#Native American Freedmen

[reasoningdaily]

Freedmen Series: Cherokee Freedmen Genealogy Resources

[shadeslayer]

from the cherokee nations facebook - also if you check out their fb, you can see that the principal chief hoskin jr is signing a proclamation in honor of juneteenth

this juneteenth, think about the descendants of native american freedmen who are so often refused acknowledgement, respect, & support by native nations. denied tribal resources, denied citizenship, denied jobs and inclusion in native life both at the government level and social level.

if you are a nonblack native: learn about the black history of your tribe, look for any groups dedicated to advocacy for your tribes freedmen, support them! speak up against the antiblackness and colorism you see from other natives. make & hold space for black natives. dont let the antiblackness in our past go unremembered, and dont let the antiblackness in our present go unchallenged

my heart is with all the descendants of freedmen, all black natives, all afro natives. my energy & support is with them both this juneteenth and every day

[mimi-0007]

My family Chickasaw Freedmen.

[ausetkmt]

Freedmen: The untold history of Indian Country slaves

Tens of thousands of Native Americans were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands during the 1830s and 1840s. But lesser in known history are the stories of who they took with them.

[thefirsthogokage]

So this was something I stumbled upon today, from August 19th, 2020:

There is apparently a lot of racism in the Native community towards its Afro-Indigenous members. It's why there have been complaints over Reservation Dogs not including Afro-Indigenous representation. I saw someone elsewhere say the racism was taught to non-Afro-Indigenous Natives in boarding schools. This looks like another piece of that. However, I just want to say, I noticed this article doesn't include source credits like I think academic articles and whatnot usually would. So, that's interesting.

I just I thought I'd post it for others to read. It's important to know history.

[bucephaly]

Reconnecting Cherokee Masterpost

I’ve had a few Cherokee posts blow up on here and as a result I’ve gotten lots of ‘my grandma said she was cherokee’ ‘I’m supposed to have Cherokee roots I wish I knew anything about it’ ‘I was never taught anything about my Cherokee ancestry’ type sentiments in my activity. So! I wanna make a little masterpost with some resources on how to verify or disprove these types of family stories and how to get started for those interested in reconnecting!

A little about me and a disclaimer. I’ve not been reconnecting that long, about a year and a half, and before that I didn’t know I was Cherokee. I did not grow up Cherokee and I am white. What I’m going to be talking about is simply resources for genealogy, language, good places to connect online, etc. these are all things I’ve dealt with as I reconnect, but I am not any sort of authority on Cherokee issues or culture. The purpose of this post is to get people who know absolutely nothing about Cherokee identity and community started in learning more and seeing what needs to be done before reconnecting. And I acknowledge that the genealogical records and resources available for Freedmen descendants and Afro-indigenous people may not be as conclusive, and I simply urge Afro-indigenous people to do what research you can. I am also only Cherokee, I can’t speak for how any of this works for other tribes. Now, to get started

I’ll be talking about

Genealogy

Enrollment

Basic info about Reconnecting

and Language

Genealogy

Genealogy is the most important first step for anyone wanting to reconnect, or even just wanting to claim Cherokee ancestry at all. Unless you have done genealogy research that has shown ancestry connecting you to ancestors on the accepted Cherokee rolls or you are or have family who are citizens of one of the 3 federally recognized Cherokee tribes, please do not make claims of Cherokee identity or ancestry.

Fake ‘granny stories’ of Cherokee ancestry are very common, particularly in the South / Appalachia. These stories often go something like ‘my great-grandmother was fullblood Cherokee. She hid out from the soldiers rounding the Cherokee up for the Trail of Tears.’ There are many many variants, such as children being adopted by a white family, being traded away, or just otherwise being left behind or abandoned. I also frequently see ‘they escaped and hid in the mountains,’ ‘they pretended to be white / black,’ etc. Remember, the Trail of Tears happened in 1838, 185 years ago. My ggg grandfather was 2, so unless you are 60+ it would be unlikely that a great grandparent was alive during that period. This mythical great-grandmother is also occasionally an ‘Indian princess.’ There are many excuses for why ancestors might not show up on known Cherokee records, such as ‘the records were burned in a courthouse fire’ or ‘they were intentionally removed from the records,’ etc. Physical features are also claimed to prove stories, such as high cheekbones, dark hair, darker skin, etc. Old family photos showing grandparents with tan skin, etc, are also brought up pretty frequently. None of those prove anything, as many people of European or mixed ancestry can have these traits. Stories like this are also not exclusive to white families, they can definitely be present in Black families as well. These stories are most often entirely fabricated or resulting from a misunderstanding. It’s pretty common to have someone be familiar with the fake stories but convinced that their family story is the one exception and has to be real, which ends up being instantly caught as fake by anyone that knows the history, you’d be surprised haha. Here is a post I’ve made talking about fake stories in more depth.

DNA testing cannot prove descent from any specific Native tribe. An ‘indigenous American’ result on a DNA test does not prove native ancestry, as DNA tests are frequently wrong especially when it comes to ‘trace ancestry’. Nor does a DNA test showing 0 native DNA prove that one doesn’t have native ancestry. DNA tests are a novelty and irrelevant to native genealogy. The only time they are useful is in finding cousins through DNA matches, which can be especially useful for adoptees.

Now, getting into actual genealogy, the main process with Cherokee genealogy is fairly simple. I’m not going to go in depth on the process of genealogy in general, there are plenty of resources for that. Get what info you can from your family [names, birthdates, places people lived] of your recent ancestors, then find their census records [census records from 1950 and earlier are publicly available] or what records you can, and go back, finding their parents, etc. The goal is to get around to 1900. See where they were living at that point, as that will effect what rolls they might be on. There are three main Cherokee rolls that are looked at for determining ancestry [but there are other rolls as well]

The Dawes Rolls taken between 1898 - 1914 recorded the Cherokees living in the Western Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory before Oklahoma Statehood. This roll came with allotments, parcels of land given to the Cherokees. Cherokee Freedmen are also recorded on this roll, along with Intermarried and Adopted Whites. This is the roll that CNO and UKB uses for enrollment. Here is where it can be searched.

The Baker Rolls taken between 1924 - 1929 recorded the Cherokees living on the Qualla Boundary in western North Carolina. This is the roll that the EBCI uses for enrollment

The Guion Miller Roll taken between 1906 - 1911 recorded Cherokees living anywhere and was associated with a cash payout.

I can’t find free searchable databases of the Baker or Miller rolls, but you can find them on some ancestry sites like ancestry.com with a membership or free trial. Also, be aware that these rolls all have “Declined” sections of people who applied and were declined for having no proof of ancestry, mostly just applying to try to get money or land meant for Cherokees. This is especially true of the Miller roll, where 2/3rds of the applicants were declined.

If your ancestors aren’t on any of these rolls, can be found in US census records before 1900, or aren’t living in the Cherokee homelands in the early 1800s, they are almost surely not Cherokee. Also, be wary of results on ancestry sites that start cropping up in the 1700s where the only evidence is another person’s family trees. There are many people claiming descent from Dragging Canoe, Chief Moytoy, and others that put these things on their ancestry trees when none of these people have any descendants. And people will just make up entirely fictional people. Just be sure there are actual documents tying them to the Cherokee and to your ancestors [as people will make up fake children of real figures like Nancy Ward as well]

There is a fantastic resource for Cherokee genealogy in the Cherokee Research and Genealogy Facebook group. The researchers are experts on Cherokee genealogy and will run your lines for FREE and determine conclusively whether you have Cherokee ancestry or not. When they find someone with Cherokee ancestry, they will also find your ancestors’ enrollment applications, allotment locations, etc. they’re really fantastic and I highly recommend checking them out and saving yourself the trouble of doing the research yourself. Just read their rules thoroughly. Even if you did do some research, if you hit a wall or just want confirmation, check them out! Especially if you think you found legitimate ancestry, getting them to double check will remove any doubt.

Enrollment

There are three federally-recognized Cherokee tribes. Each has their own community, resources, and different requirements for enrollment. These are: the United Keetoowah Band [UKB] located in Tahlequah, OK, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians [EBCI] in Cherokee, North Carolina, and the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma [CN or CNO] in Tahlequah, OK. Each of these have distinct histories. Cherokee Nation is the largest by far.

Be wary of fraudulent state-recognized Cherokee tribes. If a Cherokee tribe is not one of the three mentioned above, then it is not recognized by the others as legitimate. These state tribes often take resources that are supposed to be going to legitimate native communities [such as school funding], spread misinformation, etc. These communities often have obviously fake non-Cherokee traits such as ‘naming ceremonies’ and members with laughably stereotypical names like ‘spirit wolf’ and ‘white owl’ lol [also, this is specifically about state tribes claiming to be Cherokee, I can’t speak to the legitimacy of other groups.]

