tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84828363036964515282024-02-29T17:06:37.149-08:00Bettie's ListBettie’s List, is a blog about the approximately 1,600 to 2,000 people seeking a transfer from the Choctaw or Chickasaw Freedmen roll to the “citizen by blood” roll because their father or another male ancestor was a Chickasaw or Choctaw citizen by blood
Bettie’s List is also my story on how I became familiar with this unique story and the journey I’ve been on since discovering my family's hidden history of African-Native people.
Empower Me to Know My HistoryTerry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.comBlogger125125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-14182528605792716152024-02-29T17:05:00.000-08:002024-02-29T17:05:57.078-08:00They Came West With the Indians, "Captured Prisoners of War, Black Seminoles"<p> <i style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif;"> “As the war progressed, the ranks of blacks were swelled by refugees from Florida plantations and others captured by the Indians. It is impossible to say how many blacks were among the Seminoles during the war. One early estimate set the number of black warriors at 250, with 150 of these estimated to be runaways. Another estimate set the total number of blacks at 1,400, of whom only an estimated two hundred were slaves of the Indians. Yet when the Seminoles were finally removed between 1838 and 1843, nearly five hundred blacks went west with them.”</i></p><p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><i>Africans and Seminoles, From Removal to Emancipation</i>, Dr. Daniel F. Littlefield, Jr.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> On Sept 22, 1837, General Thomas S. Jesup who oversaw a portion of the Seminole removal from Florida, wrote to the Secretary of War, Poinsett, seeking “<i>sanctions</i>” for actions he undertook regarding the purchase of “negroes, captured by the Creek,” for which he paid $8,000. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Jesup’s letter to the Secretary argued that <i>“promises made to them before they entered the service, to all Indian negroes and other Indian property captured by them.” </i>He went on to bolster his argument by informing Secretary Poinsett his rationale for his actions, <i>“To end all difficulty on that subject, I have purchased the negroes from them on account of the public for eight thousand dollars. There are about eighty of the negroes besides Abram’s family, and those who are free; some of them perhaps, may be found on investigation to be the property of citizens.”</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Clearly, Jesup’s actions of paying the “Creek Warriors” the $8,000 was done before he received approval from the War Department and as a way of demonstrating the urgency of his actions, he included, perhaps, his reasons for the payment. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><i> “The Creek Indians had been promised a reward for the captures they should make of negroes belonging to citizens of the United States-had compensation not been promised they would have taken no prisoners but would have put all to death.”</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Perhaps, Jesup rightfully concluded that since the Creeks were entitled to this <i>“reward”</i> therefore, justifying his <i>“compromised payment for eighty negroes” </i>at <i>“twenty dollars for each slave captured.”</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 13.8pt; margin: 0in;"> Jesup’s letter reveals a lot more about this transaction. He suggested <i>“The Seminole Annuity, it seems to me, might be charged with the amount paid to the Indians for these negroes, as well as with the reward for securing those who belonged to citizens.”</i> There is a certain duplicity in this payment, making the Seminoles pay for the claims of slaves by United States citizens, as well as paying the Creek Indians for capturing them to avoid the murder of eighty slaves. Jesup concluded the payment of twenty dollars a slave to the Creek Indians was <i>“entirely satisfactory to them though it is far less than the value of the negroes.”</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 13.8pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 13.8pt; margin: 0in;"> The struggle of the Seminoles in Florida and the Blacks that lived among them had been problematic from the start. As early as 1823 and the signing of the Treaty at Camp Moultrie, a stipulation was written in the document <i>“that all runaway slaves which go into the Indian country after the date of that treaty, shall be taken up by the Indians, and restored to their owners.”</i> It was the idea that the Seminole Nation in Florida was a harbor for runaway slaves from nearby states, that made it an imperative to remove the Seminoles and the blacks that lived among them west of the Mississippi. This was a population of black people that had minimal control if any on their freedom of movement. This was a problem for the nearby states when the nation was in Florida and could become a problem again, in Indian Territory.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><i> “It is highly important to the slave holding states that these negroes be sent out of the country; and I would strongly recommend that they be sent to one of our colonies in Africa.”</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> The muster rolls for the Seminoles and Negroes <i>“captured prisoners of war”</i> being removed west are loaded with good historical and genealogical information. These rolls offer something unique about the story of removal. In no other tribe that was removed west are the names of the African and African-Native descendants that came with them. When the Seminole Nation commemorates their forced removal west of the Mississippi, the story of those Black people among them should always be included.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFNVsO-ixx5Guy8FH0Z_uWYYd8Ysa_kGxxEOrDhuvqSiYQzipfxgmLpUUgLzPQq5VNd3QCKhyGn62w7KYg8irHOafAYKZJH8agWtbk5jhjeVKkiT9HEXrOdwcbXWhpG_nRsDChyjjO14_FAWIDYeoc2KLZB7ATeYlyLR1En5j3MwJNlOF8NpLRejysZt5/s4415/M-234_Muster_Roll_Seminole_Roll%23290_1837_RegistryNegroPrisonersCaptured_Frame%23248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2671" data-original-width="4415" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFNVsO-ixx5Guy8FH0Z_uWYYd8Ysa_kGxxEOrDhuvqSiYQzipfxgmLpUUgLzPQq5VNd3QCKhyGn62w7KYg8irHOafAYKZJH8agWtbk5jhjeVKkiT9HEXrOdwcbXWhpG_nRsDChyjjO14_FAWIDYeoc2KLZB7ATeYlyLR1En5j3MwJNlOF8NpLRejysZt5/w400-h243/M-234_Muster_Roll_Seminole_Roll%23290_1837_RegistryNegroPrisonersCaptured_Frame%23248.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M-234 Seminole Muster Roll #290, Frame 247 (Ancestry.com)</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"></p>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-23127612997823527972024-02-23T08:38:00.000-08:002024-02-23T11:07:05.706-08:00Sarah Grant, Lydia Jackson, "A Riddle, Wrapped in a Mystery, Inside DNA"<h2 class="date-header" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: white; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; border-top: 0px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); bottom: 100%; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px -15px 1px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; right: 15px;"><span style="border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-left: 0px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); border-right-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-right: 0px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); display: block; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; padding: 0.5em 15px;">Originally Published<span style="font-weight: normal;"> Wednesday, May 5, 2010</span></span></h2><div class="date-posts" style="background-color: white; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); clear: both; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin: 0px -15px; padding: 8px 15px 0px;"><div class="post-outer" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin: 0px -15px; padding: 0px 15px 10px;"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="min-height: 0px; position: relative;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a name="6521813771939462337"></a></span><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><a href="https://blackandredjournal.blogspot.com/2010/05/betties-list-lydia-jackson-chickasaw.html" style="color: #444444; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration: none;">Bettie's List-Lydia JACKSON Chickasaw Freedwoman # 391</a></span></h3><div><br /></div><div><i>This article has been updated and includes additional new information since first published in 2010</i></div><div><br /></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span> The Dawes Commission handicapped the former slaves in Indian Territory known as freedmen from the beginning by not properly conducting AND recording their interviews for land allotments and citizenship in the tribes of their birth. For the most part, the majority of the people who were placed on the Freedman roll and sought a transfer will discover their jackets are nothing more than a summarization of the oral interview taken at the time. In order to establish their rights as “Citizens by blood” at the time of the Dawes enrollment process, the vital information that would substantiate their testimony was left out to the oral interviews that were sent to the Department of the Interior for review.</span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipz8Vv8u7r3a7s88bfSB8T8JNcgi9MO9BNL2qWh0VLbyZL9lJer6thlpGxBXBMyLlts1VPdqRtAslMGxsDDpT2Z12NpDvMJw4BdDU3TGgnPpXIcms4MEkhjKRsNOk0XvmV9gVhiSpsShkf23aeqDSLc66iOcZjSden53aRee2FLb1I5QLFnksE5gcKYGQS/s4842/JACKSON,Lydia.CHIF%230391F.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2519" data-original-width="4842" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipz8Vv8u7r3a7s88bfSB8T8JNcgi9MO9BNL2qWh0VLbyZL9lJer6thlpGxBXBMyLlts1VPdqRtAslMGxsDDpT2Z12NpDvMJw4BdDU3TGgnPpXIcms4MEkhjKRsNOk0XvmV9gVhiSpsShkf23aeqDSLc66iOcZjSden53aRee2FLb1I5QLFnksE5gcKYGQS/w400-h208/JACKSON,Lydia.CHIF%230391F.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 13px;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bLwxqtxqw8uChP3MxF5_PvjNwbE_2RbxOF1Cotif8Qy9_U-pLkrVOwc_g-VEWBIRks4NZzzbL0Auy_Xt2ZI_UzGTTSVTs24eDm7a2h2SLcJAYh4lDYbk4IwwOLBGrC5ssNM0mNJ_mmdXZ5eMqke4rT_tAEiZpuyYBQVmdLt_kZqvDkQmBWr1gJzB9_zB/s4826/JACKSON,Lydia.CHIF%230391R(7071).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2523" data-original-width="4826" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bLwxqtxqw8uChP3MxF5_PvjNwbE_2RbxOF1Cotif8Qy9_U-pLkrVOwc_g-VEWBIRks4NZzzbL0Auy_Xt2ZI_UzGTTSVTs24eDm7a2h2SLcJAYh4lDYbk4IwwOLBGrC5ssNM0mNJ_mmdXZ5eMqke4rT_tAEiZpuyYBQVmdLt_kZqvDkQmBWr1gJzB9_zB/w400-h209/JACKSON,Lydia.CHIF%230391R(7071).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span> Lydia Jackson was a woman involved in the Equity Case #7071 lawsuit that involved approximately two thousand people who sought a transfer from the Choctaw and/or Chickasaw Freedmen rolls. In 1907 they sued the two tribes along with the Department of the Interior for twenty million dollars which was calculated to be the value of land they should have received had they been declared "citizens by blood" because they had father's who were recognized citizens of the Chickasaw or Choctaw Nation.</span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span><br /> Ben LOVE was a recognized citizens of the Chickasaw Nation and named as the father of Lydia JACKSON who was born about 1842, according to the information on Lydia's Dawes card #391. Lydia was the daughter of Sarah Grant, an enslaved woman that gave her age as seventy-four when she applied for citizenship and a land allotment in September of 1898. </span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span> Sarah's oral interview doesn't provide any information on how and when she came west, but her age suggests she more than likely was part of the numerous slaves brought to Indian Territory with Benjamin Love.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_VPOdSLiYIPUnf_wWhZ2SOcM0MFQBVl0pZnYJkLM3bEndLsMKUMiTuhaUu4XKIVbrWgO51UAdscKRsYzMTM2d19TybjtmwkRaqi_P8LvCLdnfGjXQFEYh5jBHRnTW2IhcZFSC8Vusz4T4/s1600/LOVE,Ben.(Martini.Slaves.png" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_VPOdSLiYIPUnf_wWhZ2SOcM0MFQBVl0pZnYJkLM3bEndLsMKUMiTuhaUu4XKIVbrWgO51UAdscKRsYzMTM2d19TybjtmwkRaqi_P8LvCLdnfGjXQFEYh5jBHRnTW2IhcZFSC8Vusz4T4/w400-h140/LOVE,Ben.(Martini.Slaves.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Don Martini: Who was Who Among Southern Indians a genealogical notebook 1698-1907 pp399-401</span></em></b></div></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><br /><span> Lydia Jackson the focus of this story and the woman attempting to gain rights as a Chickasaw citizen for herself and five children, fathered by Calvin Jackson, a non-citizen has a file that is part of the Joe and Dillard Perry, "Petition to Transfer Files." There are at least three files contained in this database that apply to Lydia Jackson, Chickasaw Freedman Card # 391; and her children Frank Chickasaw Freedmen Card # 394, Josie Chickasaw Freedman Card # 392, John Chickasaw Freedman Card # 393, Jenny Davidson Chickasaw Freedman Card # 390 and Dora Johnson on card #395. </span><br /><br /><span> Sarah GRANT, Chickasaw Freedman Card # 200; the mother of Lydia Jackson has the summarization of her interview by the Dawes Commission and aside from her age and who enslaved her, tells the commissioner, <i>"My husband is dead. My children are all married and have families." </i></span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span> Interestingly, it is Jennie Davidson, a daughter of Lydia that provides the lion's share of the information about this family, their connection to one another and who enslaved her mother Lydia; Ben Love. Jennie provides the names of her siblings, their ages and members of their family's, spouses and children if any. The document that has that information was created in 1898, at the time of the Dawes enrollment process. </span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span> There was an even more interesting letter in Jennie Davidson's file that has to be mentioned. The letter is dated January 3, 1906; from Muskogee, Indian Territory. Addressed to Jennie Davidson who was living in Ardmore, Indian Territory; the commission acknowledges the receipt of a letter from Jennie, about a month earlier, on December 11, 1905. The letter sent by Jennie was an application seeking a transfer from the freedman roll to the roll of citizens by blood. Remember, Jennie's mother Lydia, was the daughter of a recognized Chickasaw citizen, Benjamin Love.</span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span> The twist to this particular story, one that detrimentally affected hundreds of other people with similar circumstances was "an opinion" by the Assistant Attorney General for the Department of the Interior on November 11, 1905, <i>"that were no application for enrollment as citizens by blood of the Choctaw or Chickasaw Nationhood been made prior to December 25, 1902, there was no authority for the reception of applications for their enrollment as citizens by blood of said nations." </i>The commissioners letter closed with the advice it would not be necessary to <i>"forward additional evidence in this matter at this time."</i></span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span> Clearly, Jennie, Lydia and Sarah demonstrated a great deal of courage in seeking the truth about their "lineal descent" and fought to have the record corrected. Sadly, Sarah past away before any resolution could be obtained and the descendants of these brave women have a lot to be proud of, but the truth has yet to be realized.</span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span> </span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span> There is one more aspect of this story that must be told. Recall that on Sarah's Dawes card, she identifies Tom Grant as her enslaver. Looking at the Love family, lo and behold, Tom Grant was married to one of Ben Love's daughters, Mary Jane. </span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span> Two things come to mind with this information. Ben Love had access to Sarah and very well had the power and ability to impregnate her and be the father of Lydia in 1842? When I first came across this story it intrigued me because it was part of Equity Case #7071, which my Great Grandmother, Bettie Ligon was the lead litigant.</span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span> It's a funny thing about "lineal descent" and DNA, on the surface, I read this story about Jennie Davidson, Lydia Jackson, and the rest, but didn't make the connection until I was contacted by one of Lydia's descendants. It appears we share some DNA and then it hit me </span>Benjamin Love, the father of Sarah Grant and Bettie Ligon's father Robert Howard Love are brothers, their father was Thomas Love. With the DNA tie and the genealogical evidence, the connection to the Love ancestry is easily proven for the descendants of Thomas and Robert Love. </div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><br /></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"> There is one last comment on this subject of Freedmen seeking a transfer to the Citizen by Blood Roll. Okay, maybe more than one comment. The first is, if the DNA is correct and there is no reason to doubt it. Then, what Sarah Grant said about who fathered her child Lydia Jackson, and what Margaret Ann Wilson said about who fathered her child, Bettie Ligon, has to be the truth based on the DNA. </div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><br /></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"> That leads to the elephant in the room, the lawsuit for $20,000,000 dollars in 1907. This was the determined value of the three-hundred and twenty acres lost to those individuals who sought to be transferred. The Dawes Commission used every type of excuse from illegitimacy to women who would sell their virtue in an effort to get land and money they were deemed ineligible.</div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><br /></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"> There was no protection for these women who gave birth to Benjamin and Robert Howard Love's children. The women were abused and the children stigmatized and the justice system denied them their due process when it deemed their applications were too late. However, the fact their Dawes Cards were processed in 1898, with clear information that suggest they exerted their blood ties to be placed on the blood rolls, the commission ignored this and frankly, omitted that information from the Department of the Interior for a proper evaluation. </div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><br /></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"> The abuse, the loss of wealth and continued denial of the descendants of Lydia Jackson and the thousands of other people is a stain on the Department of the Interior, the Chickasaw Nation and the Choctaw Nation as they all silently continue to abuse the very idea of "lineal descent."</div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6521813771939462337" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMwcPE1kJbCOTyMmw5GSgHYrupVX7QwA6Ei4n5BU37FdKMNBxBuBFyC5JpTluhgTY3Hf9a5-ohtRp6f1r6AP1YTKiAH89u_-HmjvLyfrwNY7lgzx0JbtBZcye4vXAJ2aa6JqWuo9ABQ_Yq/s1600/LOVE,Ben.(Martini.DaughterM.J..png" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMwcPE1kJbCOTyMmw5GSgHYrupVX7QwA6Ei4n5BU37FdKMNBxBuBFyC5JpTluhgTY3Hf9a5-ohtRp6f1r6AP1YTKiAH89u_-HmjvLyfrwNY7lgzx0JbtBZcye4vXAJ2aa6JqWuo9ABQ_Yq/w400-h88/LOVE,Ben.(Martini.DaughterM.J..png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Don Martini: Who was Who Among Southern Indians a genealogical notebook 1698-1907 pp399-401</b></span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><em></em></b></span></div><div style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="clear: both; font-size: 13px;"></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBORMkpWju1WFYCzNZ8eKdRXWfjVXUN2rm4o4APDawIhvdlie6a2scTxT7cHSM4hPgmn_0aiKu24t3lDrO_Tp3WVRclsLWE2_HDlCH1LyNBytJfFUiFpWE7EITgC9eQMF-b5PjGc1PJ6n/s960/JACKSON%252CLydia%2528c%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="960" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBORMkpWju1WFYCzNZ8eKdRXWfjVXUN2rm4o4APDawIhvdlie6a2scTxT7cHSM4hPgmn_0aiKu24t3lDrO_Tp3WVRclsLWE2_HDlCH1LyNBytJfFUiFpWE7EITgC9eQMF-b5PjGc1PJ6n/s320/JACKSON%252CLydia%2528c%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Courtesy of Frank Overton Collection<br />Lydia Jackson seated front row center</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-58694616018754635162024-02-20T07:12:00.000-08:002024-02-20T07:12:35.285-08:00Rolla Henson "We Came West With the Indians" <p> <span style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif;">Rolla Henson aka Rollen Roach-Centenarian</span></p><p class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 10.8pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s5"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><i>Eliza Whitmire-Cherokee Freedwoman#902, Indian Pioneer Papers Interview #12963</i></span></span></p><p class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 10.8pt; margin: 0in;"><span face="-webkit-standard, serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="s14" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span class="s11"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><i> “My name is Eliza Whitmire. I live on a farm, near Estella, where I settled shortly after the Civil War and where I have lived ever since. I was born in slavery in the state of Georgia, my parents having belonged to a Cherokee Indian of the name of George SANDERS, who owned a large plantation in the old Cherokee Nation, in Georgia. He also owned a large number of slaves but I was too young to remember how many he owned.”</i></span></span><span face="-webkit-standard, serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="s14" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span class="s11"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Rolla Henson as he was listed on Cherokee Freedman card #91 was one-hundred years of age when he applied for a land allotment in the Cherokee Nation April 4, 1901. Initially he received his Citizenship Certificate on April 28, 1905 according to a stamp on his Dawes card. Rolla’s Dawes card had him living in the Illinois District, with a post office located in or near the Cherokee Capitol of Tahlequah, Indian Territory.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Apparently, Rolla was dismissed and the application for a land allotment and citizenship was dismissed because he supposedly died on 11<sup>th</sup> of August 1903. It was later shown through some testimony on the 10<sup>th</sup> of August, 1905 that Rolla Henson aka Rollen Roach died prior to September 1<sup>st</sup>, 1902. The confusion for the name of Rolla Henson is probably because he was listed on the 1880 Roll as Rollen Roach. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> What is known about Henson-Roach’s parents comes from the rear of his land allotment card. Both were deceased by 1901, both were enslaved by John McIntosh, a recognized Cherokee citizen and both were listed as “freedmen.” Without any additional information we can’t definitively say that his parents came west with the Cherokee, but it may be presumed they were based on the way they are described on the card, as “freedmen?”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAm0Ng5pKuTLcL84_OSEOxjGtatjhTq7vI00L8WiyknmC9a-K07wtqYWDJFwpdcXdilBuYByuGm22mZFVU5aCK1WPlfS5wthLpQ3b6XqO_gOxRFhk9Ntlh5TYb-b_H46uaC7uiP3tGYL06QeqQFHrPXr_eehlRyc87vpTPlxa_MmwtKm6jn9bJ7Q-Oxjdq/s5149/HENSON,Rolla_CHEF%2391R.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2663" data-original-width="5149" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAm0Ng5pKuTLcL84_OSEOxjGtatjhTq7vI00L8WiyknmC9a-K07wtqYWDJFwpdcXdilBuYByuGm22mZFVU5aCK1WPlfS5wthLpQ3b6XqO_gOxRFhk9Ntlh5TYb-b_H46uaC7uiP3tGYL06QeqQFHrPXr_eehlRyc87vpTPlxa_MmwtKm6jn9bJ7Q-Oxjdq/w400-h208/HENSON,Rolla_CHEF%2391R.