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.