The story of the Durant and Butler household is one of many cases where a claimant chose to be moved from the Freedman Roll to the "blood" roll of the Choctaw nation. In the case of William Durant he was the child of Thomas Durant a Choctaw citizen and Henny Butler a Freedman of the Choctaw Nation. He claimed the blood of his father, but was placed on the Freedman roll, nevertheless.
He was enrolled on a Freedman card with two cousins and his grandmother Easter Butler. But before the rolls closed he submitted a petition to have his status adjusted.
Perry Files
Despite his own claims, his case was denied based on the fact that his enrollment as a Freedman had already been addressed, and it would remain as such. The difference of course between the status as Freedman, and that of a citizen "by blood" was the number of acres that would eventually be given to the enrollee. Freedmen would receive 40 acres each meanwhile placement on the blood roll would mean the allotment of 320 acres. Thus many realized the immediate second class status that "Freedman" enrollment would bring, and thus, based on the status of their fathers they sought a change.
His grandmother Easter was the head of house on the enrollment card, but both of Walter's parents were deceased at that time. The questions asked did not pertain to the status of the parents, so it is not clear whether Easter knew precisely of the status of each parent of the grandchildren were. In Walter's case it was stated that the status of Thomas Durant, (his father) was that of a non-citizen. However, the question is not part of the interview in any way.
Choctaw Freedman Care #269
The actual Dawes interview can be described as simply short without question to the children who may have been children of a father considered Choctaw by blood. However, the statement found in the Perry file pertaining to Walter (see 1st image above) points out without question of the status of Thomas Durant the father of Walter Durant. The statement strongly states that the father was Choctaw, but yet, in the case it was doubted and thus Walter remained on the Freedman Roll.
The only other document that appears in the file is a small memorandum with the names of Easter Butler and her grandchildren.
One is compelled to wonder if the investigation into the case of Walter was strong, or simply a policy of placing all with African parentage into the category as Freedmen, thus limiting their beginning their new life with fewer assets in the allotment process simply for being who they were. Whatever the prevailing policy was the story is always worth examining,
Families such as this often reflect a blood tie that many Freedmen had to leading citizens within the tribe. As slave holders many of the leaders themselves had relations with enslaved women, but several decades later, the tie to the status of the father was overlooked. Often the stated policy was one of children following the mother--suggesting a matrilineal policy that was said to prevail. However, depending on the social and economic status of applicants, many of the "traditional" matriarchal policies were overlooked.
With the descendants of Walter Durant this line extends deeply into the Choctaw Nation, clearly beyond removal. In spite of decisions of the Commission, the story of this Choctaw rooted family is well documented, and deserves to be told.
No comments:
Post a Comment