Two of the three Cherokee tribes have a blood quantum requirement. Blood quantum [BQ] is how much ‘native blood’ one has, depicted as a fraction. BQ is a very complex topic in native communities, which I won’t get into here. EBCI has a 1/16 BQ requirement, so to be a citizen you must has 1/16 Eastern Cherokee blood, as well as have an ancestor on the Baker Roll. UKB has a 1/4 BQ requirement, so citizens must have 1/4 Cherokee blood and an ancestor on the Dawes Rolls or the 1949 UKB roll. CNO has no BQ requirement, if an ancestor is listed as By Blood on the Cherokee Dawes Rolls, or listed as a Cherokee Freedman, then you are eligible for CNO citizenship.

Do not come into Cherokee spaces just asking what sort of benefits enrollment can get you. It’s pretty disrespectful and makes it seem like you only care about what you can take from us.

Reconnection

So you did your genealogy and found that you have documented Cherokee ancestry, what next? Reconnection is a long and difficult process and I’ve barely even started, but I’ll try to give what resources and info I can.

Who can reconnect? This can vary between people, but most often I see people [biased towards Cherokees who are active online] saying that anyone with legitimate documented Cherokee ancestry can reconnect. Some people prefer reconnectors are able to enroll in one of the 3 tribes, some prefer people have connected living family, it varies a lot. In my experience as someone who is white and not a citizen yet, if you are respectful and humble, people are pretty accepting. It’s also important to think about why you want to reconnect. You need to be prepared to give back to your people as much if not more than you get. That means learning the language, the history, learn about current issues, etc. Don’t go into it just wanting to be able to say you’re Cherokee as a fun fact or get some sort of monetary benefit. It’s also important to remember that you will get asked to prove yourself. Don’t be offended if you’re asked if you’re enrolled, who your family is, how you’re Cherokee, etc. This is part of our cultural protocols. Not only do we want to keep people with fake family stories from getting into our spaces, we also just like finding relatives! It’s also very important to remember your place as a reconnecting Cherokee. Don’t think having legitimate ancestry suddenly means you’re able to talk with authority on native issues or suddenly claim to be oppressed. If you’re white, don’t suddenly start claiming to be a POC or “white-passing,” you can be white and Cherokee. Cherokee is not a race.

Reconnecting is a difficult process, especially if you are far from any Cherokee communities. You cannot reconnect alone. You aren’t reconnecting to some distant past, or to stories in a book, you are reconnecting to a living community. This can be tough for people who are far from Oklahoma or North Carolina, and there are some things that are not really possible to learn except in person. But you can still learn, and there are some online spaces. I particularly find the ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᏍᎦᏚᎩ (Cherokee Community) Facebook Group valuable. It’s kinda small, but it’s one of the best ways to engage with Cherokee community online. Sorry if you’re a Facebook hater, Facebook is going to be your best bet for actually meeting people and engaging. The Cherokee Community group requires proof of ancestry before members can join. This usually just means sending your tribal ID or your thread in the Cherokee Research and Genealogy group to an admin and they’ll let you in.

Here are some good basic things to check out for reconnecting

OsiyoTV

Cherokee Nation YouTube

Museum of the Cherokee People YouTube

Cherokee Stories of the Turtle Island Liars Club by Chris B Teuton, Hastings Shade, Sequoyah Guess, Sammy Still, and Woody Hansen

Cherokee Earth Dwellers by Chris B Teuton and Hastings Shade

Mooney’s Myths of the Cherokee [note: this was written by a white man in 1910 after after spending some time with the Eastern Cherokee. The history is iffy, but the stories were recorded directly from Cherokee storytellers.]

Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation by John Ehle

Do your own research, but be extremely wary of Anything posted publicly online. There is lots of misinformation about Cherokee culture. Personally, I mostly do my learning in the vetted Cherokee Facebook groups, in books written by actual citizens, and by talking with connected friends. Google is rarely your friend in this case.

Language

The language is the center of our culture, it is what makes us Cherokee. It is our duty as Cherokees and as reconnecting people to learn the language. I can’t stress enough how important it is. If you aren’t putting any effort to learn the language, it shows others that you aren’t committed and you will likely have trouble getting any help reconnecting from others, it just looks bad haha. Not saying you have to be fluent overnight, I’ve been reconnecting for a year and I still am very much a beginner, ‘it doesn’t matter how slow you go, as long as you don’t stop’ as CNO language teacher Ed Fields says. Luckily, there are plenty of resources for learning online!

It’s good to learn the syllabary or at least familiarize yourself with it early, as it’s a good introduction to the sounds present in the language. It’s an important part of our culture and the language too. There are also many learning resources that are only in syllabary, so you’re missing out on those if you don’t know it. Here are some good resources for learning:

Simply Cherokee Syllabary by Marc W Case [HIGHLY recommended. I got reasonably confident in syllabary in like a weekend thanks to this book. You can find fairly cheap ebooks versions. It has a story for each character that makes it so easy to remember and associate the characters with their sounds.]

Learn Cherokee Syllabary app [Apple] [Android]

Syllabary fonts and keyboard

There are lots of resources for learning the language. It’s really good to hear it as often as possible when learning vs just reading it, as I’ve messing up so much in my pronunciation from just reading it and now I’m having to break habits. You preferably want to hear first language speakers. There are two main dialects of Cherokee, usually roughly split between Eastern and Western. Dialects vary a lot within those communities as well. If you still have contact with any relatives that speak Cherokee, it’s always better to learn as much as you can from them.

Cherokee Nation language department [just explore this site, they have lots of resources!]

Cherokee Learner site [explore this site too, this is a great compilation of pretty much every Cherokee language resource, eastern and western]

Online Cherokee Class with first language speaker Ed Fields

RSU Cherokee Lessons [youtube]

Mango lessons

Other apps, including the Memrise course

Online Cherokee dictionary

That’s all I can think to say right now! I’ll probably add to this later as I learn more, find more resources, and get suggestions from others. But for now, good luck, ᏩᏙ, ᏙᏓᏓᎪᎲᎢ !

[butchosprey]

As someone who grew up in the state that ranks 49th in education, I am continually embarrassed by other blancos inability to educate themselves. It's some stupid form of learned helplessness, or whatever pop psychology term you wanna use. Yes, there is a degree of anger one can have over the system brushing over or not even touching certain topics (i.e, the rich history of black Oklahoma, and how Freedmen wished to make it an all-black state).

But you're an adult. Fucking educate yourself.

It continually embarrasses me to see Americans who still refer to Native Americans in the past tense. They literally probably live down the street from you, hello???? Then, you don't understand why people in famine-prone regions just "grow more food". That's cool that you get to live in total bliss of the fact that half of the world is at risk for vitamin A deficiency. How far off are you from the Right Wingers that call these places "shithole countries"?

India and Mexico have the fastest growing middle classes. Maternal mortality has plummeted in the past couple decades in both countries. Yet, there's a good chance a white lib who believes themselves to be "educated" doesn't know these facts, and merely continues to view these countries as bad, bad places :(

You can't even challenge your racist ideas of the world, because you still think the Mexico Yellow Filter is canon.

[militantinremission]

The Freedman's Bank Forum: The Art of Disenfranchisement

Kamala Harris has hit the Campaign Trail & named Gov. Tim Walz as her Running Mate, but she has yet to give a Press Conference or Mainstream Media Interview. She STILL hasn't offered any Policy Initiatives on her Campaign Website. This has lead some in The New Black Media to look at her Policy Offerings as VP. Sabrina Salvati of Sabby Sabs & Phil Scott of The Afrikan Diaspora Channel both looked at Kamala Harris' 2023 Speech at the Freedman's Bank Forum- for ideas of what a 'Harris- Walz Administration' may look like. In her Speech, Kamala gave a history of The Freedman's Bureau 'Freedman's Bank', Created in 1865. She spoke on why a Specific Bank for the Formerly Enslaved was necessary. She also talked about the Farms, Homes, & Businesses that Freedmen were able to purchase & build through Loans from Freedmen's Bank.

