After much planning and organization, a group of descendants of Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen have gotten together and decided to work to share some of their common interests in goals under an organziational umbrella called the Choctaw-Chickasaw Freedmen Association.
The name is derived from the old group from the late 1800s when Freedmen newly released from bondage sought strenght and guidance from each other.
In the past 4 months much activity pertaining to the plight of Oklahoma Freedmen, since Chief Garry Batton released his Open Letter on his blog. In that letter he stated that he plans to start dialogue about the possibility of offering citizenship to Freedmen descendants.
In June many groups began writing to the Choctaw Nation expressing their interest in the subject. Most have never receive any kind of acknolegment that their letters were receive, however, many began to organize and see where their talents could be utilized to work towards a greater awareness of history and to offer assistance to those who may have an interest in the current dialogue.
At the suggestion of a descendant from Kansas City, now living on the East Coast, Ms. Athena Butler pulled together a group of people to work with her, and after many weeks of discussion the group has worked to create the new organization, known as the Choctaw Chickasaw Freedmen Association.
Focus of the Group:
"CCFA is an association of advocacy and training that will develop and identify resources to those who are interested in gaining more knowledge about their Oklahoma-based Freedmen Ancestors.
Major focus will be on the contributions of Freedmen (including their ancestors), & the roles they played within the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations.
In addition, CCFA will explore the reasons for the omission of Freedmen history and the group will work to put this history properly on the pages of tribal history." Vision of the Group:
CCFA will educate through webinars, videos and publications.
CCFA will empower through workshops, and question and answer sessions
CCFA will engage members through regular online meetings.
CCFA will embrace the culture and history by studying, language, culture and history of the community from which they come.
The Founders of the group are: Athena Butler, Terry J. Ligon, Jerry H. Moore, Angela Walton-Raji, and Sandy Williams. One of the first activities of the group will be to offer a basic genealogy workshop on October 6th. Many additional workshops are being planned for upcoming months, into the new year. Hopefully this new group will change the trajectory for descendants of both Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen. With more information, a stronger people will emerge. With organization, more options will open. With determination, the members will become empowered.
