When reading the interviews of Freedmen seeking to have their names placed on the Dawes Roll, most interviews were simply factual data recorded about their lives. So when expressions of tenderness and emotion appear from these interviews it is enough to make one pause and appreciate who the Oklahoma Freedmen were. They were men, they were women, they were people who had emotions and between many dared to express their love for their life partner to anyone who would hear it. Therefore, on this Valentine's Day, it is worthwhile to share two examples of the love and passion that people shared fo ..read more

  New ZOOM-chat schedule  Afvummi Himona Na Yukpa - Happy New Year!   Beginning in January 2024 the twice-a-week history/genealogy chats will occur on the following days: Sunday 4:00 - 6:00 pm Friday   4:00 - 6:30 pm The new schedule will accomodate people who cannot make the weekday chats, and the Friday chats will hopefully allow people who are working to join the chat later in the day. Sunday chats will be open with no specified topics. Friday chats will have a Topic of the day. The first half-hour will incorporate the Day's topic, and may occasionally be taped ..read more

  In 1915, the first of several events unfolded in Muskogee Oklahoma when the "Great Agricultural and Industrial Parade" unfolded at the fair grounds. The event occurred during the week of Labor Day from September 6th through 11th at the fair. One of the highlights of the event was a massive parade with dozens of find automobiles and horsemen parading through downtown Muskogee. on 2nd Street which was the heart of the black business community at that time. Each day there were horse races, in addition to automobile racing unfolding. For children there was much to amuse them with c ..read more

Juneteenth and a Season of Freedom We celebrated Juneteenth yesterday, which is a national holiday honoring the end of slavery and beginning of freedom in the United States for millions of people. However, for several thosand people just to the west, in Indian Territory, slavery continued. A full year after the Civil War the five slaverholding tribes finally abolished slavery by signing a treaty with the United States. Four different treaties were signed, with 3 tribes signing their own treaty--Cherokee, Creek and Seminole Nations. Choctaws and Chickasaws signed the same exact treaty, an ..read more

  DAY 1: FREEDMEN HISTORY MONTH Basic Genealogy & History For Choctaw & Chickasaw Freedmen In 1906, the year before Oklahoma Statehood, the population of citizens from Indian Territory was published. These were individuals who had been present from the 1830s onward. Among the Five Tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminoles) were several thousand blacks the eldest of whom had been brought to the Territory as slaves within those tribes. Their children and grandchildren lived within those nations until statehood, and were thoroughly documented over the decades from ..read more

 An interesting obituary recently share by history enthusiast and collector Rex Campbell of Oklahoma City recently caught my attention. It was a simple article about a man who had passed away in September of 1918. The deceased man was Dave Roberts, and he was simply described as a "Wealthy Negro" who had passed away. Muskogee Times-Democrat September 23, 1915, p 4 (Accessed from Newspapers.com) So who was this "wealthy Negro?" The notice of his death indicated that he possessed much real estate in downtown Muskogee, so with great curiosity I became interested in more details about ..read more

  Women (left to right): LeEtta Osborn Simpson (Seminole); Rhonda Grayson (Muscogee); Sharon Linzy Scott (Muscogee), Marilyn Vann (Cherokee), Rosie Khalid (Cherokee); Angela Walton-Raji (Choctaw) (This group met in Senator Schatz's office after the Senate Hearing) On July 27th, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs met in Washington DC to listen to input from the five slave-holding tribes. These tribes are the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations. The purpose of the hearing was to discuss issues pertaining to the descendants of Freedmen--the African people once hel ..read more

  From Terry Ligon's blog: Bettie's List Last week's Senate Hearing about the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866, was most revealing, including the official statements by the speakers who made the effort to defend their stand on why they do not provide full citizenship to the descendants of the people who were enslaved in their nation, in their space, and in their families. On his blog, Terry Ligon shared a poignant article from 1910 about the pushback against Freedmen wishing to be transferred to the rolls by blood, because they had Indian fathers. He included quotes from the article i ..read more

  Senator Schatz Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs July 27th 2022 was a landmark date. For the first time in history a hearing on the status of Freedmen of the Five slave-holding tribes, occurred to address the neglicence of both tribal officials and Congress in issues pertaining to those once enslaved. Focus of the hearing:  OVERSIGHT HEARING ON 1866 RECONSTRUCTION TREATIES BETWEEN UNITED STATES AND OKLAHOMA TRIBES The hearing was chaired by Senator Brian Schatz (D. Hawaii) and in attendance were descendants of Freedmen from all five tribes, whose ancestors were o ..read more

  Meeting Congresswoman Maxine Waters after Hearing ing on Capitol Hill How ironic that last year July 28th a hearing occurred on Capitol Hill. Many descendants of Freedmen descendants from all Five tribes attende in support of language in the NAHASDA bill to include text pertaining to the Freedmen of the Five Tribes. We did have an opportunity to meet various members of Congress, including Congresswoman Maxine Waters and others, in suppor of language mentioning the Freedmen in the NAHASDA bill. And now---a year later on July 27th of 2022 a hearing THIS TIME ,exclusively ABOUT the Freedm ..read more