Unfortunately, 9Yrs after its inception, Freedman's Bank was Closed; due to mismanagement, & outright theft of Funds by Congressmen overseeing Bank Operations. Over 61,000 Depositors lost their Funds- estimated at over $3M (over $50M in today's Economy). Kamala sounded like she understood the plight of American Descendants Of Chattel Slavery & Our specific need for resources, but she shifted her narrative fairly quickly. She started by shifting a Black Specific Issue, to an 'All Lives Matter' Issue. Kamala transformed the necessity of a Freedman's Bank to jumpstart Reconstruction, into a need for EVERYONE to have access to (Freedmen) Resources. She starts by mentioning 'Minorities' & 'Marginalized Communities', but goes on to include Latinx, Native American, Asian, & Rural Communities in the Freedman's Bank Story.

Kamala went on to describe one of her Final Acts as a U.S. Senator. This was an Initiative that she helped to set up w/ the help of [Secretary of The Treasury] Janet Yellen, [Senators] Mark Warner, Chuck Schumer, & Corey Booker, plus Rep. Maxine Waters. The Initiative, was a plan to invest $12B in Community Institutions for 'Overlooked & Underserved Communities'... My 1st question is: How many of THOSE INSTITUTIONS are Owned & Operated by Indigenous Black Americans? I only know of ONE in My Community, & David Rockefeller has been invested in them for nearly 30Yrs... Harris says that currently, $8B has been disbursed to 162 'Community Lenders' Nationwide, & gave examples of how the Funds are being disbursed:

Native American Bank lent a Tribe $10M to fund an Opioid Addiction Treatment Facility on Tribal Lands in N. Dakota

Carver Bank, in Ga. loaned $500K to 'Black Owned Companies' to help them develop Low Income Housing

Hope Credit Union, in Ms. gave a $10K Loan to a 'Black & Woman Owned' Coffee Business to expand

Aid to Immigrant Communities, including some Asian Communities

Aid to 'Rural Communities'

Maybe it's just Me, but I find it curious how the Freedman's Bank Legacy is being 'repackaged'. Under Kamala Harris, a SPECIFIC INSTITUTION meant for American Descendants Of Chattel Slavery, is being usurped to advance EVERYONE; except the Blackfolk it was designed to help. The numbers don't lie. Native American Tribes get Billions a Year in 'Set Asides' & they don't pay Taxes, but Kamala thinks they should also collect $10M meant for Black American interests? Then she brags about Black Businesses that only received 5% of what Native Americans collected from a measure that was supposed to be for Blackfolk. Apparently, Kamala wasn't lying when she said that she wasn't going to do ANYTHING that would only benefit Black Americans.

Like Joe Biden, Kamala Harris talks to Black Audiences about Equity, but only offers Black Americans a small share of what Everyone Else gets. In 2022, The Biden-Harris Administration & Janet Yellen launched the Economic Opportunity Coalition, along w/ 20 Private Sector Leaders. The Goal was to provide & invest Billions in Capital to Community Lenders for 'Minority Owned Businesses'. To date, this Coalition has currently committed over $1.2B to Community Lenders in 'Minority & World Communities'. From what I saw, Puerto Rico & Guam represented 9 of the 13 Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) awarded Funding. Of the 218 Organizations receiving Technical Awards, 56 were 'MDIs' & 38 were Organizations based in Puerto Rico. True to Form, the Biden- Harris Administration blurs the lines on what a 'Black Owned' Business is; Indigenous Blackfolk, Afro Caribbeans, & Afrikan Immigrants have been lumped into the 'Afrikan American' demographic. Is this Coalition keeping track of how many Freedmen (Male & Female) are receiving Awards?

Kamala's Speech at the 'Freedmen's Bank Forum' completely ignored the Descendants of the Freedmen Community, & Our History of adversity. Despite her disregard of Us, she says this Initiative was created to 'Realize the Vision of Freedmen's Bank'. I see This as a blatant Disenfranchisement of the Black Community that Freedmen's Bank was Chartered to serve. On top of her disingenuous empathy for Black Americans, She has the audacity to call this act of Economic Racism- 'Economic Justice'; & she does it w/ a straight face. I thank Sabrina Salvati & Phil Scott for uncovering this particular Policy Measure. Kamala Harris' lack of Policy on her Campaign Website tells Me that she doesn't want Us to know her Plan for the next 4Yrs. She has been called a Leftist & 'the most Progressive Senator in Congress', but her Policies are as Moderate as Joe Biden's.

I fully understand that the Economic Opportunity Coalition (EOC) isn't Freedmen's Bank. If it was presented as a Measure that stood on its own merit, I probably wouldn't have much to say about it. If we're being honest, it falls in line w/ many other Policies of the Biden-Harris Administration. The Fact that Kamala Harris used the Freedmen's Bank Forum to push this Measure, is mean spirited & an insult to Our Ancestors. There's a Legion of Blackfolk & Afrikan Americans trying to certify Kamala's 'Blackness', but she has yet to affirm their claim. She had a chance to refute Donald Trump's assertion, but only offered more rhetoric. The Truth is, SHE'S NOT BLACK! Kamala's Record shows that she spent her Professional Career disenfranchising Us. As District Attorney, she targeted Blackfolk for Arrest on petty Quality of Life Crimes. As Attorney General & as a U.S. Senator, Kamala supported decriminalization of Illegal Border Crossings & the surge of Illegal Immigrants into Black Communities throughout California.

The Black Population in San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond, & Berkeley has dropped by 50% on her Watch. Kamala vacated over 1,000 Criminal Charges against OneWest Bank, George Soros, & Steve Mnuchin- for 'Foreclosure Violations' that cost Hundreds of Black Californians their Homes. Her action allowed Soros to sell OneWest for Billions, while Mnuchin moved on to become Secretary of The Treasury. At the Same Time, she kept Black Inmates imprisoned past their Release Date & denied others Parole; citing the need to maintain a Prison Labor Force (i.e. Convict Leasing). Black Women are siding w/ her, but Harris abandoned the Mitrice Richardson Case after winning her Senate Seat. Kamala also had a hand in stripping the Estate of Nina Simone away from her Surviving Family & awarding All Rights to Sony Music Entertainment. We're supposed to certify this Woman as 'Black', but she has a Legacy of Anti-Black (Aryan) behavior. Her latest act of disenfranchisement is actually Par for The Course.

Some question why Kamala Harris is getting so much heat from Black America? The Short Answer is- She rides on the Coattail of The Black Experience, but does NOTHING for Us Culturally, Socially, or Politically. What's her Black Agenda again? At This Point, We really can't blame Kamala for being consistent. We need to look at the Blackfolk & Afrikan Americans trying to shame us into Falling in Line w/ her Agenda; whatever THAT is...

-We have House Cleaning to do.

[ausetkmt]

Published June 3, 2023Updated June 6, 2023

Early one morning in September 2020, Michael J. Hill called the police after hearing banging on the doors and windows of his home in Okmulgee, Okla. — part of a swath of the state that the Supreme Court had recently ruled to be tribal land.

He eventually realized it was a group of his friends, Mr. Hill later recalled in an interview, but the police had arrived and proceeded to arrest one of them, Aaron R. Wilson, for an outstanding warrant. Mr. Hill, 40, then got into an altercation with the police and was himself arrested after a struggle.

Mr. Hill and Mr. Wilson are both Black and citizens of Native American tribes in Oklahoma. They both moved to have their cases dismissed, arguing that as tribal members in tribal territory, they were outside the state’s criminal jurisdiction. Mr. Wilson’s case was dismissed, but Mr. Hill’s request was denied.

The key difference in the fate of the two men was race — specifically, a small degree of what is known in the courts as “Indian blood.” Mr. Wilson is one sixty-fourth Creek Indian. Mr. Hill is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation through ancestors called Freedmen — Black people who were enslaved by Native tribes. Because Mr. Hill’s ancestors did not have Indian blood, he was found in court not to be Indian.

“He’s a member of the Cherokee Nation,” Phillip Peak, Mr. Hill’s lawyer, said in court arguments. “Yet when he steps in this courtroom, all of a sudden he’s not.”

Mr. Hill is one of several present-day Freedmen, as they are known for their ancestry, who have been caught in the middle of a feud between the State of Oklahoma and tribal nations after the Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that much of eastern Oklahoma falls within an Indian reservation. Their dilemma stems from federal court rulings that define what it means to be considered Indian in the eyes of the criminal justice system.

After the Supreme Court’s decision in the case, McGirt v. Oklahoma, hundreds of people successfully had their criminal cases in state courts dismissed, as the ruling prevents state authorities from prosecuting offenses committed by Native Americans on tribal land. Instead, those offenses can now be prosecuted only by tribal and federal authorities.

But state prosecutors have fought to continue pursuing some criminal cases involving Freedmen in tribal territory. In several cases reviewed by The New York Times, judges rejected arguments by Freedmen that they were outside the state’s criminal jurisdiction, ruling that the defendants did not meet the legal definition to be considered Indian.