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> In August of 1905 an inquiry was conducted to determine if Rolla Henson-Roach was alive and able to receive his land allotment. During the hearing several facts about “Uncle Rolla” as he was known, were discovered. He lived just outside of a community called Melvin where a mercantile store owned and run by a woman named Jennie Taylor, a Cherokee by blood, provided details about “Uncle Rolla’s death.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Jennie Taylor was able to provide the year Rolla died from drowning in Fourteen Mile Creek, which was just below the town of Melvin. Jennie was no longer in the mercantile business at the time of the hearing three years after she closed her business. However, she managed to save her books from the business in which she wrote that a man named Bass Harlin purchased burial clothes for “Uncle Rolla” in the month of April 1901. Taylor also indicated the final payment for clothing took place in October of 1901.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Interviews of people in the community about Uncle Rolla’s death, revealed a familiar name into the conversation. Tom Beamer, a fifty-three-year-old Cherokee citizen, also living in the Melvin community, was asked a series of questions by a man named K.S. Murchison. Demonstrating the racial atmosphere in the area or with the people from that area, Murchison freely referred to Uncle Rolla as “old darkie” or “the oldest darkie in the country.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> It was later in the questioning that Murchison attempted to determine the year in which Roll Henson died from drowning. Tom Beamer, probably like the former slaves had difficulty with the concept of time because they were illiterate. However, it seems people developed methods of overcoming their lack of an education.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> The exchange is insightful on a few levels,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPwNSD0grllGAB0Zuq6R_Tndonw9tNIikPMWn7M2srJ3fxK5rRg5T-lylKZapf4xAc1duPS2ZgHMlpjZHwi_LJJwqARyJ_kdkFzHjI-fu-6-94VtxrhD1KRjpc_bcZe2hnVBYL1bHmJ50cestnRmh6e_YQhSHgUCphEw_MXd_GKAzm_JzEyQbqMxgv8cj/s2319/91%20(Henson,%20Rolla)-4%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1421" data-original-width="2319" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPwNSD0grllGAB0Zuq6R_Tndonw9tNIikPMWn7M2srJ3fxK5rRg5T-lylKZapf4xAc1duPS2ZgHMlpjZHwi_LJJwqARyJ_kdkFzHjI-fu-6-94VtxrhD1KRjpc_bcZe2hnVBYL1bHmJ50cestnRmh6e_YQhSHgUCphEw_MXd_GKAzm_JzEyQbqMxgv8cj/w400-h245/91%20(Henson,%20Rolla)-4%20copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;">The name of Dorcas Buffington is important because she too, was someone who came west with the Cherokees, but her story goes further, her being a nurse will be discussed in another chapter. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Rolla Henson applied and was enrolled as a Cherokee Freedman, on the 4<sup>th</sup> of April 1901. He was sure of his age, but he thought he was about one-hundred years of age. At the beginning of the “war between the confederacy and the United States,” Rolla told the interviewer, he was “right here” in the Cherokee Nation.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> He was asked about his whereabouts “during the war.” It was then Rolla said he “went with the army.” Which army was not asked or answered but he added that he was not a soldier, but “I went with the command as a cook;...Down south.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> If all things being true, Rolla would have been in his early sixties as a cook for somebody’s army and survived that ordeal just as he survived coming to Indian Territory, probably as a man in his late thirties? It is unfortunate we don’t have diaries of people like Rolla Henson aka Roach to tell us what his experiences were and how he came to be in the Cherokee Nation and Indian Territory. One thing we do know, he was not born there. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> He may have died a very said and painful death after surviving the Trail of Tears and cooking for an army during battle, but his name will be remembered and he too, should be included in the commemoration of those that came west with the Indians.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKX7Lr_tnH0H7QZNGJv9DS1K0UuGPU6-4xS8-m5BB49b-cXA2YWAbF72aqjIz8bLjBvUZIFYCq9v1WJgLqhu-EhWSensSM4C4L-M8tCiU7DhMtPiuvzkl8CzklE-L1fCxuvrfIOptEWEw3YfsT0u3k45DoYqvQVzBaBqL405jvVcWXJs5jagGytNi_qq_/s2680/91%20(Henson,%20Rolla)-14.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2680" data-original-width="1188" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKX7Lr_tnH0H7QZNGJv9DS1K0UuGPU6-4xS8-m5BB49b-cXA2YWAbF72aqjIz8bLjBvUZIFYCq9v1WJgLqhu-EhWSensSM4C4L-M8tCiU7DhMtPiuvzkl8CzklE-L1fCxuvrfIOptEWEw3YfsT0u3k45DoYqvQVzBaBqL405jvVcWXJs5jagGytNi_qq_/w178-h400/91%20(Henson,%20Rolla)-14.jpg" width="178" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-65117721040199607362024-02-19T03:29:00.000-08:002024-02-19T03:29:10.701-08:00Creek Nation Removal, Andrew Sullivan-Octogenarian<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <i style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif;">“If I ain’t, you won’t find another one here.”</i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;">Andrew Sullivan-Octogenarian<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> In a 1900 affidavit in support of the application for citizenship of his daughter Sarah, and himself, Andrew Sullivan was responding to questions about his identity as a citizen in the Creek Muskogee Nation. Andrew was approximately eighty-two years of age and apparently still feisty.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Andrew established his residence and political affiliation as he put it, “I belong to Arkansas.” Then when asked if he considered himself a citizen of the Creek Nation, Andrew left no doubt about it with his reply, <i>“If I ain’t, you won’t find another one here.” </i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> We, who are familiar with the Dawes Commission interviews have an understanding that when trying to establish whether a person is eligible to receive a land allotment and citizenship in a Nation, Muscogee or one of the other four tribes, the interviewer like a well-trained lawyer will ask the same question several different times, and several different ways. It appears, on this day, Andrew was not having any of it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> In my efforts to locate and document the “enslaved” people that “came west with the “Indians” Andrew Sullivan provided the information that stamps his boarding pass on the trail of many tears, when he in my opinion, tersely informs the interviewer, <i>“That’ what I am trying to tell you. I have been living here over forty years or more. Ever since I came to this country. I come here when I was twenty-year-old.” </i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Perhaps, the interviewer attempting to trip Andrew up, followed Andrew's answer with<i>, “Then you wasn’t born in the Creek Nation?”</i> He may not have been able to read, but Andrew demonstrated he was not an ignorant man when he simply stated, <i>“Yes, in Alabama, in the Creek nation with the Injuns (sic); I come here with them.”<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> There was one more aspect of this interview that stood out. Andrew indicated he came to Indian Territory <i>“with a lot of Injuns (sic) and colored people.”</i> Andrew worked as a teamster which allowed him to travel extensively, <i>“way up the other side of Eufaula about fifteen miles on the Canadian.” </i>As the interview continued, Andrew indicated his work took him in and out of Indian Territory before the war, from Ft. Smith in Arkansas to Ft. Gibson in Indian Territory. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Not to leave an opportunity to trip Andrew up about his eligibility for citizenship and a land allotment, the interviewer asked Andrew, <i>“How long have you lived in Ft. Smith?”</i> Andrew’s answer was very interesting. <i>“I didn’t live there at all. I staid (sic) there until I got my pension, working, and then come back.”</i> Andrew’s response begs the question, did he receive a pension from the United States government for his work as a teamster? Did Andrew Sullivan enlist in the United States military to gain his “freedom?” Some research into the United States Colored Troops may be warranted.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> The story of Andrew Sullivan is another example why it is so important to tell the stories of those who came west with the Indians during the “removals.” The “inclusion” of enslaved people on the “Trail of Tears” needs to be researched and included in the history in each of the five slave holding tribes. When the tribes commemorate the event, each year, and pay respect to their ancestors, they continue to omit people like Andrew Sullivan, who said it best when asked if he considered himself a Creek citizen, “<i>If I ain’t, you won’t find another one here."</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1CJq0_BUu8MWs1f14QJws6YcMrLOYzfr2YaF0sLix9oFybtJiOLv2ZK-ohEZq_nBsIPL6RVtKH1jFyg8I8hSGe7IW-FBy_9GZGA4lJshFcTLmn1m7stKp1aVqbPArxBvxFjeHgQMSjfRVOYOC-MoZVsyQzuX8Y5UbMiYGK3daAcJ6zDY1kUAtnLvVB2K/s4859/SULLIVAN,Andrew_CREF%23337F_OG.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2518" data-original-width="4859" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1CJq0_BUu8MWs1f14QJws6YcMrLOYzfr2YaF0sLix9oFybtJiOLv2ZK-ohEZq_nBsIPL6RVtKH1jFyg8I8hSGe7IW-FBy_9GZGA4lJshFcTLmn1m7stKp1aVqbPArxBvxFjeHgQMSjfRVOYOC-MoZVsyQzuX8Y5UbMiYGK3daAcJ6zDY1kUAtnLvVB2K/w400-h208/SULLIVAN,Andrew_CREF%23337F_OG.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><i><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><i><br /></i></p>The story of Andrew Sullivan is an excerpt from a book I'm working on to identify and write stories about the enslaved people that "Came West With the Indians." </i><div><i><br /></i><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><i style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif;">The phrase came west with the Indians is an expression that is used by many of the </i><span style="font-family: Californian FB, serif;"><i>surviving slaves, some who reached the age of one-hundred or more, and lived to tell their story. Their story that continues to be "missing" from the stories and commemorations that each of the Five Slave Holding Tribes, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek/Muskogee and Seminole Nations engage in, every year.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Californian FB, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Californian FB, serif;"><i>There are over four-hundred survivors that "participated" in the various removals; it's time, their names are included in this story. We know what the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek/Muskogee and Seminoles experienced, those who came west with them, shared that experience.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><i><o:p></o:p></i></p></div>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-34472830689647196242024-02-16T07:52:00.000-08:002024-02-16T07:52:25.117-08:00Joe Battiece Choctaw Freedman?<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Petition to Transfer From Choctaw Freedman Roll to Choctaw By Blood Roll #F-026</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Joe BATTIECE Choctaw Freedman Card #498<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #548235; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Claimant in Equity Case 7071</span></b><span style="color: #548235;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">#BlackHistory365</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> In the matter of the petition of Joe Battiece and Ollie Battiece for the correction of the enrollment records of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes in the matter of their enrollment as freedmen of the Choctaw Nation, and for the transfer of their names from the said Freedmen Roll to the roll of Choctaw by blood.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> January 15, 1906, there was filed with the Commissioner to the Five Civilized Tribes by Albert J. Lee attorney for the petitioners, a petition for Joe Battiece and his son Ollie Battiece, praying that their names be transferred from the roll of Choctaw Freedmen to the roll of citizens by blood of the Choctaw Nation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Attached to the petition is the affidavit of Joe Battiece, in which he alleges that he is twenty-nine years of age, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation and lives in the town of Hugo, Indian Territory. He further stated, at the time he appeared before the Dawes Commission for enrollment, his father was a full blood Choctaw named Solomon Battiece and <i>"his mother was a colored woman named Lottie Williams, that he was born out of wedlock but that his father had always acknowledged him to be his son; that his father is a recognized and enrolled Choctaw by blood and that his father is still living and resides near Hugo, Indian Territory."</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> No answer to the petition was filed by the attorneys for the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations within the fifteen days allowed for that purpose by the regulations adopted by the Commissioner January 2, 1906.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjd891jPpOJPmCiGOKFolc_-cw-8xGggCYEb7M9UrFrr7RKt4LaIaxIOU4-cJjAO4Vn2bsmvA2yxixNoJlJhWoTl0Mvvotv88i5PAblRDryqiFq1PgIwjLqwfO13-n1iRUI9coGl_zkUnMLbO-LJCnQHltunDER0LYiLodLw-_uODVyfFwoVDoiN0nVTg=s4834" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2485" data-original-width="4834" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjd891jPpOJPmCiGOKFolc_-cw-8xGggCYEb7M9UrFrr7RKt4LaIaxIOU4-cJjAO4Vn2bsmvA2yxixNoJlJhWoTl0Mvvotv88i5PAblRDryqiFq1PgIwjLqwfO13-n1iRUI9coGl_zkUnMLbO-LJCnQHltunDER0LYiLodLw-_uODVyfFwoVDoiN0nVTg=w400-h206" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">M-1186 Choctaw Freedman Dawes Card #498 Front/Rear Joe BATTIECE et al., </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhud0eigOuqeQnPH3ANarsCB3OWsceqDpWIGBxdy7oz475_fok0i3MMi96-5G_jjtv-LBSZ5yBo2VTZDhVuMusFOd44ZA48DxmvrWYHlvINr6eNH95RYYJpG-69Fm2c7JLzj_Ei-Ps2Sa1b2yzCI70huKJ3OKdnt2qGVAtiovJzwjJ51jU-SD6NiPSZvg=s4852" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2480" data-original-width="4852" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhud0eigOuqeQnPH3ANarsCB3OWsceqDpWIGBxdy7oz475_fok0i3MMi96-5G_jjtv-LBSZ5yBo2VTZDhVuMusFOd44ZA48DxmvrWYHlvINr6eNH95RYYJpG-69Fm2c7JLzj_Ei-Ps2Sa1b2yzCI70huKJ3OKdnt2qGVAtiovJzwjJ51jU-SD6NiPSZvg=w400-h205" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfQO4V2XmWCA787yRXHbfYlEI3dM29CLydGRu_emJ3gKHO-vyWsg0PEM_xCUFDqcHpjU3uhpJJUvagmQcbNsKCSnbJHrTzQDR_VJC32SHQGhEfWnesNn6ZTfRXzNKXSkJNcEuuZ8amCC6ec9H8HrFB6ppVf_pI2HnKsaNxBJAkg0H2cJi3ZbrlsqUsUA=s3671" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3671" data-original-width="2388" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfQO4V2XmWCA787yRXHbfYlEI3dM29CLydGRu_emJ3gKHO-vyWsg0PEM_xCUFDqcHpjU3uhpJJUvagmQcbNsKCSnbJHrTzQDR_VJC32SHQGhEfWnesNn6ZTfRXzNKXSkJNcEuuZ8amCC6ec9H8HrFB6ppVf_pI2HnKsaNxBJAkg0H2cJi3ZbrlsqUsUA=w416-h640" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">M-1301 Oral Interview/Summary Joe BATTIECE Choctaw Freedman Card #498 p2<br /></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> It is incredible the lengths the Dawes Commission went to to deny enrolling people of mixed African-Choctaw or African-Chickasaw ancestry on the “by blood” rolls. This is the summary of the oral interview that was conducted in 1899 when Joe Battiece applied for land allotment. Nowhere in this interview is the question; “who is your father?” If that is not a part of the so called record, how does the name Solomon Battiece, with the description, Choctaw Indian appear on the rear of his enrollment card? Clearly, when the testimony was transcribed by the stenographers, something important was omitted.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmeTc6L5E76gQRr5eaZeGJA8RNmMkctBzfLeA0Z1-HY0FTGY5lIK0lcemjJzLouphF6zM_BpkQfVYkTxUTSkT5oRB4HmVWckkurppP1lisXGJ87OYKUbID5yTldML55Z9cJaMsqFH5Wr64ArXtLv7IHS9VmbUburRgCKG1asFU7ipvEYo1rthLnDre1A=s5086" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2641" data-original-width="5086" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmeTc6L5E76gQRr5eaZeGJA8RNmMkctBzfLeA0Z1-HY0FTGY5lIK0lcemjJzLouphF6zM_BpkQfVYkTxUTSkT5oRB4HmVWckkurppP1lisXGJ87OYKUbID5yTldML55Z9cJaMsqFH5Wr64ArXtLv7IHS9VmbUburRgCKG1asFU7ipvEYo1rthLnDre1A=w400-h208" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">M-1186 Choctaw by Blood Dawes Card #1638 Solomon BATTIEST</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> While you ponder that bit of prestidigitation, when Joe and his attorney Albert J. Lee submitted an affidavit <i>“</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>for the correction of the enrollment records of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes”</i> the commission responded with their standard; <i>“It does not appear from the records of the commission to the Five Civilized Tribes that Joe Battiece, at the time of his application for enrollment as a Choctaw Freedman or at any time subsequent thereto, and prior to December 25, 1902, ever made any application or asserted any rights whatsoever to enrollment as a citizen by blood of the Choctaw Nation.” </i>It could be argued that the missing testimony was the assertion of those rights but because they don't appear in the transcript, Joe Battiece and his attorneys were arguably denied due process?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> The nature of the 1899 interview was clear, the only thing the Dawes Commission was interested in was establishing Joe Battiece and his siblings status as freedmen, based on the “race” of their mother, a formerly enslaved and deceased woman named Lottie Williams. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> It is this kind of hypocrisy and lies that are part of the legacy of the Dawes Commission, the Choctaw Nation and the Chickasaw Nation that they appear to be blind to the racial discrimination that occurred from the outset. The antebellum past, appears to determine the nature of the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes today?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-53678763469737123902024-02-15T09:19:00.000-08:002024-02-15T09:29:00.875-08:00William ALEXANDER, Chickasaw Freedman #1<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">William ALEXANDER<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Chickasaw Freedmen #1<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">#BlackHistoryOurHistoryMyHistory</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">#BlackHistory365</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> During the 1890’s many men and women became advocates and leaders in the Chickasaw and Choctaw Freedmen community. One of those individuals to emerge as a leader in their community was the brother of my great grandmother William ALEXANDER. During the tumultuous time when Chickasaw Freedmen were organizing, he was a member of the Chickasaw Freedmen Association led by Charles COHEE.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Like so many of our ancestors there is not a full and complete record available so William can be recognized for his contributions, but within his Dawes file there is some information that allows us to get a general feel for his participation in the advocacy for Chickasaw Freedmen citizenship and land allotment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size: medium;"> The fact that William Alexander and his family were enumerated on Chickasaw Freedman card number one demonstrates how he was leading the way for other freedmen, as they sought to be recognized as people with legitimate rights for citizenship in the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations. There are thousands of ancestors like William Alexander, Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedman, that have left valuable record documenting our unique history.</span></span><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3txhHseViwpl26V2xr40wPE31PgT4J73OEKBqhaq5GJVcFq_LepY8SJXbfAxUGZkEd6c12KYqEqRs8H3jQLbPp02wlILemgld12XhObAkwWeyXym_kdxEGBF72gmfhxGTmgugQ1vfkS3kiLfPdVF1m1z5SkbIm_KCMPrO8aJrVvsnb7l3hCVFcc6C1tL/s4848/ALEXANDER,William.CHIF0001F.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2416" data-original-width="4848" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3txhHseViwpl26V2xr40wPE31PgT4J73OEKBqhaq5GJVcFq_LepY8SJXbfAxUGZkEd6c12KYqEqRs8H3jQLbPp02wlILemgld12XhObAkwWeyXym_kdxEGBF72gmfhxGTmgugQ1vfkS3kiLfPdVF1m1z5SkbIm_KCMPrO8aJrVvsnb7l3hCVFcc6C1tL/w400-h199/ALEXANDER,William.CHIF0001F.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chickasaw Freedmen Card #1, front</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> William ALEXANDER was born during the War of Rebellion, in Indian Territory to Cornelius PICKENS and Margaret Ann WILSON. It is believed his birthplace was Burneyville, Indian Territory in Pickens County. Like other freedmen he migrated north and settled in the community of Purcell, Indian Territory.<o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> During his testimony before the Dawes Commission, William informed the commissioner that his father died <i>“sometime during the war”</i> but it is not clear if Cornelius was a soldier and there are no clues about the circumstances of his death. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-RaMxrWTOAMQYvMHKFrdcAybXdHxK_iTWQM7aS-aghoW5-_eIxyKswSVN6GaR0crbKHitYgsumOrPXyKzqGLyuSrtjx6KASMevUuX37-2wvjzaOJRcNEYx5opdDk6XeMtKEUbPI3BO8sQPpBpIm9J0P7HEBlx2siOPsQbjtdwFKRMFuWVEd4RcmGAnGx/s2320/Page%206_A.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1189" data-original-width="2320" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-RaMxrWTOAMQYvMHKFrdcAybXdHxK_iTWQM7aS-aghoW5-_eIxyKswSVN6GaR0crbKHitYgsumOrPXyKzqGLyuSrtjx6KASMevUuX37-2wvjzaOJRcNEYx5opdDk6XeMtKEUbPI3BO8sQPpBpIm9J0P7HEBlx2siOPsQbjtdwFKRMFuWVEd4RcmGAnGx/w400-h205/Page%206_A.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M-1301 Chickasaw Freedmen #1, William ALEXANDER p6<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> It is not clear why William had the surname of ALEXANDER, he did have a brother Colbert ALEXANDER that identified with that name, however his three sisters Salina, Isabella and Susan were all known by the surname PICKENS prior to their marriages. It is only speculation that William chose ALEXANDER as a surname based on the name of his maternal grandfather, Colbert Alexander? </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dVQAWoICnZtTTQYjKZ7UYASbMGZ1eoti2z5CBvLTTncEtynkByUD9t-H4hV8Htj7wmlCM4JlVjURFjXGp6dyS_eNVfRteGksPc_uxG3doVLK781zSWKfYWKoSwmW1LDnBsMuXAsQ1gAXurOrDBwjk69iwnTx_T0NNVIJGe4217M7_-T1NdJq9jMYgVNy/s2351/Page%206_D.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1115" data-original-width="2351" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dVQAWoICnZtTTQYjKZ7UYASbMGZ1eoti2z5CBvLTTncEtynkByUD9t-H4hV8Htj7wmlCM4JlVjURFjXGp6dyS_eNVfRteGksPc_uxG3doVLK781zSWKfYWKoSwmW1LDnBsMuXAsQ1gAXurOrDBwjk69iwnTx_T0NNVIJGe4217M7_-T1NdJq9jMYgVNy/w400-h190/Page%206_D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M-1301 Chickasaw Freedmen #1, William ALEXANDER p6</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Reading the limited information contained in William’s file illustrates just how connected and supportive our ancestors were when it came to issues of family and community. William indicates just how strong his bond was with his brother Colbert and sister Carrie ALEXANDER-BROWN; their children were a vital part of his family and given a warm embrace as they were raised in the home he shared with his wife Victoria and their four children; Isabella, Ora, Clinton and Odell ALEXANDER.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Unfortunately I don’t know any of the descendants of William ALEXANDER; he died intestate and there was a large record concerning the property left to his widow and children. Hopefully in time we will discover the descendants of Isabella, Ora, Clinton and Odell? