncrief

It is clear that the two northernmost counties in the Choctaw Nation slavery was not as prevalent as it was in the southern parts of the nation, where slaveholders held dozens and in some cases hundreds of people in bondage. However, the nature of slavery should not be considered as "kinder, or gentler" institution, because "ownership" of another human being, is still a violation of the human spirit and there is no "better" or "nicer" way to live enslaved.

This is the first time that a general study of slavery in Skullyville has been undertaken. Hopefully more will someday be learned as stories are found, and told to preserve the history of this small corner of the Choctaw Nation, of Indian Territory and of Oklahoma's pre-statehood years, when slavery prevailed upon the land.

The Skullyville Freedmen's Project (Continued)

Indian Territory Map 1894

Choctaw Freedmen who lived in Skullyville resided in 4 primary communities: Braden, Brazil, Spiro, and Oak Lodge. A few others had relatives in Mountain, nearby Fort Smith, and some had relatives also in nearby Cherokee Nation. This is a continuation of the Freedmen on the Dawes Roll in the Skullyville Community.

Card No.     Names on Card                                (Post Office)
731               Griffin Folsom and family                 (Brazil)
732               Julia Brown and son                          (Spiro)
733               Joseph Thompson, son and g-son      (Oak Lodge)
734               Sylvester Freeman and children        (Brazil)
735               Cora Lena Folsom and children        (Braden)
736               Jordon Kingsbury -only name           (Braden)
737               Lige Kingsbury --only name              (Braden)
738               Edmund White and family                 (Brazil)
739               Cora Wilson and son                          (Brazil)
740               Silas Johnson -- only name                (Braden)
742               Martha Henderson and children        (Braden)       
743               Ida Norman and children                   (Brazil)
744               Lizzie Anderson and children           (Braden)
745               Thomas Colbert and family              (Oak Lodge)
746               Robert Wright and family                 (Brazil)
747               Sarah James and family                    (Brazil)
748               Mose James -- only name                 (Spiro)
749               Clayton Piner and children               (Oak Lodge)
750               Phoebe Brown and son                     (Walls)
751               Thaddeus Eubanks                            (Cavanaugh)
752               Ceasar Brown  -- only name             (Spiro)  
753               Alexander Garrett --only name         (Brazil)
754               Andrew Eubanks -- only name         (Brazil)
755               York May and sons                           (Oak Lodge)
756               Peter McCarty -- only name             (Oak Lodge)                       
759               Mary Brown and family                   (Brazil)                                     
760               Louis McKinney and daughters       (Brazil)                               
761               Ada Harris and children                   (Brazil)                                         
762               Lucinda Johnson and children         (Walls)
763               Andrew Pulcher and family             (Walls)
764               Ned Pulcher and family                   (Walls)
766               Peter Cass, mother niece and nephews   (Walls)
768               Solomon Campbell -- only name     (Brazil)
774               Jack Le Flore -- only name              (Oak Lodge)
777               Sam Walton and family                    (Oak Lodge)
SUGAR LOAF COUNTY
Card No        Names on Card                            (Post Office)
670               Polly Ann Eliza Crow - only name (Heavener)
671               Davis Frazier -- only name             (Houston)
672               Jeff Anderson  -- only name           (Wister)
673               Joe Perry -- only name                    (Wister)

Sugar Loaf is included with this project because of its proximity to Skullyville. Interestingly, only four cards actually came from the Sugar Loaf area, by the time of the Dawes Commission. Just as interesting was the fact that the cards reflected only isolated individuals. No families were reflected on any of the four cards. Each card simply held one name. Thirdly and possibly the most interesting fact was that Polly Ann Eliza Crow, Davis Frazier, and Joe Perry were related to each other. Those three individuals were all a part of my family and all were direct descendants of Kitty James Crow. Kitty and James, who were deceased by that time, and they the grandparents to Sallie Walton, my great grandmother.

The  small presence of Freedmen in Sugar Loaf is interesting to note, and more study of the people enslaved in both communities will be conducted.

The Skullyville Freedmen's Project

My Great grandparents, Sam and Sallie Walton lived in the Oak Lodge are in the Skullyville district of the Choctaw Nation. They were Choctaw Freedmen. Sallie was born in the Choctaw Nation, her father was Choctaw and her mother Amanda was a slave. Sallie's grandparents were Kitty and James Crow.

Skullyville was once known, before the Civil War, as Iskuli Town. Today it is an unincorporated community in Le Flore County Oklahoma, about one mile east of Spiro Oklahoma. In the 1860s there were 41 slave holders in Skullyville. And in nearby Sugar Loaf, there were 16 individuals who were slave holders in that area.

When Freedom came, many survived, and chose to work the land where they were born, lived, and toiled for decades. By the time of the Dawes Commission in the late 1890s, there were 77 households of Choctaw Freedmen living in Skullyville. Most appeared in front of the Dawes Commission around the same time.

For this first part of the Skullyville Freedmen's Project, the names of those who survived and remained in Skullyville are presented here in the order in which they appeared.

Card No.      Names on Card              (Post Office)                     
675                 Albert Gary and family   (Spiro)
678                 Prince Pitchlynn and family (Oak Lodge)
679                 Anna Craig and children (Oak Lodge)
680                Anna Dennis and children (Brazil)
682                Eddie Eubanks and children (Braden)
683                Joe Thompson and family (Oak Lodge)                      
684                Henry Eubanks -- only name on card  (Brazil)     
687                Milly Butler and daughters (Oak Lodge)                                    
688                Martha Draper and son  (Oak Lodge)                                           
689                Jessie Byrd --only name on card  (Oak Lodge)                            
690                Rachel Brown and sons and grandchildren  (Oak Lodge)
691                 Albert Fisher and family (Spiro)
693                Ben Thompson and family (Oak Lodge)
694                Elsie Jackson and children (Oak Lodge)
695                James N. Spring and family (Oak Lodge)
696                Ben Evans -- only name on card (Oak Lodge)
697                David McCurtain and children  (Oak Lodge)
698                Edna Williams and son (Braden)
699                Rice Rogers only name on card  (Braden)
702                Moses Eubanks and family (Oak Lodge)
703                Lilly Parker Burris and children (Oak Lodge)
704                Squire Hall and mother (Spiro)
705                Henry Choate  -- only name on card  (Brazil)
706                Maria Brown and son (Brazil)      
707                Hense Windham and siblings, nephew and children (Oak Lodge)
708                Eliza Brown and children and grandchildren (Brazil)
709                Annie Blackwater and grandchildren (Brazil)
710                Rose Wilson -- only name on card (Brazil)
711                 Malindy Brown and husband (Brazil)
712                Jensy Russell and children (Brazil)
713                Henry McCoy and children and grandchild  (Brazil)
714                Willie Stewart--only name on card  (Brazil)
715                Felix Triplett -- only name on card (Mountain)
716                Chester Brown and siblings (Brazil)
717                Mary Mabry and children and brother  (Brazil)
718                William Stewart and daughter (Brazil)
720               Emma Neighbors and son (Brail)
721               James McGee -- only name on card (Oak Lodge)
723               Effie Washington and children (Oak Lodge)
724               Katie Bradley and daughters (Oak Lodge)
725               Aaron Mabry (residence confirmed on memorandum) (Oak Lodge)
728               Lidie Mabry (only name on card)  (Brazil)
729               William Folsom and family  (Oak Lodge)

Sample of a Skullyville Freedman Enrollment Card

(End of Part 1)