Oklahoma’s highest criminal court sided with the state in one of those cases, paving the way for state prosecutors to continue bringing cases against Freedmen who are tribal citizens but have no Indian blood.

The state’s continued prosecution of Freedmen amounts to a new chapter in their long struggle to receive all the rights of tribal citizenship. Some Freedmen are not even allowed to become tribal citizens, because a handful of tribes exclude them from membership.

“They’re being treated differently than other members of the tribe based solely on their race,” Matthew J. Ballard, a district attorney in northeast Oklahoma and the chair of the state’s District Attorneys Council, said of the prosecution of Freedmen in state court. Freedmen who want to be considered Indian in court have “a nearly impossible burden” to meet, he said.

ImageMr. Hill was arrested after an altercation with the police at his home in Okmulgee, Okla., which falls within an Indian reservation.Credit...Shane Brown for The New York Times

The State of Oklahoma argues that the McGirt decision has created an unequal legal system where tribal citizens have special privileges. State officials have said that crimes that fall under tribal jurisdiction go unaddressed and have highlighted cases of convicted criminals being released as a result of the ruling.

In 2021, Oklahoma went as far as to ask the Supreme Court to overrule its own decision. Last year, the court instead narrowed the ruling, allowing state authorities to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians on tribal land.

Tribal nations have said that state officials have at times refused to cooperate with their courts and police officers, and that working relationships with state agencies have soured after the McGirt ruling.

Tribal nations in Oklahoma have criminal justice systems that are generally less punitive than the state’s. Federal law limits sentencing in tribal courts for any criminal charge to three years and a $15,000 fine, and major crimes that occur in tribal territory are prosecuted in federal court. Many tribal courts also promote sentencing that emphasizes treatment programs for drug and alcohol use and mental illness.

“People ask, ‘Well, what’s the difference between you prosecuting this and the state?’” said Kara Bacon, the lead tribal prosecutor in the Choctaw Nation. “From a cultural perspective and from a member perspective, we understand that rehabilitation is important.”

Caught up in the dispute are the Freedmen, the descendants of Black people who were enslaved by Native tribes. Many tribes allied themselves with the Confederacy and fought to preserve the institution of slavery. After the Civil War, treaties between the federal government and the tribes abolished slavery and granted the Freedmen “all the rights” of citizens in the tribal nations.

But courts have typically used a two-part test to determine who is legally considered to be Indian: whether the person is recognized as an Indian by a tribe or the federal government, and whether the individual has Indian blood. Most Freedmen, even if they are enrolled in a tribe, do not satisfy the blood requirement, meaning they are not recognized as legally Indian in court.

“Sometimes the state courts will say: ‘Well, even though you might meet Part A, you can’t meet Part B of this test. Therefore, we are not going to dismiss your case from the state courts,’” said Sara Hill, the attorney general for the Cherokee Nation.

It is unclear how many Freedmen who are tribal citizens have been prosecuted in state court since the McGirt decision, because state officials have not specifically tracked those cases.

Mr. Ballard, the district attorney, said prosecutors in Oklahoma had been frustrated by having to navigate sensitive issues about race and identity.

“We’re having to inquire as to the racial identity of people that we’re prosecuting,” Mr. Ballard said, adding, “That is new territory for us.”

“Frankly, it’s a little offensive,” he said. “And we don’t like having to do that. But that’s what the case law is.”

Long before the legal wrangling over criminal prosecutions, rules surrounding Indian blood had been used by tribes to segregate and even expel the descendants of Freedmen. The Muscogee (Creek), Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations still exclude Freedmen from membership, making it harder for them to seek tribal jurisdiction.

Marilyn Vann, a Cherokee Nation citizen and the president of the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association, said the discriminatory practices of the tribes were now being wielded by the State of Oklahoma in criminal cases.

“Overturning this policy would take an act of Congress or another ruling from the high courts,” Ms. Vann said of the state’s prosecution of Freedmen, adding, “If no one is able to take this higher up the ladder, I doubt it’s going to change.”

ImageThe Creek Council House in Okmulgee. The Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that much of eastern Oklahoma falls within an Indian reservation.Credit...Shane Brown for The New York Times

Mr. Wilson’s path through the legal system — he succeeded in winning the dismissal of his case in state court, unlike Mr. Hill, on account of his Creek Indian blood — illustrates the tensions between state and tribal authorities.

Mr. Wilson, 44, had been arrested on an outstanding warrant for violating his probation after pleading guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol.

After his case was dismissed in state court in 2021, he was not immediately charged by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. But Muscogee tribal officials said that the district attorney’s office for Okmulgee County, which had handled the case in state court, never notified them of the dismissal and that they found out about it only when contacted by The Times.

“The fact that we did not learn of this case until we received notice from a third party speaks to the absence of a cooperative, functional relationship with the Okmulgee County D.A. following the McGirt ruling,” said Jason Salsman, a spokesman for the Muscogee Nation.

An arrest warrant was issued for Mr. Wilson days later and remains active, according to the Muscogee Nation. The district attorney’s office for Okmulgee County did not respond to requests for comment, and efforts to reach Mr. Wilson were unsuccessful.

Mr. Hill, the Cherokee Freedman who got in the altercation with the police, faces several charges from the incident, including assaulting a police officer, and his case has not yet gone to trial. A disabled Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, Mr. Hill said that he had struggled to continue paying for his legal defense and that the episode had aggravated trauma from his military service.

“It just makes things 10 times worse,” Mr. Hill said. “I’m more isolated. I don’t want to do anything. I stay at home. If I’m out somewhere and see the police, I get extremely nervous.”

Mr. Peak, the lawyer for Mr. Hill, said that seeking tribal jurisdiction in the case was a matter of principle for his client.

“He enjoys every other benefit, every other responsibility, every other right of being a Cherokee citizen,” Mr. Peak said. “It’s backwards. I don’t understand it.”

“Two Black Members of Native Tribes Were Arrested. The Law Sees Only One as Indian.” by Chris Cameron and Mark Walker via NYT U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/03/us/politics/freedmen-mcgirt-ruling-oklahoma.html?partner=IFTTT

[reasoningdaily]

Black Seminoles | African-Native American History & Culture

Also called: Seminole Maroons or Seminole Freedmen

Black Seminoles, a group of free blacks and runaway slaves (maroons) that joined forces with the Seminole Indians in Florida from approximately 1700 through the 1850s. The Black Seminoles were celebrated for their bravery and tenacity during the three Seminole Wars.

The Native American Seminoles living in Florida were not one tribe but many. They spoke a variety of Muskogean languages and had formed an alliance to prevent European settlers from expanding into their homelands. The word they used to describe themselves—Seminole—is derived from a Creek word meaning “separatist” or “runaway.” Because slavery had been abolished in 1693 in Spanish Florida, that territory became a safe haven for runaway slaves. Throughout the 18th century, many free blacks and runaway slaves went to Florida and lived in harmony with the Seminoles. Their proximity to and resulting collaboration with the Seminoles led students of the group to refer to them as Black Indians, Black Seminoles, and eventually—especially among scholars—Seminole Maroons, or Seminole Freedmen.

Most Black Seminoles lived separately from the Indians in their own villages, although the two groups intermarried to some extent, and some Black Seminoles adopted Indian customs. Both groups wore similar dress, ate similar foods, and lived in similar houses. Both groups worked the land communally and shared the harvest. The Black Seminoles, however, practiced a religion that was a blend of African and Christian rituals, to which traditional Seminole Indian dances were added, and their language was an English Creole similar to Gullah and sometimes called Afro-Seminole Creole. Some of their leaders who were fluent speakers of Creek were readily admitted to Seminole society, but most remained separate.

There are a number of references, beginning in the late 18th century, to Seminole “slaves.” However, slavery among the Seminole Indians was quite different from what was practiced in the slave states to the north of Florida. It had nothing to do with ownership or free labour. The only real consequence of the status of Black Seminoles as “slaves” was that they paid an annual tribute to the Seminole Indians in the form of a percentage of their harvest.

The Black Seminoles were relatively prosperous and content. They farmed, hunted wild game, and amassed significant wealth. Many black men joined the Seminole Indians as warriors when their land or freedom was threatened. Others served as translators, helping the Seminoles understand not only the language but also the culture of Euro-Americans.

That cooperation endured only through the Seminole Wars of the first half of the 19th century. Euro-American settlers wanted the rich land occupied by the Seminoles, and Southern slaveholders were unnerved by free blacks who were armed and ready to fight and living just over the border from slave states. Between 1812 and 1858, U.S. forces fought several skirmishes and three wars against the Seminoles and the maroon communities.