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> More research is necessary to fully understand the record and legacy left by William Alexander, someone that was at the forefront of change in Indian Territory and Oklahoma; we cannot allow his legacy to be lost from the pages of history.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-39272206149404672492024-02-11T04:55:00.000-08:002024-02-11T04:55:35.035-08:00Front Page America, "As Above, So Below" <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;">Front Page America<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><i>“As Above, So Below”</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Viewing history through the lens of newspapers can be tricky, especially when it comes to reading about historical events and issues that pertain to Black people. The “Black Press” and the so called, “Mainstream Press” can have seriously divergent views.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Another aspect of using historical newspapers to view history, it can provide a gauge to see what changes, if any have occurred over time. It is the front pages of newspapers, above the fold and below it that set the tone, directing the reader to what the publisher considers, “news.” </p><p><span style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> Through the years, I have collected literally thousands of copies (digital) of newspapers from across the country that contain articles pertinent to my research on the history of Indian Territory and the state of Oklahoma; most of the articles that interest me have something to do with the formerly enslaved people of the Five Slave Holding Tribes, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek/Muscogee and Seminole.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuk7bQkLUSyiI7EoWS7VqPHb9MaNOHSDG0nvvG81rLZFwcrX6kAdT1RX_0JmzixM16pVDpQH6cfUsrqFnZJgjo-bgf-pnHevSgM5ZzCFi_FJj0nMa714_gP6tSga34sLDF8xfFbGlcja3IRbnUyDn9ZCEB5CAmZPgDTOe_XllTzCg5490ZzqtlWuGcswhO/s1392/The%20Sooner%20Trail-Black%20Dispatch%201921%20p1%20copy%208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="649" data-original-width="1392" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuk7bQkLUSyiI7EoWS7VqPHb9MaNOHSDG0nvvG81rLZFwcrX6kAdT1RX_0JmzixM16pVDpQH6cfUsrqFnZJgjo-bgf-pnHevSgM5ZzCFi_FJj0nMa714_gP6tSga34sLDF8xfFbGlcja3IRbnUyDn9ZCEB5CAmZPgDTOe_XllTzCg5490ZzqtlWuGcswhO/w400-h186/The%20Sooner%20Trail-Black%20Dispatch%201921%20p1%20copy%208.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> The front page is a window into the past but like most of history, you should take what you read with a grain of salt. Over one-hundred-years ago, the Greenwood section of Tulsa, Oklahoma was destroyed. One of the cities “Black” owned papers was provided commentary on the incident about a month later July 21, 1921.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"> Today, the descendants of the survivors are still fighting and recovering from that tragic day. Clearly, the “Spirit of Tulsa Riot Victims Unbroken.” These are some of the articles from the front page of “The Black Dispatch,” “The Largest Circulated Negro Journal in Oklahoma.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><b>Above the Fold</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYZqG4U06nmzFpLJUNpPw-gLr550Ena9PSI9UbaRZnUmCr5qxujML8hqzvKFRhR6IexV_Qw5UuyQsLKsTAZixhsE3_jw0tZEcCF5ncz5ImSg1l7_kS5gzB8Cp66sB45DSw1yu0baS5ktdLRJOXlV6olta3UFCw7xHnRHZnpyvEtKlDMzhpCbsCDf-nuBNm/s759/The%20Sooner%20Trail-Black%20Dispatch%201921%20p1%20copy%207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="759" data-original-width="450" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYZqG4U06nmzFpLJUNpPw-gLr550Ena9PSI9UbaRZnUmCr5qxujML8hqzvKFRhR6IexV_Qw5UuyQsLKsTAZixhsE3_jw0tZEcCF5ncz5ImSg1l7_kS5gzB8Cp66sB45DSw1yu0baS5ktdLRJOXlV6olta3UFCw7xHnRHZnpyvEtKlDMzhpCbsCDf-nuBNm/w238-h400/The%20Sooner%20Trail-Black%20Dispatch%201921%20p1%20copy%207.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in; text-align: start;"> This is a nice positive article about the resilience of the citizens living in and business owners of the Greenwood District of Tulsa. It would have been insightful had the writer printed the names of the survivors he/she encountered but that’s just me.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> However, let’s not forget the atmosphere that existed in Oklahoma that may have contributed to making the “Tulsa Riot” possible, some might say, inevitable?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><b>Below the Fold</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Remember, this is a “Black” owned paper, their view of current events reflects the publisher and the community they serve. The 1920’s does get romanticized in movies and books, but the reality of those years included a country coming out of a World War, Anti-Blackness was still present and much of the land received by the formerly enslaved people of Indian Territory was being lost to land foreclosures for failure to pay taxes or bank loans. <span style="font-size: 12pt;">That’s another story!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2sYtTjWXArTgjqqGHJXUZHNe865oQrHj3G84aysfo65zI9o13q3i2Z5b_gQD4pR3CK1n0d3nRTKNUYKSzTV1nmTxR3-0n1i5hmlIiv4n2eDz-gpJnm5SuaoxrfPI5Y4eXKjR44EDX85H6w8VM51FMnLhJGeSBXt_qMNkGtpdRKNEYzL8s77NUNLtHNrtG/s436/The%20Sooner%20Trail-Black%20Dispatch%201921%20p1%20copy%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="229" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2sYtTjWXArTgjqqGHJXUZHNe865oQrHj3G84aysfo65zI9o13q3i2Z5b_gQD4pR3CK1n0d3nRTKNUYKSzTV1nmTxR3-0n1i5hmlIiv4n2eDz-gpJnm5SuaoxrfPI5Y4eXKjR44EDX85H6w8VM51FMnLhJGeSBXt_qMNkGtpdRKNEYzL8s77NUNLtHNrtG/w210-h400/The%20Sooner%20Trail-Black%20Dispatch%201921%20p1%20copy%203.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvorImUhDivaj-yu6St9WqQhCm2LoSlUy6N3PuKLwIUaQcvitibUG2VzTL8co1KEC7vUfctVmxYQC5ILa0L96ZLDGK2UXSgfZEtJvnM7GYJzsK_MsvW9mZHnOgdUgPj6md91u53lujT2bzUR6kncHXGWdOaLz4yHvfQSPpOteLj4XGMPZyi1Vqw9aU0Lo7/s232/The%20Sooner%20Trail-Black%20Dispatch%201921%20p1%20copy%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvorImUhDivaj-yu6St9WqQhCm2LoSlUy6N3PuKLwIUaQcvitibUG2VzTL8co1KEC7vUfctVmxYQC5ILa0L96ZLDGK2UXSgfZEtJvnM7GYJzsK_MsvW9mZHnOgdUgPj6md91u53lujT2bzUR6kncHXGWdOaLz4yHvfQSPpOteLj4XGMPZyi1Vqw9aU0Lo7/s16000/The%20Sooner%20Trail-Black%20Dispatch%201921%20p1%20copy%202.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjicT6NVysjY6k8Jcam-O5daCrtFcDfBGZvnZVacyW3MBOdre-ja_WWGcfoP0BwaS8vzxWx9X5k5Px-m6VyDuquI98H785VqulmSEO53odfFZGwdi__0xZ3k1Ud1J0faP9y0VCs6-jvtNyTJ98-vPtJZJkwi4z9TKGNMAmLV0zx_ePTbD2WuZEA6wpc_huk/s225/The%20Sooner%20Trail-Black%20Dispatch%201921%20p1%20copy%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="217" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjicT6NVysjY6k8Jcam-O5daCrtFcDfBGZvnZVacyW3MBOdre-ja_WWGcfoP0BwaS8vzxWx9X5k5Px-m6VyDuquI98H785VqulmSEO53odfFZGwdi__0xZ3k1Ud1J0faP9y0VCs6-jvtNyTJ98-vPtJZJkwi4z9TKGNMAmLV0zx_ePTbD2WuZEA6wpc_huk/s16000/The%20Sooner%20Trail-Black%20Dispatch%201921%20p1%20copy%204.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmYtWLFxtoceyB5MaV4h08mqfvAAYssBmp07eFU3nVq8MXhbVkDpAQQrwtRZaPqG5-NACxwdUzDfPFh2AlB1MlVzMQ17jpvHVzhhP_hfcwQxbJiCvlH90s0n_GO6LcOxgvtQMZaZq_GQ6VKSWRQsOWYdeHNJNl3vuYn2-h5rJIFsmvs53n_3_cBlsr_B3/s517/The%20Sooner%20Trail-Black%20Dispatch%201921%20p1%20copy%206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="468" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmYtWLFxtoceyB5MaV4h08mqfvAAYssBmp07eFU3nVq8MXhbVkDpAQQrwtRZaPqG5-NACxwdUzDfPFh2AlB1MlVzMQ17jpvHVzhhP_hfcwQxbJiCvlH90s0n_GO6LcOxgvtQMZaZq_GQ6VKSWRQsOWYdeHNJNl3vuYn2-h5rJIFsmvs53n_3_cBlsr_B3/w363-h400/The%20Sooner%20Trail-Black%20Dispatch%201921%20p1%20copy%206.jpg" width="363" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><br /></span><p></p></div></div>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-60150211466243539622024-02-09T06:32:00.000-08:002024-02-09T06:32:34.450-08:00Andrew Sullivan, I Came to This Country From Alabama<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><br />Andrew Sullivan-Octogenarian</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> In a 1900 affidavit in support of the application for citizenship of his daughter Sarah, and himself, Andrew Sullivan was responding to questions about his identity as a citizen in the Creek Muskogee Nation. Andrew was approximately eighty-two years of age and apparently still feisty.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Andrew established his residence and political affiliation as he put it, “I belong to Arkansas.” Then when asked if he considered himself a citizen of the Creek Nation, Andrew left no doubt about it by replying, <i>“If I ain’t, you won’t find another one here.”</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> We, who are familiar with the Dawes Commission interviews have an understanding that when trying to establish whether a person is eligible to receive a land allotment and citizenship in a Nation, Muscogee or one of the other four tribes, the interviewer like a trained lawyer will ask the same question several different times, and several different ways. Andrew was not having any of it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> In my efforts to locate and document the “enslaved” people that came west with the “Indians” Andrew Sullivan provided the information that stamps his boarding pass on the trail of many tears, when he, in my opinion tersely informs the interviewer, <i>“That’ what I am trying to tell you. I have been living here over forty years or more. Ever since I came to this country. I come here when I was twenty-year-old.” </i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Showing his ignorance or attempting to trip Andrew up, the interviewer responds to that answer with<i>, “Then you wasn’t born in the Creek Nation?”</i> He may not have been able to read, but Andrew demonstrated he was not an ignorant man when he simply stated, <i>“Yes, in Alabama, in the Creek nation with the Injuns (sic); I come here with them.”<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> There was one more aspect of this interview that stood out. Andrew indicated he came to Indian Territory <i>“with a lot of Injuns (sic) and colored people.”</i> Andrew worked as a teamster which allowed him to travel extensively, <i>“way up the other side of Eufaula about fifteen miles on the Canadian.” </i>As the interview continued, Andrew indicated his work took him in and out of Indian Territory before the war, from Ft. Smith in Arkansas to Ft. Gibson in Indian Territory. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> Not to leave an opportunity to trip Andrew up about his eligibility for citizenship and a land allotment, he asked Andrew, <i>“How long have you lived in Ft. Smith?”</i> Andrew’s answer was very interesting. <i>“I didn’t live there at all. I staid (sic) there until I got my pension, working, and then come back.”</i> Andrew’s response begs the question, did he receive a pension from the United States government for his work as a teamster?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"> The story of Andrew Sullivan is another example why it is so important the stories of those who came west with the Indians on the Trail of Tears be researched and included in the history of each of the five slave holding tribes. When they commemorate the event and pay respect to their ancestors, they continue to omit people like Andrew Sullivan, who said it best when asked if he considered himself a Creek citizen, <i>“If I ain’t, you won’t find another one here.”</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDq5vPD6EYzswsh5h1qYmz7JkWNuVD1P6ERho9NF_PWVPHYlEUPsQfXxtRY89TNh6Yfq0DCYBNEbuSmFBOgMKuTdOLJ5tx_FJna7z7lZ38JyhFn9OwtNVSmeUBkCrYJ6_8cRn70i_DvSWZEppb2XXd-dkR9vZl7PWrw9jjLskICuMqYA9aSOmgeSLHIDMY/s4859/SULLIVAN,Andrew_CREF%23337F_OG.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2518" data-original-width="4859" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDq5vPD6EYzswsh5h1qYmz7JkWNuVD1P6ERho9NF_PWVPHYlEUPsQfXxtRY89TNh6Yfq0DCYBNEbuSmFBOgMKuTdOLJ5tx_FJna7z7lZ38JyhFn9OwtNVSmeUBkCrYJ6_8cRn70i_DvSWZEppb2XXd-dkR9vZl7PWrw9jjLskICuMqYA9aSOmgeSLHIDMY/w400-h208/SULLIVAN,Andrew_CREF%23337F_OG.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-82104087636028671302022-12-05T05:33:00.000-08:002022-12-05T05:33:48.108-08:00Black Chattel Slavery Among Choctaw Indians<h2 class="date-header" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: white; background-image: none; background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; bottom: 100%; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px -15px 1px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; right: 15px;"><span style="border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; display: block; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; padding: 0.5em 15px;">Thursday, November 11, 2010</span></h2><div class="date-posts" style="background-color: white; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); clear: both; color: #444444; margin: 0px -15px; padding: 8px 15px 0px;"><div class="post-outer" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin: 0px -15px; padding: 0px 15px 10px;"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="min-height: 0px; position: relative;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 13px;"><a name="7095129071043903799"></a></span><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Researching history of the Five Slave Holding Tribes is difficult regarding accounts of slavery. However through careful examination occasionally you can piece together some information by examining oral interviews. One source for this type of interview is contained in the Indian Pioneer Papers.</span></h3><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-7095129071043903799" itemprop="description articleBody" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://digital.libraries.ou.edu/whc/pioneer/" style="color: #469c4d; text-decoration: none;">http://digital.libraries.ou.edu/whc/pioneer/</a></div><br />When you consider all of the information about the Five Slaveholding Tribes known as Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek (Muscogee) and Seminole, their involvement in African chattel slavery rarely gets written about in our history books. This history is rarely mentioned when tribal historians tell of their past?<br /><br />I first came across the name of Jordan Folsom when I was performing research into freedmen who sought a transfer from the freedman roll to the Choctaw by blood roll. <br /><br /> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1vQw4IY5hwioJHRUfqVSAUltOJg6O7-CfjzwMsVo8qkagkuOaMsB6ZWhoeBfRjbxhkAD6cteya3vrWni8erbBap9Rm_47C6JG2horYbIvRFxlHJf4wHpS0NyeiK0He1MXbtGU9fQZxWW/s1600/FOLSOM%252CJordan.CHOF%2523220F.JPG" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="198" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1vQw4IY5hwioJHRUfqVSAUltOJg6O7-CfjzwMsVo8qkagkuOaMsB6ZWhoeBfRjbxhkAD6cteya3vrWni8erbBap9Rm_47C6JG2horYbIvRFxlHJf4wHpS0NyeiK0He1MXbtGU9fQZxWW/s400/FOLSOM%252CJordan.CHOF%2523220F.JPG" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.4px;">Choctaw Freedmen Dawes Card# 220 front</td></tr></tbody></table><br />In the interview of Jordan Folsom Jr., a Choctaw Freedmen we get a glimpse of slavery in the Choctaw Nation by way of Jordan’s father, mother and grandmother.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiql5UOOjEV0T2krReILyKWH9G6aWqD7UoZD0jlDbWMD23s6uhABi047X71vdvJHewtv_tjFf-SOKpVBAnFg5bV5ReG_R7RKlpXe8YjLVJyA3c16D24Q1cWDLeBDfPhW8-QZkd4lfZjpT9s/s1600/Jordan%2526SylviaFOLSOM.PNG" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="165" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiql5UOOjEV0T2krReILyKWH9G6aWqD7UoZD0jlDbWMD23s6uhABi047X71vdvJHewtv_tjFf-SOKpVBAnFg5bV5ReG_R7RKlpXe8YjLVJyA3c16D24Q1cWDLeBDfPhW8-QZkd4lfZjpT9s/s400/Jordan%2526SylviaFOLSOM.PNG" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div>Contained in these sentences a lot of information is being given about the family of Jordan Folsom. His grandmother, Sylvia brought two children with her to Indian Territory; they were all slaves. One of her son’s died along the route to Indian Territory with the Choctaw’s. <br /><br />This is a story that clearly illustrates how much has been missing from Native American history. When the story of tragedy is told regarding the infamous “Trail of Tears,” we seldom, if ever hear the story of those tears shed by the African and African-Native slaves who lived among them.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNtH5FIxWvQXb23E9FNPlsmwCywz_2J0r5QhwnDWKQgrD-ddwKKP-nxJlB6QcfbuIpvHrTgX6msew3vZcgD1uCxFVKwahH-m4kGvNlDaWSs8KcmBbDHgwGSSi9qzkrY5N3OLmNkof2nCY/s1600/SylviaFOLSOM.PNG" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="115" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNtH5FIxWvQXb23E9FNPlsmwCywz_2J0r5QhwnDWKQgrD-ddwKKP-nxJlB6QcfbuIpvHrTgX6msew3vZcgD1uCxFVKwahH-m4kGvNlDaWSs8KcmBbDHgwGSSi9qzkrY5N3OLmNkof2nCY/s400/SylviaFOLSOM.PNG" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jordan Folsom Jr. provides information on his mother Amelia who was also a slave of Dr. Henry Folsom. Clearly her story became a part of the family oral history. Jordan had been told Amelia was born a slave on Dr. Henry Folsom’s plantation; “in the slave quarters.” </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhsvqKs90ZoT_f_L_3y8qclib-_BvstCMMsCv1gQEA6pGXvEretTWwtdv-XDM-h9XyiIPuRtp9btnB9H1EqbyRXKjnag89Y-tw1OcjVozmQSgTJx1ZD_1F2yFUdvHOqAbdEBaqVnjX_Ss/s1600/Amelia+Radford.Jordan%2527s+mother.png" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="176" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhsvqKs90ZoT_f_L_3y8qclib-_BvstCMMsCv1gQEA6pGXvEretTWwtdv-XDM-h9XyiIPuRtp9btnB9H1EqbyRXKjnag89Y-tw1OcjVozmQSgTJx1ZD_1F2yFUdvHOqAbdEBaqVnjX_Ss/s400/Amelia+Radford.Jordan%2527s+mother.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><div>Amelia (Pamelia) Radford provided Jordan with the names of both her parents, Abe and Elizabeth. This oral history could provide valuable information when I compile the data on what was the basis for the Folsom’s claim to Choctaw blood. </div><br />Again the importance of this interview is shown by two statements. First, it establishes that at least one of Jordan’s ancestor’s was born in Indian Territory as a slave in the Choctaw Nation. The second significant aspect of this passage is the revelation that Elizabeth and Amelia were both buried in Doaksville Cemetery! Clearly the next question becomes; where is this cemetery? Has it been enumerated and who else is buried there?<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSAPWZOO4um-sXBcfI4bRCqn2dbrlgbeyeRZAkzc48IQfAJZrxM8pGeAhJ1PlHOH83zXZCChewoOfw8xK412cQqGV7GOuTCjanE3hOchDygJedzJdD6BtRFXNuD9CGg6Nimf5bdTbTiDs/s1600/slaves+picking%252C+carding+and+spinning+cotton.png" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="160" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSAPWZOO4um-sXBcfI4bRCqn2dbrlgbeyeRZAkzc48IQfAJZrxM8pGeAhJ1PlHOH83zXZCChewoOfw8xK412cQqGV7GOuTCjanE3hOchDygJedzJdD6BtRFXNuD9CGg6Nimf5bdTbTiDs/s400/slaves+picking%252C+carding+and+spinning+cotton.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Remember, this information illustrates life on a plantation owned by a Choctaw Indian who clearly does not fit the stereotype of “Native American.” He was a well educated man, who practiced medicine and was a surgeon according to Jordan Folsom. It is only natural to examine what type of “plantation” Dr. Folsom owned; which would give us an idea of how many slaves he held in bondage?</div><br />One record that sheds light on this man and his wealth is the 1860 Arkansas Slave Schedule for Towson County, Indian Territory. Dr. Folsom would have been considered a very wealthy man prior to the Civil War. The record illustrates he held in bondage approximately fifty humans as slaves. Beginning on page 9 of the slave schedule and continuing to page 10 we see all of the enslaved people enumerated on Dr. Folsom’s plantation.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozEUqO9RQUkiaJ5vt7NqtYMlZel0ljeG7SOc3nayA5fkuiHg61I7hfLUQliNHT0hZrmlMPeEm-Jf7DnxmrGB9e9xs9AiHUCgnsE5mUqJ4QEmCnNdC6_ov26pcir-BkF_edzad0UOCiLgp/s1600/Arkansas-Towson%2528ChoctawNation%2529pg02Dr.HenryFOLSOM01.jpg" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="383" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozEUqO9RQUkiaJ5vt7NqtYMlZel0ljeG7SOc3nayA5fkuiHg61I7hfLUQliNHT0hZrmlMPeEm-Jf7DnxmrGB9e9xs9AiHUCgnsE5mUqJ4QEmCnNdC6_ov26pcir-BkF_edzad0UOCiLgp/s400/Arkansas-Towson%2528ChoctawNation%2529pg02Dr.HenryFOLSOM01.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasp72BDffuYopicFT0bZkETJwOOO4GM7PSy-uu_3JhLae65zLoqupMKS1ojKj4c5-pPJP_mGQ7wcnjgfcVUuj_YWID_x0UeEiFpQY2F83sITPOqMOdQVun91GmWhUT23IYOQYgtwfE7io/s1600/Arkansas-Towson%2528ChoctawNation%2529pg03.jpg" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="400" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasp72BDffuYopicFT0bZkETJwOOO4GM7PSy-uu_3JhLae65zLoqupMKS1ojKj4c5-pPJP_mGQ7wcnjgfcVUuj_YWID_x0UeEiFpQY2F83sITPOqMOdQVun91GmWhUT23IYOQYgtwfE7io/s400/Arkansas-Towson%2528ChoctawNation%2529pg03.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="253" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It is important that the whole story of Indian Territory be told and part of that story is the institution of slavery among the so called Five Civilized Tribes. Many historians and the tribes themselves fail to adequately write or discuss this tragic chapter. </div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>Over the years I observed how the Five Slave Holding Tribes promote their history and culture. In the majority of instances they do so by leaving out decades that included the brutal and uncivilized institution of chattel slavery. </div><div><br /></div><div>For many in the tribes it would appear this history is insignificant. Tragically very few voices have emerged over the years to address the legacy of enslaving African and African-Native Descendant people. I’m sure, this won’t be my last reminder; but it is hoped that this excerpt from the interview of Jordan Folsom Jr. will shed more light on the subject and encourage discussion on the topic.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjV8aVU85sAZs0-V2IFR1MJwNiGpfZtMBHg1vJCXoiyPWE5DKpYiNwDYetuSJzL0MpfoAZ2SlI0xsVkSssoGTpXkXkqrBOQuYlORVbqMFOFEX5KWbiqoaQEKdUEAokngro7uLLKINhvwB/s1600/Slave+Dealers+%2526+Treatment+of+slaves.png" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="350" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjV8aVU85sAZs0-V2IFR1MJwNiGpfZtMBHg1vJCXoiyPWE5DKpYiNwDYetuSJzL0MpfoAZ2SlI0xsVkSssoGTpXkXkqrBOQuYlORVbqMFOFEX5KWbiqoaQEKdUEAokngro7uLLKINhvwB/s400/Slave+Dealers+%2526+Treatment+of+slaves.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div></div></div></div>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-52045369353415728752022-12-05T05:25:00.000-08:002022-12-05T05:25:09.114-08:00It’s What You Don’t See That Matters<h2 class="date-header" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: white; background-image: none; background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; bottom: 100%; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px -15px 1px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; right: 15px;"><span style="border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; display: block; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; padding: 0.5em 15px;">Saturday, November 20, 2010</span></h2><div class="date-posts" style="background-color: white; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); clear: both; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px -15px; padding: 8px 15px 0px;"><div class="post-outer" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin: 0px -15px; padding: 0px 15px 10px;"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="min-height: 0px; position: relative;"><a name="7620821496225573010"></a><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">It’s What You Don’t See That Matters</h3><div class="post-header" style="line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-7620821496225573010" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">In my previous post I wrote about the Indian Pioneer papers as a source for learning about slavery among Native Americans. My initial purpose for looking at these documents was in pursuit of information on people who claimed to have a parent or ancestor listed as a by blood Choctaw or Chickasaw Indian. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="border: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8u6an9LIbHTXEMIZ96-LSkWNo5D2mhRzJRY25bUvF8hSlDHm4mlK8KwF0eXXW4T3XrD9fh_ZAnXaiIQ-gCU0TWO5sl2HV-uWPwLNR79SCofbTHnb7wWNPj6YZ6DhlJ27Xc-1AbmMJanUf/s1600/Living+quarters+for+slaves%252C+overseers+%2526+slaveowner.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="260" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8u6an9LIbHTXEMIZ96-LSkWNo5D2mhRzJRY25bUvF8hSlDHm4mlK8KwF0eXXW4T3XrD9fh_ZAnXaiIQ-gCU0TWO5sl2HV-uWPwLNR79SCofbTHnb7wWNPj6YZ6DhlJ27Xc-1AbmMJanUf/s400/Living+quarters+for+slaves%252C+overseers+%2526+slaveowner.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.4px;"><div align="center" class="MsoCaption" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"><em>Indian Pioneer Paper Interview Jordan Folsom Jr. 1937</em></span></strong></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Researching the people who sought a transfer from the Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen rolls to the rolls of “Citizens by blood” continues to fascinate me. I’ve spent many years looking for documents that were produced to support their position as Choctaw and Chickasaw citizens by blood. Something that continually surfaces as an issue in these cases is the <u><strong>lack </strong></u>of information contained in the Dawes records of freedmen seeking a transfer to the “citizen by blood roll.” </span></div><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTrY_N_3_Q-iwcDLpOJBGWhPHqJaVqtMJHaXN0j01iOGvvwdTAOeF4J0xqfBV-ipCzem3dGj68kP0LHXtGSJPu9DaP8QRJyUsVy_qOUc-xtXmwLOvotnmNL1KzYCb1jkj0r0SukxR26sE/s1600/FOLSOM%252CMose.CHOF%25230530f%2528front%2526rear%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="208" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTrY_N_3_Q-iwcDLpOJBGWhPHqJaVqtMJHaXN0j01iOGvvwdTAOeF4J0xqfBV-ipCzem3dGj68kP0LHXtGSJPu9DaP8QRJyUsVy_qOUc-xtXmwLOvotnmNL1KzYCb1jkj0r0SukxR26sE/s400/FOLSOM%252CMose.CHOF%25230530f%2528front%2526rear%2529.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.4px;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"><em>M1186 Front and Rear of Choctaw Freedmen Card# 530 Mose Folsom</em></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZXsLssuPABaqYl-Z3oMf3NfZMs9u4mhKFysv8G5CRjMxzNyai0Shc21FEosYn7Eo6oeXP12V7m24F97NZXqvvVV6qC7x88ShHXcIMUiloyYpsY-r4tmXdk2Srs6wOCUeBdT9AA1dBAwz2/s1600/CHOF1209F.FOLSOM%252CJordan.Doaksville%2528Front%2526Rear%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZXsLssuPABaqYl-Z3oMf3NfZMs9u4mhKFysv8G5CRjMxzNyai0Shc21FEosYn7Eo6oeXP12V7m24F97NZXqvvVV6qC7x88ShHXcIMUiloyYpsY-r4tmXdk2Srs6wOCUeBdT9AA1dBAwz2/s400/CHOF1209F.FOLSOM%252CJordan.Doaksville%2528Front%2526Rear%2529.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.4px;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"><em>M1186 Front and Rear of Choctaw Freedmen Card# 1209 Jordan FOLSOM Sr.</em></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"></span><br /><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">The front of the card for Jordan Folsom clearly indicates who he was and his enslaver. On the rear is information indicating who his parents were and their enslavers. One would conclude this information was derived from the applicant through the process of an oral interview? However, when looking at the documents generated by the Dawes Commission a pattern begins to emerge.</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">The Dawes Commission systematically failed to produce the verbatim interview and enacted a system that denied a "correct" record on African-Native people from demonstrating their blood ties to their respective tribe.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="155" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3O_-ijmIe0yO7aUWO7Oz5eXQvwWsvURNzNF-rh_gQVFiHgOBQb5ZTheKZiS2FWZJ4bORTvdirmsV4nNGWWg81-e2XQBq2ltL369dHVp6WDo_cw__b0qqc9BaKSP6e9tdcW2bBEqS0kGr/s320/SD5013pg1513.RecordSilentOnApp.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 8px;" width="320" /></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.4px;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Senate Report 5013 pt. 2 pg. 1513</span></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3O_-ijmIe0yO7aUWO7Oz5eXQvwWsvURNzNF-rh_gQVFiHgOBQb5ZTheKZiS2FWZJ4bORTvdirmsV4nNGWWg81-e2XQBq2ltL369dHVp6WDo_cw__b0qqc9BaKSP6e9tdcW2bBEqS0kGr/s1600/SD5013pg1513.RecordSilentOnApp.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The commissioners and the tribes used the matrilineal system that determined clan and utilized it to determine "race." A child with a female ancestor who was enslaved or of African descent was placed on the freedmen roll. Their justification was based on the antebellum practice of determining race by the mother.<br />Despite the practice, and the high level of "Indian" men fathering children by slaves, it did not negate the fact these people possessed Choctaw and Chickasaw blood. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The 1860 Arkansas Slave Schedule gives a glimpse of how much miscegenation occurred on Choctaw and Chickasaw plantations.If you look at the Slave Schedules you will begin to see just how pervasive "intermixing" occurred in Indian Territory. It becomes a matter of "what you don't see that matters," and for the Dawes Commission race mattered.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="400" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-h9dtOTY-rMS36ruYbkBuQw0G4xVOMC-81zzmNMRcEMxaiEHEyRH1jNGcB1XKb8CBdQpv4fs3cP61QGH7-l3YGfUuA53i8l0AlzNf5NsSqW6L5bAiv0Zb1g1m-tZ0b1z8dflVOM7PY5nf/s400/Arkansas-Towson%2528ChoctawNation%2529.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 8px;" width="256" /></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.4px;"><em><strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">1860 Arkansas Slave Schedule Towson County</span></strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The Dawes Jacket for Jordan Folsom and his "half" brother Mose contains more evidence that "it's what you don't see that matters" when it comes to the preventing legitimate claims of Choctaw and Chickasaw ancestry. Two pages in Jordan Folsom's jacket are significant for illustrating just how the Dawes Commission omitted evidence to prove his claim of being part Choctaw. The first is his oral testimony given in 1899; at the time of his enrollment.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYI75ts93d_P_vjbf7lbVm90evxhDoZYtvATXDKNE1ENr4Y2rSNedd9rueF9Oz3ujJwpo36WeJdso39g-wbQHvLW5uy42Isgie7zOz51gS_3qU2jOHkBtLuRRWZHC-yw5rXTqOzN5pkFE/s1600/Page+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="400" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYI75ts93d_P_vjbf7lbVm90evxhDoZYtvATXDKNE1ENr4Y2rSNedd9rueF9Oz3ujJwpo36WeJdso39g-wbQHvLW5uy42Isgie7zOz51gS_3qU2jOHkBtLuRRWZHC-yw5rXTqOzN5pkFE/s400/Page+2.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="263" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.4px;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"><em>M1301 Jordan Folsom pg. 2</em></span><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">There is no mention of Jordan's father, Henry Folsom in this interview, despite the fact that his name appears on the rear of card # 1209. You have to ask the question why not? The information was noted on the card and it is only logical to think Jordan provided it during the course of his interview? It also clearly states that his father was a Choctaw Indian.</span></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">The other document that demonstrates the Dawes Commission had no intention of providing proof that Jordan had a Choctaw Indian father is the "Memoranda" page contained in his jacket.</span></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMsWIJklTESeXcHD-bO_7RW4-bM-EHqtNBOQvoNJ0SyQVq_HOMknp-cnmMBqcVwWC6HMw_L353PcjEdOEP0RKLav119f6LhB3dcriefSQ1jSebVWtItBYlriXpnEB2clPnFIa9oyWUBTH/s1600/pg4fx.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="248" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMsWIJklTESeXcHD-bO_7RW4-bM-EHqtNBOQvoNJ0SyQVq_HOMknp-cnmMBqcVwWC6HMw_L353PcjEdOEP0RKLav119f6LhB3dcriefSQ1jSebVWtItBYlriXpnEB2clPnFIa9oyWUBTH/s320/pg4fx.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="320" /></span></a></div><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">This form has a place for his mother's citizenship; it does have a line asking about "citizen by blood?" but it was left blank. There isn't any place on the form asking about his father which would have required them to admit Jordan Folsom had a claim of Choctaw blood. </span></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">In the Congressional Record, attorney Webster Ballinger points this out with a great deal of clarity:</span></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3O_-ijmIe0yO7aUWO7Oz5eXQvwWsvURNzNF-rh_gQVFiHgOBQb5ZTheKZiS2FWZJ4bORTvdirmsV4nNGWWg81-e2XQBq2ltL369dHVp6WDo_cw__b0qqc9BaKSP6e9tdcW2bBEqS0kGr/s1600/SD5013pg1513.RecordSilentOnApp.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="193" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3O_-ijmIe0yO7aUWO7Oz5eXQvwWsvURNzNF-rh_gQVFiHgOBQb5ZTheKZiS2FWZJ4bORTvdirmsV4nNGWWg81-e2XQBq2ltL369dHVp6WDo_cw__b0qqc9BaKSP6e9tdcW2bBEqS0kGr/s400/SD5013pg1513.RecordSilentOnApp.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"></span></div><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Senate Report 5013 pt2 pg1513</em></strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"></span><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Ballinger submitted several examples to prove his point on how the Dawes Commission summarized the oral testimony and failed to provide a full record as to people with Native ancestry:</span></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #469c4d; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvRLuI_6Ritf-dotsA3Jx3qSOW7a4gqFKY6kflnmG963ux05CbM8lqYdJmcM7bQ3qHvIJ5HKJ9YqIIfprIMuc-V9Oce6QNZWS_b3Q_O3Fa33hQQOpC5nEJ27wlmS10FC7qU5Szsd9AMK9/s1600/SD5013pg1514.JennieDAVIDSON.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="298" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvRLuI_6Ritf-dotsA3Jx3qSOW7a4gqFKY6kflnmG963ux05CbM8lqYdJmcM7bQ3qHvIJ5HKJ9YqIIfprIMuc-V9Oce6QNZWS_b3Q_O3Fa33hQQOpC5nEJ27wlmS10FC7qU5Szsd9AMK9/s400/SD5013pg1514.JennieDAVIDSON.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"></span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZIXUyNjtvj5cBUwWM-R1pKnpkfBHwSH9DJxgL8ZkPMveHItDJwZWiRVBJ86cI2GUJ-8LS8YmF_xCXzHe0PnNw4jf_1sun5RtVrYGI6IwDxyhvqNWAJXkyAQfY7YmfNUrWgjdZNliPOXe/s1600/SD5013pg1516.CaldoniaNEWBERRY.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="291" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZIXUyNjtvj5cBUwWM-R1pKnpkfBHwSH9DJxgL8ZkPMveHItDJwZWiRVBJ86cI2GUJ-8LS8YmF_xCXzHe0PnNw4jf_1sun5RtVrYGI6IwDxyhvqNWAJXkyAQfY7YmfNUrWgjdZNliPOXe/s400/SD5013pg1516.CaldoniaNEWBERRY.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #469c4d; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64l6hilm7ivWiDNcWrQk-vlQ91N-Q6oTZ6ZNq-F-wr7ELpck0p85QyD-3aOzSIj38ybk5hROsj630mfOCw53xknvSYWh8_tZxom5GOo6fz0pSNNz0iid4uyfjsvZw3DZUuksmEkSKRBjs/s1600/SD5013pg1515.CalvinHUMDY.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="277" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64l6hilm7ivWiDNcWrQk-vlQ91N-Q6oTZ6ZNq-F-wr7ELpck0p85QyD-3aOzSIj38ybk5hROsj630mfOCw53xknvSYWh8_tZxom5GOo6fz0pSNNz0iid4uyfjsvZw3DZUuksmEkSKRBjs/s400/SD5013pg1515.CalvinHUMDY.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_5pzowqRpxVJAOtB6-WLE7WwatZwGMXbh06lPe-lSz2wX2PLhLsBwNrAx7HV_sComvO-XnZdiXt4VX96Nc51AAgw7MYuHlsB2YZ1EReHqI3-qj2pHGGSpxdyn3PmrAntbBWHI5OyK9-t/s1600/SD5013pg1516.DickSTEVENSON.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="391" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_5pzowqRpxVJAOtB6-WLE7WwatZwGMXbh06lPe-lSz2wX2PLhLsBwNrAx7HV_sComvO-XnZdiXt4VX96Nc51AAgw7MYuHlsB2YZ1EReHqI3-qj2pHGGSpxdyn3PmrAntbBWHI5OyK9-t/s400/SD5013pg1516.DickSTEVENSON.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2ilpqYLwq4dDAAoeHJiehWLzXt0vxVYt-KhfwnwdkqLA-_4uCqEbM2zk_9XVeJKG4GtNeAh8ZFCgdwxnpWt_tLxya9G7XNw6Ut5P6GX3WgLP9ooivcNXRBETdH-LAo-gDDkTm9IAz2rz/s1600/SD5013pg1515.BettieLIGON.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="242" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2ilpqYLwq4dDAAoeHJiehWLzXt0vxVYt-KhfwnwdkqLA-_4uCqEbM2zk_9XVeJKG4GtNeAh8ZFCgdwxnpWt_tLxya9G7XNw6Ut5P6GX3WgLP9ooivcNXRBETdH-LAo-gDDkTm9IAz2rz/s400/SD5013pg1515.BettieLIGON.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">These are just a few examples of “What You Don't See That Matters" when the Dawes Commission chose to classify thousands of men and women as freedmen when they had a claim of Choctaw or Chickasaw blood.</span> <br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The Dawes Commission and tribal official’s prevention of legitimate claims to Choctaw and Chickasaw ancestry has left a legacy of misinformation that should be addressed by tribal and governmental officials today.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The descendants of Dick Stevenson, Calvin Humdy, Caldonia Newberry, Jennie Davidson, Ed Johnson, Bettie Ligon and others have never had their right to due process based on the record that you see and the one you don’t see.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv6oWG1G-RHijQNiAFN4NK0saejKEjX9eAKqmwC2pPWZywhYBAFeMCmvOEFwUv9GjDnCpcWUJopsQ7aZkpfsxZKTWlQhjnmELcvEd4R6jS6yJGDlvbrvCCVNgPesGSwcRyg9RrUzrdHT3/s1600/SD5013pg1500A.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="232" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv6oWG1G-RHijQNiAFN4NK0saejKEjX9eAKqmwC2pPWZywhYBAFeMCmvOEFwUv9GjDnCpcWUJopsQ7aZkpfsxZKTWlQhjnmELcvEd4R6jS6yJGDlvbrvCCVNgPesGSwcRyg9RrUzrdHT3/s400/SD5013pg1500A.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.4px;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Senate Report 5013 pt. 2 pg. 1500</span><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="border: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcGNgibuS-ZZCU2SsfoqwzoyNarw_4a8Qd-Lf4rsd_DGESvvIgAIwZmg_98v98dZmSfPQ5XtcdOerONLIOhWJCpDC9OYyjkjDhmYK6JSRTGSploikk3NR5UjC0aDD_SLDeayAy2Gn6fq_/s1600/SD5013pg1500B.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="222" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcGNgibuS-ZZCU2SsfoqwzoyNarw_4a8Qd-Lf4rsd_DGESvvIgAIwZmg_98v98dZmSfPQ5XtcdOerONLIOhWJCpDC9OYyjkjDhmYK6JSRTGSploikk3NR5UjC0aDD_SLDeayAy2Gn6fq_/s400/SD5013pg1500B.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.4px;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Senate Report 5013 pt. 2 pg. 1500</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzr1bGgeSsurOyGz8Gsameib8ZS6XTxVGLOjq4DLCxSax6n_dZf_lCdGJdVSKJFKWS7sg1R4tjEw9NbxjMJjKuHq_uivK679B2XrwZENB-0AQTgoVnCV3fyXOSmbZU_AGJSBpz63vSBTSG/s1600/SD5013pg1500C.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="229" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzr1bGgeSsurOyGz8Gsameib8ZS6XTxVGLOjq4DLCxSax6n_dZf_lCdGJdVSKJFKWS7sg1R4tjEw9NbxjMJjKuHq_uivK679B2XrwZENB-0AQTgoVnCV3fyXOSmbZU_AGJSBpz63vSBTSG/s400/SD5013pg1500C.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.4px;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Senate Report 5013 pt. 2 pg. 1500</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzbPv8t3yIqZvw8Ecj8L2x01X2-_tmBIXdtGMv1LGkskDmSTpp-bucUO5OK2dNJQRViRHXk41a0o9IJqDx8VxzOvaQk7RilUhPXhWdZ6lFCReotiY4h3Zt2z1vNV4Zz4CAPSE66WwJrugJ/s1600/SD5013pg1501X.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #469c4d; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="252" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzbPv8t3yIqZvw8Ecj8L2x01X2-_tmBIXdtGMv1LGkskDmSTpp-bucUO5OK2dNJQRViRHXk41a0o9IJqDx8VxzOvaQk7RilUhPXhWdZ6lFCReotiY4h3Zt2z1vNV4Zz4CAPSE66WwJrugJ/s400/SD5013pg1501X.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.4px;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Senate Report 5013 pt. 2 pg. 1501</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span><div class="separator" style="border: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span></div></div></div></div></div>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-78549314486178208152022-10-22T00:02:00.006-07:002022-10-22T00:12:31.740-07:00SAY THEIR NAME<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx06go_E2ZUGtoC68hFoILxhSqjA6mXjRVSEBCZA3TDKX4WphlmWpWcjeKdkmgKldxBhweuYuiK9d0ffXQgBw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /> I would like to thank the people who have allowed me to use the images of their ancestors to create this short video and preserve the history of Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen.<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Say their name!</span></p><p>Nadine Ruff</p><p>Sandra Williams</p><p>Verdie Triplett</p><p>Annazette Schillings</p><p>Julia Powers</p><p>Larry Green</p><p>Regina L. Richardson</p><p>Alex Phillips</p><p>Carlotta Kemp-Wheeler</p><p>Angela Walton-RajiAthena Butler</p><p>Rose Oakes</p><p>Frank Overton</p><p>Evelyn Norwood</p><p><br /></p>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-2743451542713017452022-10-11T06:42:00.000-07:002022-10-11T06:42:21.696-07:00National Chickasaw & Choctaw Freedmen Day<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> What! you say you never heard of the National Chickasaw and Choctaw Freedmen Day?</span> Well, I guess I can understand that since October 10, has been highly regarded as “Indigenous People’s Day” <o:p></o:p></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">After viewing literally hundreds of Facebook and Twitter post “celebrating” the 10<sup>th</sup> as Indigenous day instead of Columbus Day I see how you may have not been aware of a day that recognized people who were enslaved by some “Indigenous” folk known as Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">One of many “interesting” post I saw Monday was a quote attributed to the “Honorable Chief” of the Choctaw Nation, Garry Batton.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KChOCBaAKSD1h1V909cv29g3ruk-zO3hmNJEN-R3epqRzxXgzbq9_iS2Srl2kTyGNxo_zTEFSKFzuLAr6s7t_YJZhqKIFIq90ZEosuqj_-jbpApwThYGVNn5ubpKueOE55b7fttBfsxLTj7BS4T06d_7qa9C7Tupeydp-JTjLFVQ0SxLAPvTOe8eFg/s925/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-11%20at%204.42.51%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="925" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KChOCBaAKSD1h1V909cv29g3ruk-zO3hmNJEN-R3epqRzxXgzbq9_iS2Srl2kTyGNxo_zTEFSKFzuLAr6s7t_YJZhqKIFIq90ZEosuqj_-jbpApwThYGVNn5ubpKueOE55b7fttBfsxLTj7BS4T06d_7qa9C7Tupeydp-JTjLFVQ0SxLAPvTOe8eFg/w400-h235/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-11%20at%204.42.51%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">The Chief wrote an “Open Letter” in 2021 allegedly reaching out to Choctaw Freedmen Descendants expressing a willingness to explore citizenship for Choctaw Freedmen Descendants. Chief Batton went so far as to state “we hear you we see you” and he indicated a desire to have “meaningful conversations with the descendants of Choctaw Freedmen that historically were citizens of the nation until they were stripped of their citizenship around 1985. You read that right, Choctaw Freedmen Descendants were already citizens but that citizenship was revoked based on their race. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">It must be pointed out; this letter of the Chief came at a critical point when the honorable Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ Committee was threatening to withhold millions of dollars of NAHASDAH funds from numerous Native Nations including the Chickasaw and Choctaw. So, if you believe as I do Chief Batton’s “open letter” had more to do with getting money for his tribe than any real reconciliation with Freedmen Descendants; let’s just call a thing a thing! Chief Batton had no intentions of having a “meaningful conversation” with Choctaw Freedmen Descendants.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Let’s examine what has happened in the year of him issuing that statement, The nation along with the others received almost a billion dollars in funding. Numerous letters were sent to the Chief and the Choctaw Nation seeking to take him up on his word to have “meaningful conversations” on “reinstating” the citizenship granted to their ancestors in 1885. No one that wrote a letter received the courtesy of a response so we will never know how many letters were received and the Chief can make any statement he desires to minimize the sincere outreach the Choctaw Freedmen Descendants did by thinking the Chief and the nation were sincere in adhering to granting citizenship to those that sought the same rights and privileges that their ancestors enjoyed based on the Treaty of 1866.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__SySJwQs5k5XGwhBEabUEiuUAie5ExIC4ekqajeT0qIzCtLyQeUhwTnqsq3B22nXFFt0Oolox2Os-_1Fd9pj1KBjxQ1GiORNOqeXq6jLIwR3KT3-24UUxrcr0jRuLLx-3uiSmBafUytXEjC1t2-_bNoAFOujOFizSfD6xtM9izeIM-yrdkHVzG2pTw/s5088/43873_2421401757_0111-00107.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2672" data-original-width="5088" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__SySJwQs5k5XGwhBEabUEiuUAie5ExIC4ekqajeT0qIzCtLyQeUhwTnqsq3B22nXFFt0Oolox2Os-_1Fd9pj1KBjxQ1GiORNOqeXq6jLIwR3KT3-24UUxrcr0jRuLLx-3uiSmBafUytXEjC1t2-_bNoAFOujOFizSfD6xtM9izeIM-yrdkHVzG2pTw/w400-h210/43873_2421401757_0111-00107.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Now that you have a little of the background of this “tribal membership for Freedmen is a sensitive and complex topic” let us examine one more wrinkle in the “deception” of “meaningful conversation.”</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">On July 27, 2022 almost a year from the date Chief Batton issued his “open letter” to the Freedmen descendants, the attorney for the Choctaw Nation (Michael Burrage) gave a presentation that told you all you needed to know about what the nation’s intentions are.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Attorney and former Judge Burrage fixed his face to say that the “Freedmen issues is not a race issue.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx7_baw9NlAbUl0CUeDvvewy9dihloKV2aBJQBWf_7O34nq3qdn4d_U104MR4RCwp8gsqgZ4q4RhhaNHSrm-g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Chief Batton sent Michael Burrage to that Senate Oversight Hearing for one purpose only, to make it clear the nation has no intention to honor the same treaty of 1866 that they derive much of their federal money for their citizens and their nation. They have no intention of reinstating the citizenship of the Choctaw Freedmen Descendants because they have determined citizenship by blood and lineal descent not by treaty obligation or the precedent of granting citizenship to the Choctaw Freedmen and their descendants in 1885.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">As the nation and the world “celebrate” Indigenous People’s Day” when people complain about Columbus as the oppressor let me remind you of the oppression that existed among the Five Slave Holding Tribes; Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee/Creek and Seminole. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Let me remind you of those five ONLY the Cherokee Nation has lived up to it’s promises of citizenship for the descendants of their formerly enslaved population. The Seminole Nation continues to grant second class citizenship to its Freedmen Descendants and the Chickasaw and Creek remain opposed to living up to the moral obligation that was contained in their treaties and one has to assume it is all about race. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Not sovereignty, Not Blood and not Lineal Descent because if that were the case there are tens of thousands of lineal descendants of Choctaw and Chickasaw recognized citizens documented who did not receive citizenship because of race and did not receive the value of three-hundred and twenty acres of land based on race.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Indigenous People’s Day rings hollow to those people and all the platitudes won’t change it. However the Congress, the Senate and the President of the United States has the power to correct a “continuing wrong” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.333332px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfz64EdqgSlYvyw35pvBINLoa8fKmw_HCrElcwYmzJiPRaIGwbX6K3yCJneltYmXOBEdGwMtvtBWDO9Vscxd0Wn1eTM1dhKudb7OG84PsK1ZDvOTKBKuSW2_WnZFS1TIV_rEv0oz4Ih24hILQrblC8lZGUBy2NNrogN_HYOFH5sYN4d6sxgfcBjv2Ag/s681/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-11%20at%204.05.43%20AM%20copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="681" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfz64EdqgSlYvyw35pvBINLoa8fKmw_HCrElcwYmzJiPRaIGwbX6K3yCJneltYmXOBEdGwMtvtBWDO9Vscxd0Wn1eTM1dhKudb7OG84PsK1ZDvOTKBKuSW2_WnZFS1TIV_rEv0oz4Ih24hILQrblC8lZGUBy2NNrogN_HYOFH5sYN4d6sxgfcBjv2Ag/w400-h293/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-11%20at%204.05.43%20AM%20copy.