The Black Seminoles were recognized for their aggressive military prowess during the First Seminole War (1817–18). That conflict began when General Andrew Jackson and U.S. troops invaded Florida, destroying African American and Indian towns and villages. Jackson ultimately captured the Spanish settlement of Pensacola, and the Spanish ceded Florida to the United States in 1821. About that time, some Black Seminoles chose to leave Florida for Andros Island, in the Bahamas, where a remnant of the Black Seminoles still remains, although they no longer identify themselves as such.

In 1830 the federal government enacted the Indian Removal Act, which stated the government’s intent to move the Seminoles from the southeast portion of the United States to Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma. That event led to renewed conflict.

In the Second Seminole War (1835–42), Black Seminoles took the lead in stirring up resistance. Although some bands of Seminoles had signed a treaty agreeing to the move, they did not represent the whole body of Seminoles. When the time came to leave, they resisted and fought an impassioned guerrilla war against the U.S. Army. Once again, during that conflict, Black Seminoles proved to be both leaders and courageous fighters. Often cited as the fiercest conflict ever fought between the United States and Indians, the Second Seminole War dragged on for seven years and cost the U.S. government more than $20 million. By 1845, however, most Seminoles and Black Seminoles had been resettled in Oklahoma, where they came under the rule of the Creek Indians.

Although both groups were subjugated by the Creeks, life was much worse for the Black Seminoles, and many left the reservation for Coahuila, Mexico, in 1849, led by John Horse, also known as Juan Caballo. In Mexico the Black Seminoles (known there as Mascogos) worked as border guards protecting their adopted country from attacks by slave raiders. The Third Seminole War erupted in Florida in 1855 as a result of land disputes between whites and the few remaining Seminoles there. At the end of that war, in 1858, fewer than 200 Seminoles remained in Florida.

When slavery finally ended in the United States, Black Seminoles were tempted to leave Mexico. In 1870 the U.S. government offered them money and land to return to the United States and work as scouts for the army. Many did return and serve as scouts, but the government never made good on its promise of land. Small communities of descendants of the Black Seminoles continue to live in Texas, Oklahoma, and Mexico.

How Black Seminoles Found Freedom From Enslavement in Florida

Black Seminoles were enslaved Africans and Black Americans who, beginning in the late 17th century, fled plantations in the Southern American colonies and joined with the newly-formed Seminole tribe in Spanish-owned Florida. From the late 1690s until Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821, thousands of Indigenous peoples and freedom seekers fled areas of what is now the southeastern United States to the relatively open promise of the Florida peninsula.

Seminoles and Black Seminoles

African people who escaped enslavement were called Maroons in the American colonies, a word derived from the Spanish word "cimarrón" meaning runaway or wild one. The Maroons who arrived in Florida and settled with the Seminoles were called a variety of names, including Black Seminoles, Seminole Maroons, and Seminole Freedmen. The Seminoles gave them the tribal name of Estelusti, a Muskogee word for black.

The word Seminole is also a corruption of the Spanish word cimarrón. The Spanish themselves used cimarrón to refer to Indigenous refugees in Florida who were deliberately avoiding Spanish contact. Seminoles in Florida were a new tribe, made up mostly of Muskogee or Creek people fleeing the decimation of their own groups by European-brought violence and disease. In Florida, the Seminoles could live beyond the boundaries of established political control (although they maintained ties with the Creek Confederacy) and free from political alliances with the Spanish or British.

The Attractions of Florida

In 1693, a royal Spanish decree promised freedom and sanctuary to all enslaved persons who reached Florida, if they were willing to adopt the Catholic religion. Enslaved Africans fleeing Carolina and Georgia flooded in. The Spanish granted plots of land to the refugees north of St. Augustine, where the Maroons established the first legally sanctioned free Black community in North America, called Fort Mose or Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose.

The Spanish embraced freedom seekers because they needed them for both their defensive efforts against American invasions, and for their expertise in tropical environments. During the 18th century, a large number of the Maroons in Florida had been born and raised in the tropical regions of Kongo-Angola in Africa. Many of the incoming enslaved Africans did not trust the Spanish, and so they allied with the Seminoles.

Black Alliance

The Seminoles were an aggregate of linguistically and culturally diverse Indigenous nations, and they included a large contingent of the former members of the Muscogee Polity also known as the Creek Confederacy. These were refugees from Alabama and Georgia who had separated from the Muscogee, in part, as a result of internal disputes. They moved to Florida where they absorbed members of other groups already there, and the new collective named themselves Seminole.

In some respects, incorporating African refugees into the Seminole band would have been simply adding in another tribe. The new Estelusti tribe had many useful attributes: many of the Africans had guerilla warfare experience, were able to speak several European languages, and knew about tropical agricultures.

That mutual interest—Seminole fighting to keep a purchase in Florida and Africans fighting to keep their freedom—created a new identity for the Africans as Black Seminoles. The biggest push for Africans to join the Seminoles came after the two decades when Britain owned Florida. The Spanish lost Florida between 1763 and 1783, and during that time, the British established the same harsh enslavement policies as in the rest of European North America. When Spain regained Florida under the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the Spanish encouraged their earlier Black allies to go to Seminole villages.

Being Seminole

The sociopolitical relations between the Black Seminole and Indigenous Seminole groups were multi-faceted, shaped by economics, procreation, desire, and combat. Some Black Seminoles were fully brought into the tribe by marriage or adoption. Seminole marriage rules said that a child's ethnicity was based on that of the mother: if the mother was Seminole, so were her children. Other Black Seminole groups formed independent communities and acted as allies who paid tribute to participate in mutual protection. Still, others were re-enslaved by the Seminole: some reports say that for formerly enslaved people, bondage to the Seminole was far less harsh than that of enslavement under the Europeans.

Black Seminoles may have been referred to as "slaves" by the other Seminoles, but their bondage was closer to tenant farming. They were required to pay a portion of their harvests to the Seminole leaders but enjoyed substantial autonomy in their own separate communities. By the 1820s, an estimated 400 Africans were associated with the Seminoles and appeared to be wholly independent "slaves in name only," and holding roles such as war leaders, negotiators, and interpreters.

However, the amount of freedom that Black Seminoles experienced is somewhat debated. Further, the U.S. military sought the support of Indigenous groups to "claim" the land in Florida and help them "reclaim" the human "property" of Southern enslavers. This effort ultimately had limited success but is historically significant nonetheless.

Removal Period

The opportunity for Seminoles, Black or otherwise, to stay in Florida disappeared after the U.S. took possession of the peninsula in 1821. A series of clashes between the Seminoles and the U.S. government, known as the Seminole wars, took place in Florida beginning in 1817. This was an explicit attempt to force Seminoles and their Black allies out of the state and clear it for white colonization. The most serious and effective effort was known as the Second Seminole War, between 1835 and 1842. Despite this tragic history, approximately 3,000 Seminoles live in Florida today.

By the 1830s, treaties were brokered by the U.S. government to move the Seminoles westward to Oklahoma, a journey that took place along the infamous Trail of Tears. Those treaties, like most of those made by the United States government to Indigenous groups in the 19th century, were broken.

One Drop Rule

The Black Seminoles had an uncertain status in the greater Seminole tribe, in part because of their ethnicity and the fact that they had been enslaved people. Black Seminoles defied the racial categories set up by the European governments to establish white supremacy. The white European contingent in the Americas found it convenient to maintain a white superiority by keeping non-whites in artificially constructed racial boxes. The "One Drop Rule" stated that if one had any African blood at all, they were African and, therefore, less entitled to the same rights and freedoms as Whites in the new United States.

Eighteenth-century African, Indigenous, and Spanish communities did not use the same "One Drop Rule" to identify Black people. In the early days of the European settlement of the Americas, neither Africans nor Indigenous peoples fostered such ideological beliefs or created regulatory practices about social and sexual interactions.

As the United States grew and prospered, a string of public policies and even scientific studies worked to erase the Black Seminoles from the national consciousness and official histories. Today in Florida and elsewhere, it has become increasingly difficult for the U.S. government to differentiate between African and Indigenous affiliations among the Seminole by any standards.

Mixed Messages

The Seminole nation's views of the Black Seminoles were not consistent throughout time or across the different Seminole communities. Some viewed the Black Seminoles as enslaved people and nothing else. There were also coalitions and symbiotic relationships between the two groups in Florida—the Black Seminoles lived in independent villages as essentially tenant farmers to the larger Seminole group. The Black Seminoles were given an official tribal name: the Estelusti. It could be said that the Seminoles established separate villages for the Estelusti to discourage Whites from trying to re-enslave the Maroons.

Many Seminoles resettled in Oklahoma and took several steps to separate themselves from their previous Black allies. The Seminoles adopted a more Eurocentric view of Black people and began to practice enslavement. Many Seminoles fought on the Confederate side in the Civil War; the last Confederate general killed in the Civil War was a Cherokee leader, Stand Watie, whose command was mostly made up of Seminole, Cherokee, and Muskogee soldiers. At the end of that war, the U.S. government had to force the Southern faction of the Seminoles in Oklahoma to give up their enslaved people. It wasn't until 1866 that Black Seminoles were accepted as full members of the Seminole Nation.

The Dawes Rolls

In 1893, the U.S. sponsored Dawes Commission was designed to create a membership roster of Seminoles and non-Seminoles based on whether an individual had African heritage. Two rosters were assembled: the Blood Roll for Seminoles and the Freedman Roll for Black Seminoles. The Dawes Rolls, as the document came to be known, stated that if your mother was Seminole, you were on the blood roll. If she was African, you were placed on the Freedmen roll. Those who were demonstrably half-Seminole and half-African would be placed on the Freedmen roll. Those who were three-quarters Seminole were place on the blood roll.

The status of the Black Seminoles became a keenly felt issue when compensation for their lost lands in Florida was finally offered in 1976. The total U.S. compensation to the Seminole nation for their lands in Florida came to $56 million. That deal, written by the U.S. government and signed by the Seminole nation, was written explicitly to exclude the Black Seminoles, as it was to be paid to the "Seminole nation as it existed in 1823." In 1823, the Black Seminoles were not yet official members of the Seminole nation. In fact, they could not be property owners because the U.S. government classed them as "property." Seventy-five percent of the total judgment went to relocated Seminoles in Oklahoma, 25% went to those who remained in Florida, and none went to the Black Seminoles.

Court Cases and Settling the Dispute

In 1990, the U.S. Congress finally passed the Distribution Act detailing the use of the judgment fund. The next year, the usage plan passed by the Seminole nation excluded the Black Seminoles again from participation. In 2000, the Seminoles expelled the Black Seminoles from their group entirely. A court case was opened (Davis v. U.S. Government) by Seminoles who were either Black Seminole or of both African and Seminole heritage. They argued that their exclusion from the judgment constituted racial discrimination. That suit was brought against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs: the Seminole Nation, as a sovereign nation, could not be joined as a defendant. The case failed in U.S. District Court because the Seminole nation was not part of the case.

In 2003, the Bureau of Indian Affairs issued a memorandum welcoming Black Seminoles back into the larger group. Attempts to patch the broken bonds that had existed between Black Seminoles and the rest of the Seminole population have seen varied success.

In the Bahamas and Elsewhere

Not every Black Seminole stayed in Florida or migrated to Oklahoma. A small band eventually established themselves in the Bahamas. There are several Black Seminole communities on North Andros and South Andros Island, established after a struggle against hurricanes and British interference.

Today there are Black Seminole communities in Oklahoma, Texas, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Black Seminole groups along the border of Texas/Mexico are still struggling for recognition as full citizens of the United States.

Sources

Gil R. 2014. The Mascogo/Black Seminole Diaspora: The Intertwining Borders of Citizenship, Race, and Ethnicity. Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies 9(1):23-43.

Howard R. 2006. The "Wild Indians" of Andros Island: Black Seminole Legacy in the Bahamas. Journal of Black Studies 37(2):275-298.

Melaku M. 2002. Seeking Acceptance: Are the Black Seminoles Native Americans? Sylvia Davis v. the United States of America. American Indian Law Review 27(2):539-552.

Robertson RV. 2011. A Pan-African analysis of Black Seminole perceptions of racism, discrimination, and exclusion The Journal of Pan African Studies 4(5):102-121.

Sanchez MA. 2015. The Historical Context of Anti-Black Violence in Antebellum Florida: A Comparison of Middle and Peninsular Florida. ProQuest: Florida Gulf Coast University.

Weik T. 1997. The Archaeology of Maroon Societies in the Americas: Resistance, Cultural Continuity, and Transformation in the African Diaspora. Historical Archaeology 31(2):81-92.

[akajustmerry]

Building off the last ask, a lot white people claim to be native without hard evidence, usually Cherokee being the most popular. They also claim to be descended from a native "princess" (again Cherokee) due to the fact maternal lineage is held in higher regard in Cherokee society. Another thing is that black natives historically had a harder time proving their indigenous identity due to white supremacy and the census having limitations of race/ethnicity (see Cherokee freedmen controversy). Last year, I found I had Cherokee ancestry through my paternal grandmother's family in Appalachia. One of my white ancestors married a Cherokee man who was the son of Young Tassel or his English name John Watts. That lineage was able to "pass" in the incoming generations and would put "white" on census records as a way to hide their indigenous identity from racial prejudice. I also learned some of their cousins would be forced on the Trail of Tears while they weren't because they either "passed" or had moved north. For white people like myself who have distant native ancestry please just say "of Native descent" or "distant Native heritage" not "Native American". Unless you come from a blended white/native family do not claim "Native American", we did not grow up with the customs of our native ancestors. Merry certain tribes/nations have blood quantum like the Cherokee so it was interesting it hear that mobs didn't. And just for natives here especially mixed natives of color, it's hard to find jobs on Turtle Island. Love and Solidarity from Turtle Island 💖

- Claire

Thank you, claire! I've definitely noticed differences in how First Nations peoples on Turtle Island identify themselves when I've watched shows like Rutherford Falls, and Reservation Dogs, and learned a lot reading analysis and critique of those shows. There's so many differences and similarities in our communities !! love and solidarity <3

[mimi-0007]

Here to say it's unfair that my family can't get benefits because of a marriage. Why does the mixed children today get full benefits. It's nothing wrong with. They deserve it. I'm speaking of my Ancestry. My great great granddaughter married a black man. I live in Oklahoma. The Native Americans act like wp. They are rude. I see white ppl getting benefits. It's always the black man losing. We fought just as hard as you did and more!! July 18,1906.

[ausetkmt]

Freedmen Seek Their Fair Share of Billions of Dollars in Federal Aid and Why We Should Care/Rise UP and Support Them

By Eli Grayson Eagle Guest Writer

Eli Grayson is a Creek Citizen and unabashed supporter of the Freedmen descendants of the 5 Civilized Tribes and the 1866 Reconstruction Treaties.

This past week, we celebrated our Nation’s 244th year of Independence with family and friends over BBQ and fireworks, we should all stop to reflect on its significance, particularly in light of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

The protests that have swept the country by those outraged over the death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and far too many others, most of whose names have not garnered national attention, has sparked a long-overdue National dialogue about the treatment of Black Americans in the United States, a reckoning with this country’s past, the many vestiges of slavery that continue today, and what we as a country can and must do to address racism. [It also reminds ALL of us that we have a long way to go.]

Not only have the egregious deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery led to a growing chorus of voices calling for criminal justice reform, it has prompted many to reflect upon racism in both its subtle and overt forms today. It has prompted many to learn about events long celebrated by Black Americans such as Juneteenth (even the NFL recently recognized Juneteenth as an official holiday). And it has prompted many to consider what steps we as individuals, and as a society, can take to affirmatively address it. Here in Oklahoma, attention has focused on Black Wall Street and the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

Well known is the U.S. Government’s abhorrent treatment of Native Americans, which included abrogation of countless treaties, appropriation of land, and forced removal to Western territories, including what is today Oklahoma.

Less well known, however, is the fact that the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole Nations – collectively known today as the Five Civilized Tribes – enslaved Africans. Like Southern plantation owners, they bought and sold slaves and treated them as chattel property. Indeed, slaveholding was such an integral part of the daily life of these tribal nations that each entered treaties with the Confederate States of America in 1861 to ensure its continuance.

Many Americans recently learned for the first time about the meaning and significance of Juneteenth, when nearly all remaining slaves in the United States and its territories were freed – a full 71 days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox on April 9, 1865 to Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant.

Enslaved Africans of Indian Territory

This was not the case for the enslaved Africans of Indian Territory. Even after Lee’s surrender, and even after General Granger read his Orders, the enslaved Africans of Indian Territory were kept in bondage.

Sadly, it was not until the Five Tribes of Indian Territory entered Treaties with the U.S. Government on March 21, with the Seminole Nation, on April 28, with the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations, on June 14, with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and on July 19, with the Cherokee Nation in 1866 – more than a year after Lee’s surrender – were these slaves granted freedom, tribal citizenship, and equal interest in the soil and national funds.