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The CHICO Family Chickasaw "Freedmen"<br /><br />In Honor of Lonzetta Bruce who has joined her Chico ancestors</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></p></div>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-29840956732901300792022-09-24T05:01:00.005-07:002022-09-24T05:32:30.465-07:00All Choctaws are Choctaw by Blood & All are Lineal Descendants of Choctaw Indians<p> If all it takes for someone to be a Choctaw is to be a "lineal descendant" of a Choctaw Indian, then Judge Michael Burrage and the Choctaw Nation have some explaining to do.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxTOrJ_AK98Z6pUmlwZddY_8pTtI9cwaY703LoztZQgLIhmReBXPN9_s8_oqxNG4E53Eh3gRVDULKomsZ1BoA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In May of 1899, the lineal descendants of Boss McCoy a Choctaw Indian were enrolled as Choctaw Freedmen. Frances Boatwright and all of her children appeared on the 1896 <b>CITIZENSHIP ROLL</b> as a McCoy, except for the youngest, George Washington Boatwright. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNsUdoOF35Yna_yHe9kVnrQQIKRWIdD4DELpsoA4jQSaU92Tp3jXw3tldyyA-8dDXaRC63sf_244JouoAJF9HMmOi5hGqZrC4i9IFZu9rs5zteHVavDukbqp86Y2Oi_ARXO256GAozblg8hPbeiP2ibub75n6TK8Gp6wbuH5tvY5Dtfej3uCu6doD1XA/s4865/BOATWRIGHT,Frances_CHOF%23607F.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2498" data-original-width="4865" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNsUdoOF35Yna_yHe9kVnrQQIKRWIdD4DELpsoA4jQSaU92Tp3jXw3tldyyA-8dDXaRC63sf_244JouoAJF9HMmOi5hGqZrC4i9IFZu9rs5zteHVavDukbqp86Y2Oi_ARXO256GAozblg8hPbeiP2ibub75n6TK8Gp6wbuH5tvY5Dtfej3uCu6doD1XA/w400-h205/BOATWRIGHT,Frances_CHOF%23607F.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PCsNrby9h5-ha94_4fLK6kYj4BydGegehLsqD1lz4UGuz7uG-FHY0zz7AFbB9qcr_k01mQ3NTqe9NKEF-kSMmALjZ_bXlXDiwJM5mlHXvn0-LSVLGr6VS2rJoB68PDedbZ2rybhvGLFFpDS9rE0u7umHLIi9GdmYfJU1h7wUjYXSAiNp4IKTGykABw/s4851/BOATWRIGHT,Frances_CHOF%23607R_7071.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2491" data-original-width="4851" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PCsNrby9h5-ha94_4fLK6kYj4BydGegehLsqD1lz4UGuz7uG-FHY0zz7AFbB9qcr_k01mQ3NTqe9NKEF-kSMmALjZ_bXlXDiwJM5mlHXvn0-LSVLGr6VS2rJoB68PDedbZ2rybhvGLFFpDS9rE0u7umHLIi9GdmYfJU1h7wUjYXSAiNp4IKTGykABw/w400-h205/BOATWRIGHT,Frances_CHOF%23607R_7071.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Based on the statement of Judge Michael Burrage during his presentation to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs you would think this family would have been enrolled on the Choctaw by Blood roll based on their lineal descent from a Choctaw Indian and their descendants would be card carrying Choctaw Indians today. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Contrary to Michael Burrage's statement of "the freedmen issue is not about race" the evidence would contradict his and the nation's belief that the Choctaw Nation embraces its diversity and has always based citizenship on the political construction of "race?"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4FZgxyWIIVYhliUtMrtVhiN0ACly3uiOj3za0eoO2Q1xanGG-kctzRuwQ2QGLzycPfbys5peIe6Ke3-tKKDdch9spzDWrE1JKvJIEFfpIsmnF-gXhXg5Z5XfUVCrClt23ZqdZGrq_cLOwHHel40KjtSwbFjRDyJGOH950S-FoiqnPJTZgBcMyQFRuQ/s3703/img007.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3703" data-original-width="2344" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4FZgxyWIIVYhliUtMrtVhiN0ACly3uiOj3za0eoO2Q1xanGG-kctzRuwQ2QGLzycPfbys5peIe6Ke3-tKKDdch9spzDWrE1JKvJIEFfpIsmnF-gXhXg5Z5XfUVCrClt23ZqdZGrq_cLOwHHel40KjtSwbFjRDyJGOH950S-FoiqnPJTZgBcMyQFRuQ/w254-h400/img007.jpg" width="254" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Throughout her testimony one could sense the shortcomings of a formerly enslaved woman to the process of the Dawes allotment process but what is also evident is her knowledge of the genealogy of her children and their rights to citizenship as lineal descendants of a Choctaw that came to Indian Territory from Mississippi.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVZI4VvlIi9aBnhLtxJPpHYHLXdm2Eg86noUpm0jCaj8-FmZVjmRgNGKp4Sa0QgfHtpjevzFdMfZN0YnWbJ3SPjBsnURqm4EP-xwPAM4cDWWP43np88CSiykEVkhLwEXfNru9wEZsvP2Ot8sI8iT0VCbP-LH8Fd0kl8SyJ4VmxNptA7h1FPHZXK6G4w/s3709/img009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3709" data-original-width="2429" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVZI4VvlIi9aBnhLtxJPpHYHLXdm2Eg86noUpm0jCaj8-FmZVjmRgNGKp4Sa0QgfHtpjevzFdMfZN0YnWbJ3SPjBsnURqm4EP-xwPAM4cDWWP43np88CSiykEVkhLwEXfNru9wEZsvP2Ot8sI8iT0VCbP-LH8Fd0kl8SyJ4VmxNptA7h1FPHZXK6G4w/w263-h400/img009.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><br /></div>Throughout the process this family went through the issue of race was a factor that demonstrates how ridiculous the statement made by Judge Michael Burrage during the "<i>Oversight Hearing on Select Provisions of the Reconstruction Hearing of 1866" July 27, 2022</i><div><i><br /></i></div><div>The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs must take a strong position to enforce the terms of the Treaty of 1866 and repair the damage done, not only to the citizenship of the "lineal descendants" of Oliver "Boss" McCoy and Susan Brashears. Repair and resolution to the value of land lost by race-based policies of the Dawes Commission the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations and the Department of the Interior of the United States.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs must determine the value of the land lost to this and other families that would have been granted if not for the racial prejudices against their African ancestry during the enrollment process. It was clearly race that was the basis for the decision to place them on the Choctaw Freedmen Roll. </div><div><br /></div><div>The origins of this story were based on race and no matter how much the lawyers for the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations attempt to obscure this fundamental fact, race is the very reason these questions are being asked over one-hundred and fifty years later.</div>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-38000292337441030052022-09-23T09:12:00.001-07:002022-09-23T09:33:53.089-07:00Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen Recognition for Federal BenefitsSince the July 27, 2022 Oversight Hearing of the Reconstruction Treaty of 1866 held by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, we have been in contact with the Legislative Assistant and Appropriations Manager Kurt Lynch in the office of Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada.<div><br /></div><div>If you live in Nevada you can contact Mr. Kurt Lynch at the following email address:</div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="mailto:Kurt_Lynch@cortezmasto.senate.gov" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;" target="_blank">Kurt_Lynch@cortezmasto.<wbr></wbr>senate.gov</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The Senator is eager to hear from her constituents about their concerns regarding the status of freedmen descendants of the five tribes known as Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Muskogee/Creek. However, our efforts are focused on the issues pertaining to Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen descendants we continue to encourage other descendants to contact their Senators, especially if they are members of the committee like Senator Cortez Masto of Nevada and Senator Lankford of Oklahoma.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some have asked for a template or form letter they can circulate among their family and other freedmen descendants so they can take part in the "lobbying" effort to inform the committee members of our history and rights to federal benefits based on our connections to the tribes.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(31, 73, 125); color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;">List of SCIA members: </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.indian.senate.gov/about-us/committee-members&source=gmail&ust=1663904018325000&usg=AOvVaw2uZI-fQeP_gPWTWBTaICGe" href="https://www.indian.senate.gov/about-us/committee-members" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;" target="_blank">https://www.indian.senate.gov/<wbr></wbr>about-us/committee-members</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Should you wish to take part in this effort please feel free to copy and paste the following statement:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Attorney Michael Burrage for the Choctaw Nation clearly stated in his opening remarks to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, that all the members in the Choctaw Nation today are “lineal descendants” of Choctaw Indians. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Judge Burrage and attorney Stephen Greetham, who represented the Chickasaw Nation, both stressed that because of tribal sovereignty, the tribes had the authority to determine its members, not the federal government. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">If that sentiment is true and shared by the committee it ignores one basic fact, <b>the tribes don’t have the authority to determine our heritage or what we are entitled to as “lineal descendants” of recognized Choctaw and Chickasaw citizens.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are three sources available to determine who is a “lineal descendant” of a Choctaw or Chickasaw citizen:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Chickasaw and Choctaw Freedmen Dawes Cards<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="left" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The List of Litigants in Equity Case 7071<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="left" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background-color: white; background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The 254 files that compose the Joe and Dillard Perry Petition to Transfer Files<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We are developing databases and indexes for all three resources should you need our assistance.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">With that in mind we respectfully suggest that Congress and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs determine our rightful status and have the GAO to construct a database, index and population number of descendants that are eligible for the same benefits, monies and programs offered to members of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nation, regardless of membership in the nation of their ancestor’s birth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Contact us at: </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">equitycase7071@gmail.com</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p></div></div>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-34205437024722053142022-08-29T13:14:00.002-07:002022-08-30T14:19:09.952-07:00 EQUITY CASE 7071 QUESTIONNAIRE<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-variant: small-caps; line-height: 115%;">Equity Case
7071 Questionnaire</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">In an effort to determine and organize the number of descendants who
had an ancestor among the people included in Equity Case 7071, we are seeking
answers to the following questions. There are estimates that the descendants to
this lawsuit could be more than twenty-thousand people; if true, we need to
identify who we are.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>What do you know about Equity Case
7071?</li><li>How many people in your family are
aware of Equity Case 7071?</li><li>Can you identify the number of
immediate family that can show a direct connection to a Dawes enrollee?</li><ul><li>Do you have more than one direct
ancestor that was part of Equity Case 7071</li></ul><li>Have you taken a DNA test?</li><ul><li>Did that test indicate you have “Native
American” ancestry?</li></ul><li>What was the percentage?</li><li>Can you identify your ancestor
that was part of Equity Case 7071?</li><ul><li>Do you have an image or photo of
this ancestor?</li><li>Would you be willing to share that
image?</li></ul><li>Do you have an ancestor that
should have been part of Equity Case 7071</li><li>What would you like to see done
about those who descend from someone that was part of Equity Case 7071?</li><li>Would you help fund an effort to
lobby Congress about resolving Equity Case 7071?</li><li>Would you contribute money on a
regular interval (monthly, quarterly, yearly) to support a legal case for
Equity Case 7071?</li><li>What is your contact information?</li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.75in;"><b>Name, email address, phone number
(optional)<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><b><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> Please Respond to the email address below</span></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><b>All personal information will be kept confidential</b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Reply to <a href="mailto:equitycase7071@gmail.com">equitycase7071@gmail.com</a></p><p class="MsoNormal">To determine if you have an ancestor that meets the criteria of a claimant in Equity Case 7071, you had to have an ancestor that was living in Indian Territory (pre-Oklahoma) in 1898-99 AND applied for a land allotment with the Dawes Commission.<br /><br />That ancestor would have subsequently filed a petition to transfer from the Choctaw or Chickasaw Freedmen Roll to the Choctaw or Chickasaw By Blood Roll.<br /><br />It was the compiling of those petitions and people that make up the litigants in Equity Case 7071 and you can see a list of their names at the following link:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="https://digital.libraries.ou.edu/utils/getfile/collection/cornish/id/1415/filename/1416.pdf">EquityCase 7071; Bettie Ligon et al., Plaintiffs v Douglas H. Johnston et al., GreenMcCurtain, et al., and James R. Garfield Secretary</a><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhYFOfkJ284_5JsyFJKxpIyv0teHIIxJb40CZzVmnlFbQWGmlfvjc_XVeE2S1vN13g8vQVfWzp6l3aXblNXBJBVQBzQec9f8pdH1QZOruF4Sf6elQdoTYnERuBCEfLt3bsX3Tp30MU0osxmvNKos_ob3SDcvLSZImeUMKEGnzYs5xKFZXZxUAlDchhA/s3854/The_Daily_Ardmoreite_Sun__Apr_14__1907_p6c5&6_ImportantSuitFiled_EDIT.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3854" data-original-width="1903" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhYFOfkJ284_5JsyFJKxpIyv0teHIIxJb40CZzVmnlFbQWGmlfvjc_XVeE2S1vN13g8vQVfWzp6l3aXblNXBJBVQBzQec9f8pdH1QZOruF4Sf6elQdoTYnERuBCEfLt3bsX3Tp30MU0osxmvNKos_ob3SDcvLSZImeUMKEGnzYs5xKFZXZxUAlDchhA/w317-h640/The_Daily_Ardmoreite_Sun__Apr_14__1907_p6c5&6_ImportantSuitFiled_EDIT.jpg" width="317" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-14762401104194447662022-08-24T12:21:00.004-07:002022-08-24T12:35:56.404-07:00Letter to Senate Indian Affairs Committee<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Oversight Hearing on Select Provisions of the 1866 Reconstruction Treaty Between Choctaw & Choctaw Nations</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, "serif";">RE: Oversight Hearing on Select Provisions of the 1866
Reconstruction Treaties between the United States and Oklahoma Tribes</span></span></p><p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Honorable
Senators,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This letter and comments are
intended to provide a different point of view regarding the “Select Provisions
of the 1866 Reconstruction Treaty” between the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations. I
respectfully ask that it become part of the Congressional Record of this
hearing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As the lawyers for the Choctaw
and Chickasaw Nations presented their positions on the “Reconstruction Treaty
of 1866” and the issue of citizenship, they left me asking more questions about
two points made by the attorneys that were not directly addressed by this
hearing on a certain class of Freedmen Descendants. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The class of “Freedmen
Descendants” that comprised the litigants <a href="https://digital.libraries.ou.edu/utils/getfile/collection/cornish/id/1415/filename/1416.pdf">in
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Equity Case 7071; Bettie Ligon et al.,
Plaintiffs v Douglas H. Johnston et al., Green McCurtain, et al., and James R.
Garfield</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Secretary</i></a></span></span><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></i></span></a><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> of the Interior Defendants at
the time it was filed was estimated to be worth fifteen-million dollars in land
value. Today, that value lost by Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen descendants
could range anywhere between one-half a billion to over nine-billion dollars
and that is a question that was not entertained during the hearing on the “Reconstruction
Treaty of 1866.” As the great grandson of the lead litigant Bettie Ligon whose
father, my great-great grandfather Robert Howard Love was one of the signers of
the treaty I feel it is my responsibility and obligation to bring long overdue
attention to this obvious miscarriage of justice before your committee for a resolution.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The plight of the estimated fifteen-hundred
(1,500) to two-thousand (2,000) individuals as citizens based on their <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“lineal descent”</b> should have been part
of the decision to make them citizens at their birth and following the
ratification of the 1866 treaty</span></span><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. It was not until 1898 when the
Dawes Commission began creating a “census” of “citizens” on a blood roll and
freedmen roll when the tribes and United States government began to
disenfranchise the litigants involved with Equity Case 7071 based on the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“race of a female ancestor or parent.”</b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Both attorneys clearly
illustrated that point when Judge Michael Burrage’s initial comments confirmed their
rights as citizens with the following statement; “<i>to be clear, the Freedmen
issue, as it relates to the Choctaw Nation, has nothing to do with race. Tribal
membership is based on blood, not race.” </i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Judge Burrage immediately
followed that up with, <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JT5VdOD3Rg">“Today,
Choctaw Nation’s tribal membership includes African Americans as well as those
from other races. All members of our Tribe share one characteristic in common,
they are all Choctaw by blood. They are all the lineal descendants of Choctaw
Indians.</a>”</i></span></span><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iii]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></i></span></a><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Judge Burrage emphatically confirmed
to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs that the claimants in Equity Case
7071 who sought citizenship based on their <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“lineal
descent”</b></span></span><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iv]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></b></span></a><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> to a recognized citizen of the
Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations had a legal right to that citizenship but because
of the racial policy of excluding people who had a “freedmen” mother while
disregarding their father deprived each and every one of them citizenship and
the value of three-hundred and twenty acres of land. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">From 1866 to 1898 to 2022 this is
the legacy of the decision that mixed blood freedmen were not “lineal
descendants” and worthy of citizenship and equity in the land distribution of
the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations. It is why nine, 9-Billion dollars is a small
price to pay for the continued injustice that occurred in 1866, 1898 and
presently in 2022.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I mentioned that attorney Stephen
Greetham shares this view that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“lineal
descent”</b> is the basis for citizenship in the Chickasaw Nation and despite
his best efforts to obscure that fact you only have to look at the lone footnote
in his prepared statement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“The Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw Nation share a close treaty
relationship, starting with the <a href="https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/1830treaty-of-dancing-rabbit-creek.pdf">Removal
Era treaties of the 1830s</a> which vested them with undivided interests in the
realty of the secured treaty territory.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="s9"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In the 1830 Treaty that is mentioned by Mr. Greetham it states
that the land that was to become the state of Oklahoma was for the benefit of
the people who were a party to that treaty <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">and
their descendants.</b> If you take into consideration the words of Mr. Burrage
that citizenship is based on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“lineal
descent”</b> then the descendants of every person that was a claimant in Equity
Case 7071 has a legal right to “equity” for the loss of land value that was
incurred based on the “racial” biases that saw them erroneously being placed on
the freedman rolls.<a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Every action taken by Department of the Interior and the Choctaw
and Chickasaw nations to refuse citizenship and land equity for the “mixed race”
Chickasaw and Choctaw “freedmen” and their descendants was about race. The
claims of sovereignty today only mask that history of their nations but the
record is clear; today as it was then, a specific class of Choctaw and
Chickasaw Freedmen Descendants have been denied their “rights and privileges”
within the nations of their ancestor’s birth based on the political construct
of race and a suitable remedy must be found by Congress as well as the Choctaw
and Chickasaw Nations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Not one of those slaves that were part of the removal with the
Choctaw and Chickasaw nations willingly travelled west. But all you hear about
are the sorrow and degradation of the tribes. When the descendants of Kissander
and Daniel who worshipped alongside their enslaver Tennessee Bynum, their
descendants<a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> are now recognized
citizens of the Chickasaw Nation because of “lineal descent.” But because of
the peculiarities of “race” the descendant of Margaret Ann Wilson who came west
with Benjamin Love; her daughter Bettie Love-Ligon and the “lineal descendants”
of two-thousand other similarly situated people don’t share the distinction of
citizenship and have been deprived of the generational wealth that came with
owning 320 acres of valuable land in the new state of Oklahoma.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Congress and the Senate has some difficult decisions to make
concerning the people who were denied equity and protection based on their
status as a protected group living under the power of a protectorate<a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_edn7" name="_ednref7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> (Choctaw and Chickasaw
Nations) of the United States. They were placed in a position that did not
guarantee their citizenship, equity and due process before the law that Mr.