Each of these treaties (collectively known as the Treaties of 1866) contained provisions freeing the slaves and an express acknowledgement that the U.S. Constitution was, and shall remain, the Supreme Law of the land. Notably, there was no mention of tribal law or sovereignty insulating these slave holding tribes from full compliance with the U.S. Constitution, which includes all the Civil War reconstruction amendments.

Today, we find ourselves at a turning point in society. Similar to the country as a whole, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Nations must take this seminal moment to carefully examine their slaveholding past, their prior allegiance with the Confederacy, enshrined through Treaties entered in 1861, and how they can make amends by fully adhering to both the letter and spirit of the 1866 Reconstruction Peace Treaties.

Congressional legislation

The three House bills are H.R. 2, the Invest in America Act, which includes $1 billion for the Native American Housing Block Grant Program to create or rehabilitate over 8,000 affordable homes for Native Americans on tribal lands; H.R. 6800, the HEROES Act, which includes $6 billion for housing and community development to respond to the Coronavirus; and H.R. 5319, the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Reauthorization Act (NAHASDA), which would authorize $680 million in grants to tribes in the first year and grow to $824 million in the fifth and final year.

Why is this important and why should you care? NAHASDA was originally passed by Congress in 1996 to address poor housing conditions in Indian country and last re-authorized in 2008. It is a flagship Federal law for Native American tribes and the vehicle through which approximately $650 million flows annually to the tribes. In Oklahoma, the Five Civilized Tribes receive more than $62 million annually in direct grants for housing and community development projects. These grants are based on a formula that takes into account various factors including the number of tribal members. Notably, these grants are supported by taxpayers.

For the 2021 Fiscal Year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is responsible for administering NAHASDA, has informed the Five Civilized Tribes that they can expect to receive $62,223,462. Thus, nearly 10 percent of all NAHASDA grant funds will go to just these five tribes. By any measure, this is a significant sum, particularly when you consider that there are approximately 573 federally recognized tribes in the United States today, according to data from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. And, the final amount will be even greater as Congress has (appropriately) increased the amount of funds for NAHASDA far above the amounts requested by this Administration, including an appropriation of $825 million for this Fiscal Year.

Oklahoma Tribes receive millions in housing aid

Native American Tribes also receive other competitively awarded grants from HUD through a program known as the Indian Community Development Block Grant program. The Choctaw Nation was recently awarded $900,000 to rehabilitate 60 single-family homes while the Cherokee Nation received the same sum to construct a community building, which will house the Early Head Start program. The Chickasaw Nation was awarded $900,000 to construct a youth center in Ardmore, Oklahoma that will provide a safe and clean place for activities and services for Chickasaw tribal youth while the Muscogee (Creek) Nation will use its $900,000 award to construct a facility on the campus of the College of Muscogee Nation. The facility will include space for exhibitions and a lecture hall. These are worthy projects and it is vital that all those in need, including Freedmen descendants, can benefit.

Why Freedmen are concerned

Now if you have read this far, you must be thinking this is great news for these five tribes. And indeed, it is. However, for the Freedmen who are de facto members of the tribe, they may never see a dime of these funds if history is any guide.

Steps such as conditioning or denying the issuance of Citizenship Cards to Freedmen descendants, as well the disenrollment of Freedmen as tribal citizens, is what first led Congress in 2008 to include language in the NAHASDA re-authorization bill to link the receipt of NAHASDA housing grants to compliance with the treaty rights and benefits conferred on the Freedmen through the 1866 treaties.

That is why the efforts of House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-California, to fight on behalf of the Freedmen of all Five Civilized Tribes is so vital.

The committee she chairs oversees HUD and is responsible for periodically re-authorizing NAHASDA. A bi-partisan bill introduced in Congress last December would re-authorize NAHASDA. However, unlike the 2008 legislation, which contained language to prevent the Cherokee Nation from denying Cherokee Freedmen under the Act, the bill introduced by Rep. Denny Heck and co-sponsored by Reps. Scott Tipton (R-Colorado), Ben Ray Lujan (D-New Mexico), Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), Deb Haaland (D- New Mexico), Don Young (R-Arkansas), Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wisconsin), and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), does not contain any protections for the Cherokee Freedmen nor the Freedmen of the other Civilized Tribes. Similarly, the version introduced in the Senate last week is devoid of such protections for the Freedmen.

Disturbed by the pattern of denying benefits to Freedmen, Chairwoman Waters is seeking assurance that descendants of Freedmen are not denied NAHASDA funds received by the Tribes. The Descendants of the Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes have been working to include language that would ensure that the Freedmen of all Five Civilized Tribes receive taxpayer funded NAHASDA benefits. A similar effort advanced by former House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank was successful and helped to ensure that Cherokee Freedmen received NAHASDA benefits. And in case, any question whether such protections were needed, one look only to the fact that HUD held up NAHASDA funds to the Cherokee Nation for noncompliance.

Native Americans keep fight against Freedmen

Given the harsh treatment of Native Americans at the hands of whites, one naturally would expect these Five Tribes and their supporters and defenders to be more sensitive to the plight of Freedmen who today make up more than 200,000 descendants.

The reality has been quite the opposite.

Despite knowing all this, tribal leaders and their supporters and defenders continue to maintain that such language is not needed and further argue that such language infringes upon the sovereign rights of ALL Native American tribes.

Both arguments could not be further from the truth.

Language ensuring that the Freedmen have access to federal housing benefits is urgently needed for the very reason that Freedmen have routinely been denied NAHASDA benefits for years. And let’s be clear – language we are seeking does not apply to ALL tribes, but rather only to the Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes.

And it does not stop at NAHASDA benefits. Freedmen have been denied tribal citizenship, benefits, and the right to vote as well. Regarding sovereignty, these are federal taxpayer dollars – as such, the federal government and, by extension, its American citizens, have a vested interest in ensuring that all tribal members, including Freedmen, benefit from the funds appropriated pursuant to NAHASDA.

If tribes feel so strongly about their sovereign right to continue to discriminate against Freedmen through denial of federally funded benefits, they can opt to refuse the funding, which would then be redistributed to other tribes. Indeed, it is the height of hypocrisy for any of the Five Civilized Tribes or their supporters to makes these arguments as they count the Freedmen when it comes to the allocation of federal housing grants from HUD yet turn around and deny those very same Freedmen from receiving such benefits.

Freedmen are equal, lawful Tribal citizens

And don’t be mistaken. While Freedmen should be treated as equal citizens under the respective 1866 Treaties, the language we are seeking to include in each of these three bills carefully avoids this ensuring Freedmen receive taxpayer housing and community development benefits on the same terms and conditions as their Native American sisters and brothers.

Indeed, in many instances, these truly are their sisters and brothers given the extensive intermixing of Freedmen and By Blood tribal members over the years. Ironically, this has resulted in some members of a family being considered by the Five Tribes as Indian and therefore citizens of the Tribe while other family members being considered by the tribe as non-Indian and therefore like black sheep.

Yet every time we make a further legislative concession and are led to believe that we are close to a final agreement on language, the Tribes and their supporters and defenders move the goalposts. Sound familiar? Yes, a sensitive issue. The Freedmen only seek to ensure that the Five Civilized Tribes comply with the Treaties of 1866.

Tribal Nations’ actions throw shade on BLM

Lastly, the Five Civilized tribes cannot have it both ways. They cannot on the one hand claim they are victims of discrimination and participate in BLM rallies yet discriminate against Freedmen by denying them suffrage and other rights of tribal citizenship under the guise of sovereignty.

And we are under no illusion that fighting this battle for justice and equality will not remain a challenge. The Five Civilized Tribes have wielded their extensive influence amongst the Nation’s 573 tribes to frame the debate and shape the position of the National tribal organizations in Washington, whom the Members of Congress look to when writing laws that affect the tribes. Adding to the challenge is the fact that the Five Civilized tribes have deployed their sizable resources to contribute to key Members of Congress with the dual purpose of keeping Americans in the dark about their slaveholding past and ensuring that these legal protections for Freedmen never see the light of day in Congress.

But just like our Nation, it is time for the Five Civilized Tribes to stand up and confront their past by taking immediate and affirmative steps to ensure that all descendants of Freedmen receive the federal housing benefits.

This they can do by supporting legislation being courageously advanced by Chairwoman Waters that would require the Five Civilized Tribes to both comply with their Treaty obligations of ensuring access to benefits for Freedmen and report on their compliance to Congress.

Featured Image (Top), Buck C. Franklin, Nashville, Tennessee, 1899, Calvert Brothers Studio Glass Plate Negatives Collection, The Tennessee State Library and Archives Blog

[the-girl-who-didnt-smile]

The fate of the “Preacher”

He joined the Gede.

I put an unusual amount of thought into this minor character, which I describe below the cut:

This character (who is actually a doctor) is supposed to illustrate the differences between the natives to the Underworld (“Banshees”) and the former humans (“Gede”). Unlike the “Banshees”, the former humans have noses, and can be of any gender/sex. They are forced by Baron to wear top hats, even if they don’t want to (he is diabolical…) If it’s crossing a line to call them “Gede”, I’m fine with just calling them “Undead”. 

I designed him with two goals in mind: 

As a tribute to Doctor John Montenée 

As representation for people of mixed African and Native descent

In real life, Doctor John Montenée is  probably the single most important Voodoo King from 19th century New Orleans. Described as the sharp-dressed son of a Bambara royal with a series of scars on his cheek, he is said to have personally trained Marie Laveau. Where I have previously described the Haitian influences on New Orleans Voodoo, Montenée contributed Senegembian elements, as he was a master conjure doctor who popularized gris-gris in New Orleans. This is one of the reasons why New Orleans Voodoo isn’t purely Haitian in origin, but draws from multiple African traditions.

Much of this work has been focused on the oppression of African Americans during the 19th and early 20th centuries. I would be remiss to omit Native Americans, victims of genocide whose history goes untold. In Louisiana and neighboring Southern states, African Americans have a complicated history with Native Americans. The “Five Civilized Tribes” enslaved people of African descent, but there are also examples of positive relationships between the two groups. For example, the Chickasaw did not enslave Africans, but Choctaw - specifically Choctaw women. As such, a number of Chickasaw freedmen/women from this time period were the children of African men and Choctaw women. It is also possible that one of Marie Laveau’s close followers - Doctor Jim Alexander (legally named Charles Lafontaine) - was of partial African and Native American descent. Historically, he was described as being “about three-quarters Indian” and one-quarter African. Unfortunately, we have to take this description with a grain of salt, as there is a history of non-Natives falsely claiming Native American heritage. It is therefore possible that Doctor Jim Alexander was of mixed European and African descent, without Native American heritage. Regardless, I operated under the assumption that Doctor Jim Alexander really was of Native American descent, and attempted to respectfully incorporate Native American heritage with a degree of historical accuracy. 

This OC is supposed to be a descendent of the Hazbin Hotel version of Doctor John Montenée - specifically, one of his grandsons. His paternal grandfather was very similar to the real-life Doctor John - the son of a Bambara royal with an “ink black” complexion, of average height and stocky, muscular build. Much like the real-life Doctor John Montenée, he was master of gris-gris and conjuring. He had a number of concubines, one of whom was a Choctaw woman. With her, he had a son, who would go on to become this character’s father.

This character’s father was technically an illegitimate child, but his own father took good care of him and was a good father to him. For this reason, he had a comfortable childhood and remained affluent as an adult. Although he was grateful to and respectful of his father, his father’s lifestyle concerned him, as it attracted negative attention and mistreatment from authorities. For this reason, he never took up conjuring. He was not ashamed of his heritage by any means, but was only interested in assimilating into the racial hierarchy of New Orleans so that - like his own father - he could pass prosperity down to his children. Like his father, he was sharp dressed, but dressed in a way so not to draw attention. For the most part, he was physically indistinguishable from the affluent Creole men of his time. He certainly did not wear traditional garb, but kept some traditional practices alive in the privacy of his home. He went on to marry a Chickasaw freedwoman, who was Black but had one Choctaw grandmother. She was the mother of their son - a man of mixed African and Choctaw descent, and the grandson of the Doctor John Montenée character.

I would place his birth year roughly around 1880. Much like his grandfather, he became a famous rootworker and conjure doctor. To describe his personality, he was always the type of man to go “against the grain”. He likely would have been called “queer” - not to describe his sexuality, but overall “strange”-ness. (enemies of his would also have called him “queer” in an attempt to insult him. he is the type of man who wouldn’t understand why this is an insult, unable to comprehend why his contemporaries saw homosexuality as a bad thing) He was highly eccentric and non-conformist, but thoroughly virtuous. His virtue is inherited from his parents, who were both exceptionally virtuous - never abusive or negligent towards their son, and known for feeding and giving charity to the poor. Still, his father discouraged him from becoming a conjure doctor, having witnessed how his own father was mistreated for his profession. Although his parents encouraged him to conform, he encountered too much difficulty integrating into mainstream society. A “walking encyclopedia”, he displayed a high degree of intelligence and retention from a young age. But while he was gifted in rational intelligence, he was below average in emotional intelligence. It’s not that he didn’t experience emotions or that he wasn’t interested in the motions of others, but that he had difficulty communicating his emotions and assessing the emotions of others. For these reasons, he struggled with social interactions in childhood and adolescence. As an adult, he decided to embrace what others considered “strange” in him - it is this very decision that allowed him to thrive, becoming renowned and adored by other social outcasts. 

As a human, his atypical appearance caused him to stand out. Unusual for a man of his time, he took keen interest and pride in his ancestry. He came to learn that his father was half Bambara and half Choctaw, and that his mother was also a quarter Choctaw. Unfortunately, he was never able to fully trace her African heritage, only identifying that her non-mixed parent was also of the Bambara. He took it upon himself to scar his cheek, in an attempt to preserve the tradition of facial scarification from his paternal grandfather (who is just the Hazbin Hotel version of Doctor John Montenée). He was initially scolded by his parents for doing this, but they later came to accept his decision. He liked to wear a high silk hat - a family heirloom, as it was originally his grandfather’s*. He adorned it with feathers, and sashes across his chest in the style of traditional Choctaw dress. He pierced his ears, as Choctaw men were known to wear earrings, and enjoyed wearing jewelry in the form of necklaces and gold bracelets. All of these elements of traditional Choctaw dress were acquired from members of the Choctaw community, whom he sought out due to his interest in his heritage. Underneath this, he wore a suit, which he was particular to always keep in good condition. He was never unkempt, as he enjoyed expressing himself through fashion, and his unique style drew people to him. He was of average height (meaning, shorter than modern-day average height) and broad-shouldered, but did not inherit his grandfather’s stocky/muscular build. Due to his appearance, many women were attracted to him, but he was not a lecher. 

*In real life, Doctor John Montenée was known for wearing a high silk hat; this among other reasons is why I may have previously misattributed “The Devil in the High Silk Hat” to Papa Gede. Top hats were such a popular fashion item at the time, this detail does not necessarily point to the African American “Devil” being Haitian in origin.

A master of rootwork, healing came naturally to him. He was extremely deft at curing disease, and sometimes described as a “preacher” for his skill at teaching, speaking, and imparting wisdom. He met an untimely death when he was falsely accused of killing a pedophile priest, who had connections to the Ku Klux Klan. Like his friends and family, he committed very few, very minor sins in his life, but his eccentric lifestyle barred him from entering Heaven. During his lifetime, he paid respect to The Baron of Death and was never once afraid of him. For this reason, The Baron was fond of him and offered him the chance to join the Gede. He accepted with little to no hesitation, as he was unable to join his family or friends in Heaven and wasn’t keen on going to Hell. (unlike most of his contemporaries, he was not put off by Baron and Maman’s sexual lifestyle. he himself was not sexually deviant, he just never understood prejudice towards sexual minorities) His color scheme changed from red and black to purple; otherwise, his appearance is similar to how he appeared as a human.

One of the conditions for joining the Gede is that you have to agree to have your hands amputated. Upon doing this, your hands are immediately replaced with magic - there is no loss of dexterity. In the default state, the new hands are black with pink magic glowing from the joints in the fingers and the centers of the palms. In this state, black and pink magic cancel each other out - it is possible to touch living things without killing or healing them. Anyone with these hands can shift the color from black to pink or vice versa; in other words, they have the power to kill or heal through touch.

I don’t know why I decided to do this, but he’s totally supposed to look like a nutcracker… but I screwed up here and made his shoulders too broad. I’m just really bad at imitating the art style of the show! His shoulders should be noticeably broader than his hips, but this is due to his bone structure, which he inherited from his grandfather. In terms of musculature, he is very average (he lived long before weight training became popular). He is also average height - not tall. He is himself a mixed race descendant of Choctaw and African slaves, but it is also possible to connect him to characters of pure Choctaw descent, as he sought out and achieved a connection with a local Choctaw community.