Greetham declared when he stated that “Treaties matter!” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">These same two nations created a “race” of people and denied many
of them their citizenship because of the “taint of negro blood<a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_edn8" name="_ednref8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>” so the cries of
sovereignty somehow are meant to wipe away all of this history, land and
citizenship and still to this day ignore the humanity of the people that were the
“lineal descendants” of numerous Choctaw and Chickasaw men, some who even
signed the duplicitous treaty of 1866, like Bettie’s father Robert Howard Love.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As a descendant of Bettie Love-Ligon Choctaw Freedman Card #106 and
Ella Jackson-Freeman Choctaw Freedman Card #1252, who were both litigants that
sought to be transferred from the Freedmen Roll to the by blood roll; I speak
for the tens of thousands descendants of Equity Case 7071 filed April 13, 1907;
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://digital.libraries.ou.edu/utils/getfile/collection/cornish/id/1415/filename/1416.pdf">Bettie
Ligon et al., Plaintiffs v Douglas H. Johnston et al., Green McCurtain, et al.,
and James R. Garfield Secretary of the Interior Defendants.</a></i> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We demand that Congress open up this case for the due process that
our ancestors deserved but were denied. We demand that descendants of the
litigants of Equity Case 7071 be paid for the racially discriminatory act that
saw them lose the value of 640,000 acres of land and their citizenship dating
back to 1866 when the “Reconstruction Treaty” was signed. We are asking for $9
Billion dollars, for the land loss because of the racial practices of the
Choctaw Nation, Chickasaw Nation and Department of the Interior. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In an interview in March of 1911, Webster Ballinger the attorney
that was to argue Equity Case 7071 before the Supreme Court of the United
States <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I some time ago abandoned the theory
advanced in the Bettie Ligon case that any person of mixed Indian and negro
blood, regardless of the degree, was entitled to enrollment as an Indian. I
shall only advocate in the future the enrollment of persons of this class who
are unquestionably Indians.” <span class="MsoEndnoteReference">M</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ballinger felt the litigants in Equity Case 7071 <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“would be prejudicial”</i> to the cases in
his opinion that would be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“successful in
securing the rights of that class of cases about which there is no question.”</i>
Again more evidence that the issue of race was paramount in the litigants in
Equity Case 7071 being recognized rightfully for citizenship and their 320 acre
land allotments. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Prior to this change of “legal theory” Webster Ballinger was
waging a vigorous parallel challenge for the transfer of his clients in the Senate
and House where he was met with resistance from practically the total Oklahoma
Congressional delegation at the time.<a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_edn9" name="_ednref9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> So it is more than
peculiar that his change in theory just months before he was to argue the case
before the Supreme Court of the United States in October of 1911 would have
been welcomed by the people he represented. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ballinger decided he would drop the court case to pursue a
resolution through congressional action. That is why it was an extreme joy for
me to be present to hear the arguments given by the counsel for the Chickasaw
and Choctaw Nations. They confirmed that the legal theory first proposed by
Webster Ballinger to be sound, that “lineal descent” or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“any person of mixed Indian and negro blood, regardless of degree, was
entitled to enrollment as an Indian.”</b> Judge Michael Burrage, a Choctaw
Citizen and Chief Counsel for the Nation confirmed it when he began his
presentation to the committee. There can only be one conclusion drawn from this
hearing and the voluminous historical documentation that the litigants in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bettie Ligon et al., Plaintiffs v Douglas H.
Johnston et al., Green McCurtain, et al., and James R. Garfield Secretary of
the Interior Defendants</i> are entitled to citizenship and compensation for
the tremendous harm done to their descendants dating back to the signing of the
“Reconstruction Treaty of 1866.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Congress of the United States failed our ancestors because the
climate in the country at the time made it sufficiently easy for racial
attitudes of the day to hold sway. As I listened to Chairman Schatz and
Vice-Chair Murkowski of Alaska, as well as Senator Lankford of Oklahoma their
sentiment was to reconcile the issue of citizenship for the Indian Territory
Freedmen, on this matter there should be little opposition, the descendants of
Equity Case 7071 have waited more than one-hundred and twenty four years to be
recognized as citizens. They have waited over one-hundred years to receive
their rightful share for the value of land they were denied, by the courts, by
their attorney, by the Dawes Commission, by the Department of the Interior and
by the Congress of the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There is no doubt the claims of Bettie Ligon and the other
litigants was a just cause and deserved to have their day in court. Today we
have the documentation and the science to support their claims as “lineal
descendants” and because the case was never argued before the Supreme Court it
would seem Congress, the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations have an obligation and
responsibility to “repair” this massive injustice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I will leave you with this short story about my great-grandmother
Bettie Love-Ligon who died on November 21, 1912. Over the years of researching
my family’s history I always wanted to know who Bettie was what made her the person
chosen to be the lead litigant in Equity Case 7071? What was her demeanor? What
was in her character to become the lead litigant in what was considered to be
one of the most important cases in Indian Territory? One day I found a letter
in her land allotment jacket that told me everything I needed to know about
Bettie Ligon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Bettie’s attorney Albert J. Lee wrote to J. George Wright the
Commissioner of the Five Civilized Tribes on December 14, 1907. In his letter
to Wright he stated:<a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_edn10" name="_ednref10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Yesterday morning Betty Ligon,
the principal plaintiff in the case known as Ligon Vs. Johnson, came to our
office with Freedmen patents No. 3643, 3650, 3412, 3413, 3411, 3559, and 3414
which had been registered to her at Newport, Oklahoma. On receiving the envelope from the Post Master and on opening one of them which disclosed a Freedman
patent, she immediately came to our office without opening the rest of the
envelopes.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“An attempt has been made once
before to deliver these patents to Betty Ligon, and those similarly situated,
but acting upon advice of their attorneys, they have refused to receive them and
we return to you, herewith, the above numbered patents, and inform you that it
is useless to again mail these patents, to Betty Ligon, as she declines to
receive them until after the courts have finally passed upon the case now
pending, which case will determine whether or not she is entitled to
participate in the tribal property as an Indian by blood or as Freedman.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">Senators, Bettie and her children reluctantly accepted freedmen
allotments of 40 acres, yet she fought from the first time she applied for
citizenship in the Chickasaw Nation in 1896<a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_edn11" name="_ednref11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> up to her death in 1912
for her rights as a citizen in the Chickasaw Nation. Bettie always made it
known, she was the daughter of Robert Howard Love “who was the same Robert Love
that signed the Reconstruction Treaty of 1866.” Bettie, like the other “similarly
situated” litigants left a legacy that they were Chickasaw or Choctaw by blood<a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_edn12" name="_ednref12" style="mso-endnote-id: edn12;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> and as their descendants
we are here to claim that identity as well as the compensation for the land our
ancestors were denied and unable to leave to us, the “lineal descendants of
Equity Case 7071: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bettie Ligon et al.,
Plaintiffs v Douglas H. Johnston et al., Green McCurtain, et al., and James R.
Garfield Secretary of the Interior Defendants</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Terry J. Ligon<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Great Grandson of Bettie Love-Ligon<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s7" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Great-Great Grandson of Robert Howard Love</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Ligon,
Bettie, et al v. D.H. Johnson et al, Green McCurtain et al, James R. Garfield,
Secretary of Interior<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoEndnoteText" style="text-align: left;">Melven Cornish
Collection Box 10, Folder 6, Native American Manuscripts Collection, Special
Collection University of Oklahoma Western History Collections<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Senate Report 5013 (59-2) Part 2, page 1526<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Michael
Burrage YouTube Video (33<sup>rd</sup> minute)<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Senate Report 5013 (59-2) Part 2, pages 1497-98<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn5" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Choctaw
Nation 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, Articles II & IV<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn6" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_ednref6" name="_edn6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Chickasaw Freedmen Cards #570 & #570, Chickasaw by Blood Card #1846<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn7" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_ednref7" name="_edn7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
The Chickasaw Freedmen, A People Without a Country by Daniel F. Littlefield,
Jr. page 52<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn8" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_ednref8" name="_edn8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Daily Ardmoreite, October 4, 1908 page1, column1&2<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn9" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Vinita
Daily Chieftain March 16, 1910 page 4<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn10" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_ednref10" name="_edn10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Bettie
Ligon, Choctaw Freedmen Enrollment #2604 Land Allotment Packet page 7., (Letter
to J. George Wright)<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn11" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_ednref11" name="_edn11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> 1896
Application for Citizenship in the Chickasaw Nation Bettie Ligon #73 (NARA
Record Group 75, M-1650)<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn12" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///F:/CCFANOW/2022_SenateIndianAffairsCommittee/ResponseToChickasaw&amp;ChoctawAttorneys_LinealDescent.docx#_ednref12" name="_edn12" style="mso-endnote-id: edn12;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Joe and Dillard Perry Petition to Transfer Files 1-254, NARA Record Group #75,
NRF-90C<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-17423480567308931672022-08-08T03:47:00.001-07:002022-08-08T06:46:03.141-07:00"It's Not About Race, It's About Blood"<p><i>"To be clear, the Freedman issue, as it relates to the Choctaw Nation, has nothing to do with race. Tribal membership is based on blood, not race." </i></p><p>Michael Burrage, Chief Counsel Choctaw Nation (Senate Indian Affairs Hearing 27 July 2022)</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQXIWTM0ZbtSU1OSoSD5FQTNkz8y7kG0rQ92IH88_QYo8tWWFvv6Nz4fcpy-URccFFgThe8oXxZnFF0dQC0MI2OhK7O_ZFyDmSAlTBvMHyQp962nfsc9o3pXZA7CdK2x3_iTJJikPcrSbs2iRDZy3V1DrUsMP94hTLmk247wIq18CS455tnd78XEXkA/s1191/Feb01,1906_CHIF&CHOF_byBlood.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1191" data-original-width="799" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQXIWTM0ZbtSU1OSoSD5FQTNkz8y7kG0rQ92IH88_QYo8tWWFvv6Nz4fcpy-URccFFgThe8oXxZnFF0dQC0MI2OhK7O_ZFyDmSAlTBvMHyQp962nfsc9o3pXZA7CdK2x3_iTJJikPcrSbs2iRDZy3V1DrUsMP94hTLmk247wIq18CS455tnd78XEXkA/w269-h400/Feb01,1906_CHIF&CHOF_byBlood.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Muskogee Cimiter 01 February 1906 p4c2</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Icie Jacobs, Chickasaw Freedmen Card #1464, is the daughter of Susan Benton (or Pucknatubby) a full blood Chickasaw Indian Woman and Bob Jackson, a freedman.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">The same procedure that was used to enroll Choctaw Freedmen of mixed ancestry was employed to determine Chickasaw ancestry</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>"Today, Choctaw Nation's tribal membership includes African Americans as well as those from other races. All members of our Tribe share one characteristic in common, they are all Choctaw by blood. They are all the lineal descendants of Choctaw Indians."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><p>Michael Burrage, Chief Counsel Choctaw Nation (Senate Indian Affairs Hearing 27 July 2022)</p><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil8Qqyy7G5qUCaVOHdyOMoYbnIE0VujQ3RVLJ6qsIxBPYm5KQ8Jw9RQud2ZjPuzaivE8zMmUTnKmgk2akAe9pFi_P8U4ZzV9EgqTpV7KEzv3BxDFelEwTbI7au9Q-ziQeLI8fInWKG-goJe-UoBs7eskRSzp19RlWjJLEbIzKjTRgv2p1so12jqZ2rDg/s371/DailyArdmoreite_April14,1907_p6c5-6_ImportantSuitFiled_B.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="318" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil8Qqyy7G5qUCaVOHdyOMoYbnIE0VujQ3RVLJ6qsIxBPYm5KQ8Jw9RQud2ZjPuzaivE8zMmUTnKmgk2akAe9pFi_P8U4ZzV9EgqTpV7KEzv3BxDFelEwTbI7au9Q-ziQeLI8fInWKG-goJe-UoBs7eskRSzp19RlWjJLEbIzKjTRgv2p1so12jqZ2rDg/w343-h400/DailyArdmoreite_April14,1907_p6c5-6_ImportantSuitFiled_B.jpg" width="343" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Daily Ardmoreite April 14, 1907 p6c5&6</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p>Icie Jacobs, Chickasaw Freedmen Card #1464, is the daughter of Susan Benton (or Pucknatubby) a full blood Chickasaw Indian Woman and Bob Jackson, a freedman.<div><br /></div><div>It's Not About Blood, It's About Race</div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzxtCnj8fBQtQg6hawNbXJTqHL3uKIuKF5m1-QN386R35X9gy0dLYpen56mlQRHqcdnWnqUEPd1cZNu4vcF-dSvXCayGmS1eGT3sYvJaSp3-b5CxRpWvweZBPg1blEzwVDwV4U_mjwYip_B73pYEsqh5Xt3kfQ_VmMh1Cq5yvqIDPPRkSyF1PI7YJoA/s3300/img007.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3300" data-original-width="2550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzxtCnj8fBQtQg6hawNbXJTqHL3uKIuKF5m1-QN386R35X9gy0dLYpen56mlQRHqcdnWnqUEPd1cZNu4vcF-dSvXCayGmS1eGT3sYvJaSp3-b5CxRpWvweZBPg1blEzwVDwV4U_mjwYip_B73pYEsqh5Xt3kfQ_VmMh1Cq5yvqIDPPRkSyF1PI7YJoA/w309-h400/img007.jpg" width="309" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe & Dillard Perry Petition to Transfer Files #F-135 Icie Jacobs et a,., p07<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4NNYJLplXjOP01C5WoIGQ0VmQEmrsS3rKM6lKKtv45rvr3y8CzoXYQsuEg0Jt77hONBcbtZWyZq5tp8shp0zW4lNUopF0l72zOSGqW8E-qYifquuF9_UFqptcMSvsNtulqF9PDqbXTU_R93xjLp3zqCJjJo-xTi2cibKaXScCMx7oKElWEljx1LaMg/s3300/img008.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3300" data-original-width="2550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4NNYJLplXjOP01C5WoIGQ0VmQEmrsS3rKM6lKKtv45rvr3y8CzoXYQsuEg0Jt77hONBcbtZWyZq5tp8shp0zW4lNUopF0l72zOSGqW8E-qYifquuF9_UFqptcMSvsNtulqF9PDqbXTU_R93xjLp3zqCJjJo-xTi2cibKaXScCMx7oKElWEljx1LaMg/w309-h400/img008.jpg" width="309" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe & Dillard Perry Petition to Transfer Files #F-135 Icie Jacobs et a,., p08<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XXghURTYo1tgfWsv1zhe1C5SDyaNJlGVnuLoAaIuaQBF6w1sQzxC_UPExhu8CmW9eHlb3b8e67Bjx_hPAhfuXL4swvtfK22d0Rdumn0zdFAjlSoRl-3JUhtHqKZgO7nnLsIRiQTFh-1CSmhfiAV0Pxz1ZJUqGW4U-7KcQoWdvar_6-9P7bpJrILDpA/s3300/img009.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3300" data-original-width="2550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XXghURTYo1tgfWsv1zhe1C5SDyaNJlGVnuLoAaIuaQBF6w1sQzxC_UPExhu8CmW9eHlb3b8e67Bjx_hPAhfuXL4swvtfK22d0Rdumn0zdFAjlSoRl-3JUhtHqKZgO7nnLsIRiQTFh-1CSmhfiAV0Pxz1ZJUqGW4U-7KcQoWdvar_6-9P7bpJrILDpA/w309-h400/img009.jpg" width="309" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe & Dillard Perry Petition to Transfer Files #F-135 Icie Jacobs et a,., p09<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7DOw9qc7LqQR2ACYf0bfJAZYYjSjgdGJjhYD32SvuzXfZwgV6SifqZKVo9h34wdfiSR0RW4SPHsh_UYiuB2sPYnSjVFEgYoadJ-zxT7BxiLcg0i0CAuburmrhT7juRxzjA6TzecLf234XX1clioajM24pO1MTuBDynu2z4BbaM7yngwF3Yg4YYQTFQ/s4835/JACOBS,Icie_CHIBB_D-%23029.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2498" data-original-width="4835" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7DOw9qc7LqQR2ACYf0bfJAZYYjSjgdGJjhYD32SvuzXfZwgV6SifqZKVo9h34wdfiSR0RW4SPHsh_UYiuB2sPYnSjVFEgYoadJ-zxT7BxiLcg0i0CAuburmrhT7juRxzjA6TzecLf234XX1clioajM24pO1MTuBDynu2z4BbaM7yngwF3Yg4YYQTFQ/w400-h206/JACOBS,Icie_CHIBB_D-%23029.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chickasaw by Blood Denied #D-29 Icie Jacobs et al., </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div></div>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-90395219180776432972022-08-05T05:30:00.001-07:002022-08-05T05:49:58.053-07:00“IT’S NOT ABOUT RACE, IT’S ABOUT BLOOD”<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="text-align: center;">The Case of Kizzie
Allen et al., Choctaw Freedwoman-Card #1103, Enrollment #3663</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Case of Kizzie Allen et al., Choctaw Freedwoman-Card #1103,
Enrollment #3663</b><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: center;">
</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>The quote (it’s not about race…) is from the presentation given by
attorney Michael Burrage, 27 July 2022 before the Oversight Hearing on “Select
Provisions of the 1866 Reconstruction Treaties between the United States and
Oklahoma Tribes”<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>With most, if not all of the cases of people petitioning to
be transferred from the Freedman Roll to their respective Roll by Blood, when
you look at their Dawes Land Allotment Card you don’t get the full measure of
their identity. The information that will allow observers/researchers to
understand the complexity of lineal descent in those on the Freedman Roll
requires attention to detail and a good knowledge of the records that help tell
the full story.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjquN0UOsQrgM-bvXAqJeI-86D3rcKGmgm3mMO6JImcZdY6fSdSiv6kOBm1fqohVIQO8VzHtk6w4GP1fKwncqhvfOoBLKRwUkVvAAd5GJ0koBZ4Ev6aex9zOiUFK2AqWCSKxvanYdpQ5mSWq9AkKeC8tMw4tIJHNWlL8xjUlvigPXzUPwTh6pIOmmtBMQ/s4830/43873_2421401757_0113-00227_ALLEN,Kizzie_CHOF%231103F_PTT%2358.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2505" data-original-width="4830" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjquN0UOsQrgM-bvXAqJeI-86D3rcKGmgm3mMO6JImcZdY6fSdSiv6kOBm1fqohVIQO8VzHtk6w4GP1fKwncqhvfOoBLKRwUkVvAAd5GJ0koBZ4Ev6aex9zOiUFK2AqWCSKxvanYdpQ5mSWq9AkKeC8tMw4tIJHNWlL8xjUlvigPXzUPwTh6pIOmmtBMQ/w400-h208/43873_2421401757_0113-00227_ALLEN,Kizzie_CHOF%231103F_PTT%2358.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M-1186 Choctaw Freedwoman Kizzie Allen et al., Card #1103 front<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Most people have accepted the line from the Five Slave
Holding Tribes that the path to citizenship is by having an ancestor on a “Dawes
by Blood” Land Allotment card. That statement alone requires some incredible
flexibility in logic when you actually view the Dawes Cards and discover
numerous people on it who do not have a drop of native blood. These individuals
are described as “Intermarried Whites” which defies all notions that
citizenship is not about race when there is no category for “Intermarried
Blacks?”
<p class="MsoNormal">The tribes that pride themselves on their sovereign right to
determine who is or is not a citizen seem to base that determination on a
couple of things; having an ancestor on the by blood roll who was a “recognized
citizen” or a mother that was a “recognized citizen by blood.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They have additional methods of granting citizenship by
adoption which the Choctaw Nation actually did in 1885, when they adopted their
formerly enslaved population. The nation also has children by Black, Negro or
Freedmen males that fathered children of Choctaw woman by blood. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Race clearly played a role in determining the children of “intermarried
white” women as being Choctaw by blood at the same time they denied the children
(not in all cases) of freedwomen. Furthermore, an intermarried white woman
could become a citizen by marrying a recognized male citizen of the Choctaw
nation but the same was not true for the Black, Negro or Freedwoman wife of a
recognized Choctaw man. That implies race was central to citizenship and asks a
lot of the statement utter by the Choctaw Nations attorney when he stated
emphatically; </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>“All members of our
Tribe share one characteristic in common, they are all Choctaw by blood. They
are all the lineal descendants of Choctaw Indians.”</i><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Joe and Dillard Perry files contained numerous cases of
Choctaw and Chickasaw “freedmen” seeking a transfer to the blood roll and all
the members of Equity Case 7071 share one characteristic in common, they are
all claiming to be lineal descendants of Choctaw or Chickasaw Indians.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-DKvtAzoCYe6XY6l8-SGAdpkECbOPqp3j1gM4pL6cMa06FoUZ-SwsZuYCsdM5xuj0693FNIDwRfcy-FYssBCzJitWIcLuUJN9iuJiZ41rtHC37cnnUMopEWt0rqwkfzkHG6oiTKhEhjFgUGs1yGhqgdW-fjuJfKKJ0GE2MBVqamrspfpaIxDFk6PFA/s2307/img001_FX.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1619" data-original-width="2307" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-DKvtAzoCYe6XY6l8-SGAdpkECbOPqp3j1gM4pL6cMa06FoUZ-SwsZuYCsdM5xuj0693FNIDwRfcy-FYssBCzJitWIcLuUJN9iuJiZ41rtHC37cnnUMopEWt0rqwkfzkHG6oiTKhEhjFgUGs1yGhqgdW-fjuJfKKJ0GE2MBVqamrspfpaIxDFk6PFA/w400-h281/img001_FX.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe & Dillard Perry Petition to Transfer File #F-03 FULSOM, Kizzie p01</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">In Kizzie Allen’s petition to transfer her clearly indicates
she is the lineal descendant of Peter Pitchlynn a recognized citizen that is
her grandfather by way of her mother being the child of Peter Pitchlynn. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kizzie’s petition reveals again the “racial” aspects to
citizenship. She declares her father was an “intermarried white man” that
received his citizenship after he fathered her with a formerly enslaved woman
named Winnie Pitchlynn. Of course that was immaterial as it concerned her “lineal
descent” from Peter Pitchlynn who fathered her mother. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What the Dawes Commission did with that information is
enlightening when you read it. Instead of granting citizenship based on lineal
descent to Peter Pitchlynn who they recognized as her father; they attached her
citizenship to her “alleged” father John Woolery, the recognized citizen by
marriage in 1880 to Nancy Woolery, “a recognized and enrolled citizen by blood
of the Choctaw Nation.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The usual response that “the absence of tribal recognition”
as a citizen is contained in the rejection of the claim of Kizzie, is
memorialized in the decision to deny citizenship by blood; knowing full and
well that race was the predicate for which the denial was based.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73g6ItOO71omznByoBfYBbSN-csWmNBBwzk6UH-TJgKtEIiIUkX-_Dp9-BSAWm0ZGimkeJxL7zPhguXFbaXhZ0UABQA38_RF2kwuK8X93VbDi4CH449dOkTcU2xatTqti0BtnOS39aABDVhDu8eLLa-CV21moPw4t35mEx9y7VktLBpJob7G9TT3a2Q/s2263/img002_FX.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1445" data-original-width="2263" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73g6ItOO71omznByoBfYBbSN-csWmNBBwzk6UH-TJgKtEIiIUkX-_Dp9-BSAWm0ZGimkeJxL7zPhguXFbaXhZ0UABQA38_RF2kwuK8X93VbDi4CH449dOkTcU2xatTqti0BtnOS39aABDVhDu8eLLa-CV21moPw4t35mEx9y7VktLBpJob7G9TT3a2Q/w400-h255/img002_FX.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe & Dillard Perry Petition to Transfer File #F-03 FULSOM, Kizzie p02<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>The citizenship cases that
make up Equity Case 7071 were fought in the courts as well as in Congress,
where they met resistance all along the way. Much of that resistance had more
to do with the racial biases rather than the information provided and recorded
in the Joe and Dillard Perry files. <p class="MsoNormal">As anyone can see from the
period in which Kizzie applied for her land allotment the Dawes Commission stated
she did not claim Choctaw Blood from September 4, 1899 to December 25, 1902)
evidently meaning whether she was entitled to citizenship by blood or not, her
application did not meet the arbitrary deadline to apply and be accepted. It is
instructive to look at the “alleged oral interview” of Kizzie in 1899.<br /><o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8iOHWJQUWSTQm1q-dKGXMzhgbfMIdFmCHvKtLMWlkYHawHJl00mESjYsVZOT2WcvskUwZ4Twcf-b-yEdP_dX0qkhUg-Ow8V-Zf2x3-ReQ1I5BXzVsaBUKC0GODv1Z3C6XfD7O7GeMrvxSt7APowO-zvzV8fifbciLylhn_ob95dm04o53ESh1pWbD1A/s2002/img002_FX2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="2002" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8iOHWJQUWSTQm1q-dKGXMzhgbfMIdFmCHvKtLMWlkYHawHJl00mESjYsVZOT2WcvskUwZ4Twcf-b-yEdP_dX0qkhUg-Ow8V-Zf2x3-ReQ1I5BXzVsaBUKC0GODv1Z3C6XfD7O7GeMrvxSt7APowO-zvzV8fifbciLylhn_ob95dm04o53ESh1pWbD1A/w400-h80/img002_FX2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe & Dillard Perry Petition to Transfer File #F-03 FULSOM, Kizzie p02<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8H21MP9wZMb96CtApId-gW2lo6IDtjXPGV7AOdDS-E--TYTkvG0NSNGNqX-xRVaPyiPnsNdHBb8jSozUPj87uYIUzgME77fZvSj5kvleKNCIVJlxkGUXxky9TO7a_0JE8pwcd4m0i9zkSeAUQEdIdFSTaL16JWY4GTwsmq2AE36RFX0BAICcR22G8Uw/s2407/Page%202_FX.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1640" data-original-width="2407" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8H21MP9wZMb96CtApId-gW2lo6IDtjXPGV7AOdDS-E--TYTkvG0NSNGNqX-xRVaPyiPnsNdHBb8jSozUPj87uYIUzgME77fZvSj5kvleKNCIVJlxkGUXxky9TO7a_0JE8pwcd4m0i9zkSeAUQEdIdFSTaL16JWY4GTwsmq2AE36RFX0BAICcR22G8Uw/w400-h272/Page%202_FX.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M-1301 Oral Interview ALLEN, Kizzie Choctaw Freedwoman #1103 p1</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The immorality of the Dawes Commission and the Choctaw
Nation in 1896 through 1907 demonstrates how incredibly difficult it was for African
and African-Native people to be “recognized” for their “lineal descent” as
Choctaw or Chickasaw people. </p><p class="MsoNormal">For anyone to represent the Choctaw or Chickasaw Nation and
proclaim, <i>“it’s not about race, it’s
about blood and lineal descent”</i> is only perpetuating the use of racial prejudice
to determine ancestry.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal">#Bettie’sList, #EquityCase7071, #ItsAboutRaceNotBlood,
#ChoctawNation, #ChickasawNation<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Don't forget to send your letters/emails to: <a href="mailto:testimony@indian.senate.gov">testimony@indian.senate.gov</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-24020239701262226552022-08-03T06:51:00.002-07:002022-08-03T11:06:30.001-07:00Laws, Treaties, Facts (and Context Matters)<p><i><span style="color: #c00000;">“Chickasaw history, like other histories, involves set
back and growth, trial and progress. </span></i><i><span style="color: #c00000;">Relying on its sovereignty and rights to
self-determination, the Chickasaw Nation in its most recent generations has
made progress in rebuilding its institutions of government. Today, the
Chickasaw Nation employs thousands of people, both Chickasaw citizens and
non-citizens alike. It invests in communities throughout its reservation,
Oklahoma, and the region. The Chickasaw Nation is dynamic, and its work as a
people is ongoing. It remains committed to continuing its work and will do so
in good faith—in accord with the law and its people’s right to sovereign self-determination.”</span></i></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">These are the words of the representative for the Chickasaw
Nation and his remarks concerning the Reconstruction Treaty of 1866. On the
surface who could argue with him about the nature of the Chickasaw Nation today
and all the altruistic investments in the “communities throughout its
reservation, Oklahoma and the region.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The first sentence in this statement alluded to Chickasaw
history and with a passing mentioning of the nation’s history of enslavement of
people of African and African-Native ancestry or “freedpersons.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The history of freedpersons among the citizens of the Chickasaw
Nation began well before the outbreak of the War of the Rebellion and the
nations siding with the Confederacy, which led to the Reconstruction Treaty of
1866 that would repair the Chickasaw Nations relationship with the United
States. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Prior to their removal to Indian Territory many leading
families and major slave owners attended the same Monroe Mission Church in
Holly Springs, Mississippi that their slaves were members. When the slave owners began immigrating to Indian
Territory in the 1830’s and 40’s they sought letters of demission and
recommendation for their new church once they arrived in Indian Territory with
their enslaved population. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is unfortunate that the presentation by the
representative of the Chickasaw nation is clearly attempting to put the nation
in the best light possible for their “adherence to the law” however, he does not provide
the context of their history and how it impacted the community of people who
worshipped with them and in numerous cases share the same DNA. From 1866
to the present day, the nation has not shown the compassion it seeks to
engender from Congress, the public and the descendants of the formerly enslaved descendants. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The nation in <span style="color: #c00000;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">its most recent generations has made
progress in rebuilding its institutions of government” </i></span>this is the
same government that skillfully and knowingly negotiated a treaty that removed
any responsibility or obligation to provide for the people and their
descendants who came to Indian with them as members of that same church in
Mississippi.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcCObaB_30w_OpCYkRGI-aw6wKAv_QLvrF6UmFRzeLrPnnNO9nH2ou465Cqq2MIPGwUtlG68KFacViNEF4R5cznq7de1KHew5KZh5Aj9Ym8oJ3eZA-P5W8GJS8VjxL9Nm5-84UKekDm4Rjwd4NKD7cb3syj2FhYfDxTDuO9FwxLQUMknz3t6_vBm9PA/s1482/FatherStuartandtheMonroeMission~Page41_1837_EX.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="1482" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcCObaB_30w_OpCYkRGI-aw6wKAv_QLvrF6UmFRzeLrPnnNO9nH2ou465Cqq2MIPGwUtlG68KFacViNEF4R5cznq7de1KHew5KZh5Aj9Ym8oJ3eZA-P5W8GJS8VjxL9Nm5-84UKekDm4Rjwd4NKD7cb3syj2FhYfDxTDuO9FwxLQUMknz3t6_vBm9PA/w400-h156/FatherStuartandtheMonroeMission~Page41_1837_EX.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Father Stuart and the Monroe Mission" pages 41 & 42</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQmrMYo1d3bnjl8YOJQRV7rwuQar6Gi3q_i_Y7JxDSIROqa4a3v88aOtOJqKqQH9_JtL4hl2Ktq9cFc3a92OF6_SHcWKNIRH0W2zxOgs7bMbKGfvQDhYgrg7iQpEqI0ydXS3MzfPZJF_fz-LOdibRD_YjGBpcpW-54B_kb5xWQXuGtJukPyeNhbRyakQ/s1438/FatherStuartandtheMonroeMission~Page42_Daniel&Kissander_1837_TOT_EX.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1303" data-original-width="1438" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQmrMYo1d3bnjl8YOJQRV7rwuQar6Gi3q_i_Y7JxDSIROqa4a3v88aOtOJqKqQH9_JtL4hl2Ktq9cFc3a92OF6_SHcWKNIRH0W2zxOgs7bMbKGfvQDhYgrg7iQpEqI0ydXS3MzfPZJF_fz-LOdibRD_YjGBpcpW-54B_kb5xWQXuGtJukPyeNhbRyakQ/w400-h363/FatherStuartandtheMonroeMission~Page42_Daniel&Kissander_1837_TOT_EX.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQXH97XfSVSySG5p5d5YMLpuoAW-CitkwxowdYUD4qaBB1iYH-t7pkt7s2-38pZThBNupLRknqwZTrAldFF6n3XG5D1DXQdSZkMRnUvK8RTLjkIZ8EKDCGr3qA_F87HQBjyd2mo8Wg_3oYTZtujLyqYDP3yWmY_5PyBuuiwOriys02KySpJE9yOED8lg/s2337/record-image_%20(10)_LOVE,Benjamin&Emahota.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2337" data-original-width="1880" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQXH97XfSVSySG5p5d5YMLpuoAW-CitkwxowdYUD4qaBB1iYH-t7pkt7s2-38pZThBNupLRknqwZTrAldFF6n3XG5D1DXQdSZkMRnUvK8RTLjkIZ8EKDCGr3qA_F87HQBjyd2mo8Wg_3oYTZtujLyqYDP3yWmY_5PyBuuiwOriys02KySpJE9yOED8lg/w321-h400/record-image_%20(10)_LOVE,Benjamin&Emahota.jpg" width="321" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">M-234 Chickasaw Agency Immigration Rolls, Roll #144</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #c00000;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #c00000;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Today, the Chickasaw Nation employs thousands of people,
both Chickasaw citizens and non-citizens alike.</span></span></i><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Like a good neighbor, the Chickasaw Nation is providing jobs
and support throughout the community within its “reservation.” However, now
with their blanket of sovereignty, they can’t see the total disregard for the
descendants of the people that helped establish their presence in and on their
reservation, the freedmen and their descendants have become invisible because
the nation chose not to wrap their arms around them and embrace their
historical ties to the nation of their birth. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Yes, the treaty that was negotiated at Ft. Smith Arkansas in
1866 that would emancipate the Chickasaw enslaved population was clear, the
Chickasaw Nation was not obligated to adopt their former slaves as citizens, it
did not require them to accept the children fathered by many of their leading
men, including those that signed the same “reconstruction treaty.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Mr. Greetham pointed out in his remarks that Chickasaws
along with the Choctaw Nation ceded land in the Leased District for the freedmen
and their descendants if they were <b>willing </b>to be “<b><span style="color: #990000;">removed</span></b>.” As it so happens in
1868 when the time frame for the non-obligation, no enforcement mechanism
treaty was about to run its course; many freedmen sent a Memorial to Congress (<b>Senate Executive Document 82, 40<sup>th</sup>
Congress, 2<sup>nd</sup> Session</b>) to be <span style="color: #990000;"><b>removed </b></span>from the nation because of
the disdain and violence perpetrated upon them by their former owners and
Chickasaw population of Indigenous and white citizens. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The Chickasaw nation knew then as they have shown they know
now, there was no enforcement mechanism in that treaty that required them to do
anything for the people they dragged from Mississippi in chains and clearing
the way for them to settle in a new home rebuild their institutions and
government. “Sound familiar?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">These men and women did not want to “remove” their families
to a foreign land with the meager belongings they possessed and the one-hundred
dollars that was “promised to them.” In the words of Michael Burrage, attorney representing
the Choctaw Nation, “sound familiar?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">In 1868, the leading men from numerous Chickasaw and Choctaw Freedmen communities signed a letter to the Secretary of the Interior<span style="color: #990000;"><i> “relating to
the rights of freedmen under the 3<sup>rd</sup> article of the treaty with the
Choctaw and Chickasaw nations of Indians, concluded April 28, 1866.” </i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">There was no altruism about jobs and benefits and
citizenship extended to a people who toiled on the soil of the Choctaw and Chickasaw
Nation, some bearing the children of Choctaw and Chickasaw men and where they
buried their children and ancestors that survived the arduous “Trail of Tears.” Their story seems to be lost from the pages of Chickasaw and Choctaw History. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">It is interesting to conduct a word search on the prepared
remarks by Mr. Greetham and it is revealing that the words; slavery, bondage
and chattel are mentioned eight times by my count. The word treaty; the reason
he represented the nation was mentioned approximately twenty-nine times. The
words rebellion, civil war and confederate were nowhere to be found in his
text. Amazingly sovereignty was only mentioned twice. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Apparently the Treaty of 1866 that was negotiated to remove
the formerly enslaved population also attempted to remove them from the history
of the nation that enslaved them? However, we can thank the men who signed that
letter to the Secretary for ensuring their struggle to be recognized as humans
deserving of the privileges of citizenship in the nation of their birth is
preserved with their names in <b>Senate Document 82, 40<sup>th</sup> Congress, 2<sup>nd</sup>
Session</b>.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimye1VUQ-FOcKSACL7Qejd_2y5P30A8olLtGbodIABKz2WniZ51blh2TZxrAnijJ6KlAmlcFjpbRsgD5pKS7UvmGdIjm_wTWKpwi0IXckqPvdXajhS0Sy6So1rU8AoBVksbNcHc_tNsNIVJ-gfDS5oBdoLgQSZ8nHMwWsfuAl_UR88buCLIhz5N2R1KA/s2591/S.E.D.82(40-2)pg02-Rights%20of%20Freedmen%20Under%20Indian%20Treaty.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2591" data-original-width="1690" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimye1VUQ-FOcKSACL7Qejd_2y5P30A8olLtGbodIABKz2WniZ51blh2TZxrAnijJ6KlAmlcFjpbRsgD5pKS7UvmGdIjm_wTWKpwi0IXckqPvdXajhS0Sy6So1rU8AoBVksbNcHc_tNsNIVJ-gfDS5oBdoLgQSZ8nHMwWsfuAl_UR88buCLIhz5N2R1KA/w261-h400/S.E.D.82(40-2)pg02-Rights%20of%20Freedmen%20Under%20Indian%20Treaty.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyEh64jpWChpdH2WvzBxRpy4wIKZY81TmV5yRhomwzPfUiMXAXID1P_PIvo9SadfKQGR9RlDdLS4VPyF487wo25P-Z-iv6WtMF4qkVYtYKiM8ahr8Tnw5st6pxQc-xNnKEnWuluaradMWeTIIoXoEnC6ctjkdGG18JEsO6rH6mmjTVMjhzSAgE4IdqNQ/s2610/S.E.D.82(40-2)pg04-Rights%20of%20Freedmen%20Under%20Indian%20Treaty.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2610" data-original-width="1633" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyEh64jpWChpdH2WvzBxRpy4wIKZY81TmV5yRhomwzPfUiMXAXID1P_PIvo9SadfKQGR9RlDdLS4VPyF487wo25P-Z-iv6WtMF4qkVYtYKiM8ahr8Tnw5st6pxQc-xNnKEnWuluaradMWeTIIoXoEnC6ctjkdGG18JEsO6rH6mmjTVMjhzSAgE4IdqNQ/w250-h400/S.E.D.82(40-2)pg04-Rights%20of%20Freedmen%20Under%20Indian%20Treaty.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwXmii_YUcLZaPHUDvA3j3SXfU7dhztlpsMWGcwtedIXe0ioFze2oDFvYtobtvWikn4JEsCBDvlo8HSNfjWWEz1ur4umyBRAH14wLJHJzczoJaa9woiOxs9emGf5P2ww2QNTrlKcD7xkGx6akhd_xYh_VDvAEjecwN3xyG7J6MiMnkhtUKL-sxv5gEQ/s2619/S.E.D.82(40-2)pg05-Rights%20of%20Freedmen%20Under%20Indian%20Treaty.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2619" data-original-width="1656" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwXmii_YUcLZaPHUDvA3j3SXfU7dhztlpsMWGcwtedIXe0ioFze2oDFvYtobtvWikn4JEsCBDvlo8HSNfjWWEz1ur4umyBRAH14wLJHJzczoJaa9woiOxs9emGf5P2ww2QNTrlKcD7xkGx6akhd_xYh_VDvAEjecwN3xyG7J6MiMnkhtUKL-sxv5gEQ/w253-h400/S.E.D.82(40-2)pg05-Rights%20of%20Freedmen%20Under%20Indian%20Treaty.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal">This is the history and the context that Mr. Greetham and the
Chickasaw Nation apparently would have you ignore because they can shield
themselves from criticism on the basis they “did not violate the treaty.” The nation’s
position means sovereignty immunes them from having any responsibility in the
matters of citizenship for freedmen descendants and that is a bone of
contention if you provide context to the story that was left out of the Chickasaw Nation's presentation. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 1873 the Chickasaw nation decided that it would have a
come to Jesus moment evidently and the voices of reason within the Chickasaw
Legislature passed an act that would formally adopt their formerly enslaved
population according to Article 3 of the Treaty of Ft. Smith, June 28, 1866. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On February 27, 1873 <b>Senate Miscellaneous Document 95, 42<sup>nd</sup>
Congress, 3<sup>rd</sup> Session</b> was addressed to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, from Douglas H. Cooper of the Chickasaw Nation to the
President of the United States by Cyrus Harris governor of the Chickasaw
Nation. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The letter to notify Congress and the President of the
United States that <i><span style="color: #c00000;">“an act of the Chickasaw Legislature, providing for the
adoption of negroes into the Chickasaw country referred to in the third article
of the treaty with the Choctaw and Chickasaws, concluded April 28, 1866.”</span></i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sadly, Congress and the President failed to meet its
fiduciary responsibility and protect the rights of adoption of the “negroes”
into the Chickasaw country in 1873 and that moment of humaneness among the
Chickasaw quickly passed. Their legislature and governor rescinded the
legislation so Congress would not be able to act on it. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As I reflect on the words of Mr. Stephen Greetham and his
recitation of the law, facts and Supreme Law, the context and his oral
statement that was not included in his written statement was the freedmen issue
was one of “implementation not violation of the law” rings hollow when you
start to look at the long struggle the enslaved population endured. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From that little church in Mississippi, along the trail of
the removal (only to have a provision within the reconstruction treaty that would have
the freedmen endure another removal to the leased district) and with every
letter and memorial sent to Congress for their relief and protection. There not be a resolution to their situation until Indian Territory along with Oklahoma Territory became the state of Oklahoma.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There continues to be an enormous betrayal of a people who
were victimized as enslaved people by a nation that wants to be viewed as
magnanimous to the world but when called upon to demonstrate those values it
proclaims they have no responsibility according to the law. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">He Who Has the Gold, Makes the
Rules</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #c00000; text-align: left;">“</span><i style="color: #c00000; text-align: left;">The Chickasaw Nation is dynamic, and its work as a people is ongoing.
It remains committed to continuing its work and will do so in good faith…”</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Chickasaw Nation demonstrated it did not have a commitment to people who share their history and
DNA. It denied them their humanity, identity and once they were of no use or
value, the nation was prepared to exile them to a land far away rendering them and
their history among the Chickasaw Nation invisible. </p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal">For the nation today to come into a Senate hearing and
declare their commitment to work and “good faith” in lieu of their treatment of
their enslaved population and their descendants that are seeking redress from
the “sovereign” Chickasaw and Choctaw nations as well as United States Congress; actions other than denial of “responsibility” are warranted.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8f3jfYnMSx8N7rJyszm9IgQFaoqsqFzfKL2Ti4n4OeAiBNRGAj9z2h3hu7kC_gl6yLRvMMkDNl0dPqDFw1AdeJUe4eHAsYpUGyM4bBxdU2vd6vfcRNvRPfcJM1i2SW2Sh62qsh5PWjMPNGxZ85i6fHP-yz3I4hwTO2MbegaBAnHHlM4fX3BDRIIQfIw/s1777/SMD_42nd_3rd_p1%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1777" data-original-width="1040" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8f3jfYnMSx8N7rJyszm9IgQFaoqsqFzfKL2Ti4n4OeAiBNRGAj9z2h3hu7kC_gl6yLRvMMkDNl0dPqDFw1AdeJUe4eHAsYpUGyM4bBxdU2vd6vfcRNvRPfcJM1i2SW2Sh62qsh5PWjMPNGxZ85i6fHP-yz3I4hwTO2MbegaBAnHHlM4fX3BDRIIQfIw/w234-h400/SMD_42nd_3rd_p1%20copy.jpg" width="234" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0eCuOx48TgPzAPQEQ79f9sKrRCQKkusaxAD2sgTlNqwfJti-Ml5BB-mkLeByeThfLSOQp9H3W6p-82GJHrHqXLPZqnJC1L6yA4hHHZNntUab2Fwu_MsJutTTAJI5KlFzshD2WpdspzqZ9BgtHRsTuv3viNamFdRavPn6aVcSwy18YXqCl_Cy4JAVHA/s1762/SMD_95_42ndCongress,3rdSession_p2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1762" data-original-width="1045" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0eCuOx48TgPzAPQEQ79f9sKrRCQKkusaxAD2sgTlNqwfJti-Ml5BB-mkLeByeThfLSOQp9H3W6p-82GJHrHqXLPZqnJC1L6yA4hHHZNntUab2Fwu_MsJutTTAJI5KlFzshD2WpdspzqZ9BgtHRsTuv3viNamFdRavPn6aVcSwy18YXqCl_Cy4JAVHA/w238-h400/SMD_95_42ndCongress,3rdSession_p2.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkcldAd8G4C9zKOL51nIkMzxCWTkhQb3PJJuHzfsEVxQX90GhmnJTTJkw1WCT5fEx_G3zd1pk6C6gGl_OH8Wy9UmyMzrC5z7v_eDcEtQ_g_cVewQuQmJGqI4nLlb3Cifqu9lo1YxVo_8pLRs-DVBAmJE4A7gSP5ImJB4-6mYS_9A8fN6KcOEk6ipGyg/s1809/SMD_95_42ndCongress,3rdSession_p3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1809" data-original-width="1012" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkcldAd8G4C9zKOL51nIkMzxCWTkhQb3PJJuHzfsEVxQX90GhmnJTTJkw1WCT5fEx_G3zd1pk6C6gGl_OH8Wy9UmyMzrC5z7v_eDcEtQ_g_cVewQuQmJGqI4nLlb3Cifqu9lo1YxVo_8pLRs-DVBAmJE4A7gSP5ImJB4-6mYS_9A8fN6KcOEk6ipGyg/w224-h400/SMD_95_42ndCongress,3rdSession_p3.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdKx49okwYiVmFT93AjQXad0FDLjc95Z8lnez6OFBmua4RBl-oBSDrgxzNVQlXJwmcfYn-VDdSv9vrcqGUCI4coTlhs-Jr26Zs3Phj9ihMFkzHGnJwRQ6PmLGLOQiMOoibkGiw6wc5t3OSKnWA8cS4-Y7rkkJGfHw5SM-1N0q39CYGU66495gg1KgjQ/s1809/SMD_95_42ndCongress,3rdSession_p4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1809" data-original-width="1012" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdKx49okwYiVmFT93AjQXad0FDLjc95Z8lnez6OFBmua4RBl-oBSDrgxzNVQlXJwmcfYn-VDdSv9vrcqGUCI4coTlhs-Jr26Zs3Phj9ihMFkzHGnJwRQ6PmLGLOQiMOoibkGiw6wc5t3OSKnWA8cS4-Y7rkkJGfHw5SM-1N0q39CYGU66495gg1KgjQ/w224-h400/SMD_95_42ndCongress,3rdSession_p4.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Remember to send your letters to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee about the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Reconstruction Treaty of 1866"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:testimony@indian.senate.gov">testimony@indian.senate.gov</a><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-10128972206818030922022-08-02T02:27:00.001-07:002022-08-02T10:44:20.381-07:00"They Are All Choctaw by Blood. They Are All the Lineal Descendants of Choctaw Indians.”<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDHVFBRc7uUcBsx0owXK-ozu-nF8hWlR_3Vvifmznur0jRt1kv89ZmpvoTsjC6LYvIci148bvmyf_5XJnJkSpJVx0vbsGqte2r3tPXnwj8g0kLRZcdMIbCCMCVVChc9EaP-TcYL_IRyL_3kujceiKrWiuDtFtoFgg2n4bfmdiB1dBT5I2KTxHD-DmHQ/s1136/DailyArdmoreite.April14,1907p6c5.ImportantSuitFiled(Part1).jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="341" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDHVFBRc7uUcBsx0owXK-ozu-nF8hWlR_3Vvifmznur0jRt1kv89ZmpvoTsjC6LYvIci148bvmyf_5XJnJkSpJVx0vbsGqte2r3tPXnwj8g0kLRZcdMIbCCMCVVChc9EaP-TcYL_IRyL_3kujceiKrWiuDtFtoFgg2n4bfmdiB1dBT5I2KTxHD-DmHQ/w192-h640/DailyArdmoreite.April14,1907p6c5.ImportantSuitFiled(Part1).jpg" width="192" /></a><br /><br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Daily Ardmoreite April 14, 1907 p6c5<br /></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Judge Michael Burrage while giving the Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs regarding the 1866 Reconstruction Treaty is on the record as to
the statement; <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Today, Choctaw
Nation's tribal membership includes African Americans as well as those from
other races. All members of our Tribe share one characteristic in common, they
are all Choctaw by blood. They are all the lineal descendants of Choctaw
Indians.”</i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have no doubts that
part of Judge Burrage’s statement about “membership includes African Americans
as well as other races” is true, I’ve done the research and it is provable. However,
he took the statement a little too far because the lawsuit known as Bettie
Ligon et al., v. Douglass H. Johnston, et al., Green McCurtain, et al., and
James R. Garfield, Secretary of the Interior filed on April 13, 1907 consisted
of more than two-hundred and fifty cases, representing between one-thousand and
five-hundred to two-thousand individuals seeking to be transferred from the
Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen Roll to either the Choctaw or Chickasaw Blood. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The case of every litigant in what is known as “Equity Case
7071” was based on their “Lineal Descent” from a “recognized citizen” and they
were denied because of the decision by the Dawes Commission in conjunction with
both tribal nations based on having a female ancestor that was a freedwoman. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What is most notable about the lead litigant (Bettie Ligon)
in the case is her father was Robert Howard Love, a “recognized Chickasaw
citizen" and a signer of the “Reconstruction Treaty of 1866.” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Clearly if “lineal descent” was a factor in the “blood” of
citizenship, Bettie along with every other woman, man and child that was a part
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000;">“The most
important suit that was ever filed”</span></i><span style="color: #c00000;"> </span>and
their descendants should be citizens today. They should have received
three-hundred and twenty acres of land and Judge Michael Burrage would have
been correct. But “race” was at issue otherwise there would have been no reason
for the statement at the end of that last paragraph of the newspaper article; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000;">“The contention
of the plaintiffs is that they are entitled to enrollment the same as the mixed
blood whites of the two nations.”</span></i></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGK90VoBTcejGdc-EvY8IRRuR8MPOgN3FoPSZme_bifthtIq4XQ622mOr3VKqe8U2Tk7F-KDcKMdc5zAlIeSz85-VoSpOe_AQaJPwvTWdxJyoEuryHRKkGJjwHMobPNYQfuVEctIeoZy2c_A09hNmeS1Bu_AtJMoafvoTgjkqy0Dai7mXbZz1MeZP5w/s1133/Chi73~Page3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="788" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGK90VoBTcejGdc-EvY8IRRuR8MPOgN3FoPSZme_bifthtIq4XQ622mOr3VKqe8U2Tk7F-KDcKMdc5zAlIeSz85-VoSpOe_AQaJPwvTWdxJyoEuryHRKkGJjwHMobPNYQfuVEctIeoZy2c_A09hNmeS1Bu_AtJMoafvoTgjkqy0Dai7mXbZz1MeZP5w/w279-h400/Chi73~Page3.jpg" width="279" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">M-1650, 1896 Application for Chickasaw Citizenship by Blood #73</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgievM2b_xPvJwhh3dQfkfgpOM9dfdarNJhHvXMAZQIeIsMKuzjAKn6bRRNF3wsJFfdca5lqoptJI2QGQGUzA1rT8QIcujvKW5SoQ9Lf62rh-kJJSdFOzE4_4xCLlqoLYMy4BSKcqsuy3EhlJHgUPLvji19uhWDj99w9umrJ2-22xwX_g97tI3f_ukzRA/s4845/43873_2421401757_0105-00211_LIGON,Bettie_CHOF%23106F_7071.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2510" data-original-width="4845" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgievM2b_xPvJwhh3dQfkfgpOM9dfdarNJhHvXMAZQIeIsMKuzjAKn6bRRNF3wsJFfdca5lqoptJI2QGQGUzA1rT8QIcujvKW5SoQ9Lf62rh-kJJSdFOzE4_4xCLlqoLYMy4BSKcqsuy3EhlJHgUPLvji19uhWDj99w9umrJ2-22xwX_g97tI3f_ukzRA/w400-h208/43873_2421401757_0105-00211_LIGON,Bettie_CHOF%23106F_7071.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">M-1186 Choctaw Freedman Card #106, Front & Rear</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4NMjWJTA3tQ2p8sEEdj_UJtdPe-5U3eKEjPHnZsFQAneDKY0Ac5Yb78NmldMHvoy4wqOUxE_GsxxcYxosTDuj4jvhZIlcELurLCw4uXxFtFWFmB0nSeVl3_CmuKitjMt6mvsAQl2NbjMNGVVJ_UvAnAWg2N1l_2fZLBOLEsro2fZI3-WJ1BbYW0Phw/s4826/43873_2421401757_0105-00212.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2520" data-original-width="4826" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4NMjWJTA3tQ2p8sEEdj_UJtdPe-5U3eKEjPHnZsFQAneDKY0Ac5Yb78NmldMHvoy4wqOUxE_GsxxcYxosTDuj4jvhZIlcELurLCw4uXxFtFWFmB0nSeVl3_CmuKitjMt6mvsAQl2NbjMNGVVJ_UvAnAWg2N1l_2fZLBOLEsro2fZI3-WJ1BbYW0Phw/w400-h209/43873_2421401757_0105-00212.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The simple statement by Judge Michael Burrage demonstrated how
easy it is to be misled on how race played a significant role in relegating
people who had more Choctaw or Chickasaw blood than many who appear on the
roll, received three-hundred and twenty acres of land and today, their
descendants enjoy all the benefits and privileges of citizenship. In both of
the presentations by the lawyers for the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nation they
failed to offer context for their remarks and that is how the myth of “the
issue of freedmen is not about race, it’s about blood and lineal descent” can
be used to deny thousands of people their humanity, identity and economic
wealth for them and their descendants. </div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQUlZEAXcdCo4iKi0u8ZbJumP8gJhQcyDCgkGdIlYZhfY-_H8vM2yknr9RTyQuq0ei5b7_iTU5c0rYwmKFmoLdncTee2WjNHkqDqeR6MbR6LvWeUnAdxB98HffuohSzNhEb8f346k8BtrwJqsuetM8R6ySrEEDg49KkFPl_U9WdGQYcOa4rOjFtOAiw/s5052/COTTEN,E.W.%235784(CCCC&D46).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2634" data-original-width="5052" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQUlZEAXcdCo4iKi0u8ZbJumP8gJhQcyDCgkGdIlYZhfY-_H8vM2yknr9RTyQuq0ei5b7_iTU5c0rYwmKFmoLdncTee2WjNHkqDqeR6MbR6LvWeUnAdxB98HffuohSzNhEb8f346k8BtrwJqsuetM8R6ySrEEDg49KkFPl_U9WdGQYcOa4rOjFtOAiw/w400-h209/COTTEN,E.W.%235784(CCCC&D46).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">M-1186, Choctaw by Blood Card #5784</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">Please note:
</span><i style="font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">Under the words “Choctaw Roll” in
parenthesis is the phrase (not including Freedmen) the Choctaw Freedmen had
been “citizens” since 1885, there should have been no need to include their
exclusion on this roll if citizenship was not race based?</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On this card and there are many other like it, an inter-married
white “I.W.”, is placed on the “by blood” card which “Indianized” Minnie Cotton
and made her eligible to receive three-hundred and twenty acres of land. She
was placed there because she was white but the spouse of a Choctaw woman who
was breaking the law by marrying a “freedmen” her husband was not given the
same privilege of “intermarriage.” Again, easily demonstrating the rolls were
racially biased against those of African or African-Native (lineal) descent. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal">Judge Burrage added insult and injury to the descendant families
that comprise the litigants of Equity Case 7071 by his “uninformed” remarks. It
should be noted at the time this case was filed it was considered to be worth
an estimated $15-$20 million dollars. Putting that in today’s dollars based on the
same percentage at 5% per annum the tribes $300 thousand dollars negotiated in
the Reconstruction Treaty were to receive, these families have lost anywhere
from $500 million to over a Billion dollars in land value alone. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps it’s time to consider the consequences of a race
based policy that denied millions, if not billions of dollars from people who
are “lineal descendants” of “recognized” Choctaw and Chickasaw citizens?<o:p></o:p></p></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lMe5mSsrQkTxEA8uMFSJsgsUbDxRqNcrAipdHywr27NXWKEEZznS1Uv-dDf1MfQPy9TsaPzyDlHBEERPxzn6fgaQN7OdVNOCL4EqPz-SEMUOgpyiSobsgIldEZ2GK0yltYnDwvF0gFDXXsv8Qi9u_bufghSDZ5YmX6vbL7OWNj51Xub5VGmm3PIxhw/s1554/img003_FX.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1458" data-original-width="1554" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lMe5mSsrQkTxEA8uMFSJsgsUbDxRqNcrAipdHywr27NXWKEEZznS1Uv-dDf1MfQPy9TsaPzyDlHBEERPxzn6fgaQN7OdVNOCL4EqPz-SEMUOgpyiSobsgIldEZ2GK0yltYnDwvF0gFDXXsv8Qi9u_bufghSDZ5YmX6vbL7OWNj51Xub5VGmm3PIxhw/w400-h375/img003_FX.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Joe & Dillard Perry Petition to Transfer Files #008 Andrew McAfee p. 03</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgAItQQ_J6X38xU1jgPWU7DTTnHCcrI1aMJemVXm5egwLqdW33_-tsNewuHpqOSQhzxlsMnO6RZua0bo6CMlgPE6dF8_u_AlAy90jK0RF_vELncOTBOvRqW2Sqp0kPs7pc5DM2rTPzmGpSCBiHw9Yles5wKryYPXCrClHwkyXZQTWoHrK8BIchiFa5g/s4837/43873_2421401757_0115-00169_McAFEE,Andrew-7071.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2493" data-original-width="4837" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgAItQQ_J6X38xU1jgPWU7DTTnHCcrI1aMJemVXm5egwLqdW33_-tsNewuHpqOSQhzxlsMnO6RZua0bo6CMlgPE6dF8_u_AlAy90jK0RF_vELncOTBOvRqW2Sqp0kPs7pc5DM2rTPzmGpSCBiHw9Yles5wKryYPXCrClHwkyXZQTWoHrK8BIchiFa5g/w400-h206/43873_2421401757_0115-00169_McAFEE,Andrew-7071.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">M-1186, Choctaw Freedman Card #1307, Front & Rear<br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7q8iphWDE88LZfibBfMLsHUwbX-ZaURqwB16vFZE28vsBPPHN7JQVthNpbR0P0OJ_EY9KZr86SDtt8f9kdOFgQKol92LDOvx5nZ8ALZx5FE9bupkJ6WW-dlgm9nuAbwEyvvLDgm_S-61lGWr1BtYkKP3rc4SPBBvV9ey8cRmofMi8vp9V7tQRGOUHg/s4816/43873_2421401757_0115-00170.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2501" data-original-width="4816" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7q8iphWDE88LZfibBfMLsHUwbX-ZaURqwB16vFZE28vsBPPHN7JQVthNpbR0P0OJ_EY9KZr86SDtt8f9kdOFgQKol92LDOvx5nZ8ALZx5FE9bupkJ6WW-dlgm9nuAbwEyvvLDgm_S-61lGWr1BtYkKP3rc4SPBBvV9ey8cRmofMi8vp9V7tQRGOUHg/w400-h208/43873_2421401757_0115-00170.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSzqcKFRhMl7zk5f6IgmJqJU2QMjPOGp0G7d0wsBvNJ09Ypg_ViVKmFs0a0vh30lhEDQ10n_px-BfK4C8xb_aZeHUjE5x2ARsmILKqRtgf15vpJF69QXWcYd5bBCQ-235Xyrz8mlAuRrPDNDx6V4rPijTI7o7hBXVwvlS_egdFJyL6CHHvPI2Ncpb8jQ/s4200/img010.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4200" data-original-width="2550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSzqcKFRhMl7zk5f6IgmJqJU2QMjPOGp0G7d0wsBvNJ09Ypg_ViVKmFs0a0vh30lhEDQ10n_px-BfK4C8xb_aZeHUjE5x2ARsmILKqRtgf15vpJF69QXWcYd5bBCQ-235Xyrz8mlAuRrPDNDx6V4rPijTI7o7hBXVwvlS_egdFJyL6CHHvPI2Ncpb8jQ/w242-h400/img010.jpg" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Joe & Dillard Perry Petition to Transfer Files #008 Winnie Johnson nee Durant</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLXCwnuSn_5KrONagMYno4ZHO-HHYZMHFQNHajTcN0y2dd6N8P8XzYXsSTGwKnkrynbTOXnZbMJB36ergJvmuKK4wxyiONK6-pQrNSHeAkRk3ScmD0uY18GYxIPA1vdTTZ-VZlIHINEsH5vguKkdi3IA0uuZvvGom_91GH2S5qW2dYWWbJV3Q5var8A/s4847/43873_2421401757_0108-00089.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2491" data-original-width="4847" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLXCwnuSn_5KrONagMYno4ZHO-HHYZMHFQNHajTcN0y2dd6N8P8XzYXsSTGwKnkrynbTOXnZbMJB36ergJvmuKK4wxyiONK6-pQrNSHeAkRk3ScmD0uY18GYxIPA1vdTTZ-VZlIHINEsH5vguKkdi3IA0uuZvvGom_91GH2S5qW2dYWWbJV3Q5var8A/w400-h205/43873_2421401757_0108-00089.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">M-1186, Choctaw Freedman card #403 Winnie Johnson nee Durant, Front & Rear</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUdyHm3OYqhLc02YWRea-xEHuN_U194F9DhR7edYFHvLJMTK5IbRxNg-VacWBA-4PbTrcM8CYskQXj7TYlq4ePw6N41AO8FyTIzg6Z3IkuubAOHw6Gz3J_1fR8I-abusTqgWdEh5cxWscZ3-d7m2DjNV5nUpZyqzLUTlodprtMUTMr-GPgPRkiGC6XBA/s4829/43873_2421401757_0108-00090_JOHNSON-DURANT,Winnie_CHOF%23403_EQ%237071.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2480" data-original-width="4829" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUdyHm3OYqhLc02YWRea-xEHuN_U194F9DhR7edYFHvLJMTK5IbRxNg-VacWBA-4PbTrcM8CYskQXj7TYlq4ePw6N41AO8FyTIzg6Z3IkuubAOHw6Gz3J_1fR8I-abusTqgWdEh5cxWscZ3-d7m2DjNV5nUpZyqzLUTlodprtMUTMr-GPgPRkiGC6XBA/w400-h205/43873_2421401757_0108-00090_JOHNSON-DURANT,Winnie_CHOF%23403_EQ%237071.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">The amount of documentation that demonstrates the racial
bias against people of African and African-Native descent is tremendous,
apparently some people choose to ignore it and create the false narrative that
United States government was/is pitting one group against the other. Clearly,
if the Five Slave Holding Tribes are to maintain their “sovereignty” they have
the power to right the wrong that was done to their own “blood” more than a
century ago and stop trying to place total blame on the United States
government and the Department of the Interior. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s time to make the descendants of Choctaw and Chickasaw
Freedmen WHOLE and part of their nation with “ALL THE RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF
CITIZENSHIP.”<o:p></o:p></p>Write letters of support to be placed on the Congressional Record to the following email address:<div><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:testimony@indian.senate.gov">testimony@indian.senate.gov</a><o:p></o:p></p><br /></div>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-91668653604632356652022-08-01T05:59:00.005-07:002022-08-01T16:35:00.572-07:00“The Golden Rule”<p>The Senate Oversight Hearing on the “Reconstruction Treaty
of 1866” revealed many things for those of us in the Indian Territory Freedmen
Descendant Community regarding our status or acceptance by our respective
tribal nation. Nothing was more revealing than the presentation given by the
attorney for the Chickasaw Nation, Stephen Greetham. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As I sat and listened to his presentation about the treaty
and the perspective of the Chickasaw Nation, I was reminded of the “Golden
Rule.” Most of us are familiar with the biblical verse from Matthew (7:12); </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that
men should do to you,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>do ye
even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”</span></i><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mr. Greetham spoke eloquently about the law, treaties and
Supreme Law but throughout his clinical and legal presentation on the treaty he
omitted the moral character of that treaty as it pertained to the issue of
citizenship for the formerly enslaved and their descendants of the Chickasaw
Nation.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The people who were seeking citizenship in the land of their
birth for themselves and their descendants had been a part of the nation for
decades. When the time came to provide for those people the Chickasaw Nation
felt no need to even provide funds the education of “freedmen” children.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When it came time to provide land for the formerly enslaved
and their descendants to eke out food for survival, the nation went to court to
be reimbursed by the United States government and this is what Mr. Greetham
conveyed to the Senate Committee as a rationale to defend the nation’s position
on not adopting their formerly enslaved population with citizenship.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Throughout the hearing the moral and righteous indignation
from the Creek Nation, the Seminole Nation, the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nation
about their sovereignty was devoid of any moral compass for the status of the
freedmen and their descendants.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The fact that the leaders from the Choctaw and Chickasaw
Nation did not appear on their own behalf demonstrates the level of
disassociation from Chickasaw and Choctaw Freedmen Descendants that the Senate Committee needed to know.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When Mr. Greetham summarized his presentation with the view
that the Chickasaw and Choctaw Treaty of 1866 and their decision not to include
citizenship for the freedmen descendants was a matter of “implementation but
not a violation of the treaty” he was correct in his conclusions but he left
out so much more and it goes directly to the moral compass of the nation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mr. Greetham cleverly jumped from 1866 when the treaty was
signed to a lawsuit in 1902 that compensated the Chickasaw Nation for every
inch of territory the Chickasaw Freedmen and some of their descendants received.
I say some because their minor and newborn children were not even included on the
final rolls if their application for a land allotment was received AFTER April
26, 1906. The nation received over $600,000 from that decision; but the
sovereignty of the tribe was upheld over the welfare of children.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxctCGrHaYEhgLsvT1ZgQ3uzQL4wnhzXJLJcx0CwoE30thmvAOe04mVrXTPOa4dQl6kYPQab3u7SolWWYb8Ve5t4_5tHlILiThMVQmQpmXfrr81IAB0rHiQRQIH21LvhpF8GEZ9KB0-Obtl8gPEBZ6k9zUHzIOSVm2tWfMhnEjfWsKXvgPNndaJjz2w/s4845/43873_2421401757_0228-00061.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2478" data-original-width="4845" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxctCGrHaYEhgLsvT1ZgQ3uzQL4wnhzXJLJcx0CwoE30thmvAOe04mVrXTPOa4dQl6kYPQab3u7SolWWYb8Ve5t4_5tHlILiThMVQmQpmXfrr81IAB0rHiQRQIH21LvhpF8GEZ9KB0-Obtl8gPEBZ6k9zUHzIOSVm2tWfMhnEjfWsKXvgPNndaJjz2w/w400-h205/43873_2421401757_0228-00061.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chickasaw Minor Freedmen #61<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Various tribal representatives drove home the point that
their sovereignty was the pillar to their existence that was inalienable and
the matters of their formerly enslaved population and their descendants were a
non-factor. <p class="MsoNormal">This can only be viewed through the lens of an adaptation on
what is commonly known as the “Golden Rule” and it was in full view throughout the
hearing. </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">“He, Who Owns the Gold, Makes the Rules!”</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Chickasaw and Choctaw Freedmen and their descendants was
not represented during the treaty negotiations that had a direct effect on
their future; socially, politically and economically. Where were the moral and
legal protections for them?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The negotiators from the Chickasaw nation were quite adept
at creating a document that left them totally without any responsibility to
adopt or care for the welfare of a population that "served" them before during and after their
Removal. This little bit of history did not emerged (don’t quote me) during the presentations of Mr. Burrage or Greetham. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Again, the morality sentiment towards sovereignty seems to
be more important than the Humanity of those that were enslaved? </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: red;">Do unto others as you would have them do to
you.</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the provisions in that treaty that was a matter of “implementation
and not a violation” of the law was the “removal” of the freedmen from the
Chickasaw nation to the “Leased District.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The irony of this should not be lost on anyone. The
Chickasaw and Choctaw proposed through their skillful negotiation with the
United States to <b>REMOVE</b> their
formerly enslaved population, <b>IF THEY
WERE WILLING TO GO</b> and there would be the compassionate amount of <b>$100.00</b> to
get them and their families there. <o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKH_wHVYMWAb_tLfmLKKgKXpXjTJ-IF5Z-ZPOhgpfkCK7J71q3gnJ5N6aWYBpAAMTBRcelwSkf8wggsplBoo7Hqhaec7e3Az39ezwqhMrFDTTpxef7G2CDrt_2ILH6d5tQQhaMp8VG0d8WSd4lID5ixU1cu5M6B0aQ9Q23a1JjBxJsTJ4_Vu20zC4Jg/s3746/record-image_%20(4)_Frame%23140_112-EnslavedPeople_KEMP,Jackson.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2373" data-original-width="3746" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKH_wHVYMWAb_tLfmLKKgKXpXjTJ-IF5Z-ZPOhgpfkCK7J71q3gnJ5N6aWYBpAAMTBRcelwSkf8wggsplBoo7Hqhaec7e3Az39ezwqhMrFDTTpxef7G2CDrt_2ILH6d5tQQhaMp8VG0d8WSd4lID5ixU1cu5M6B0aQ9Q23a1JjBxJsTJ4_Vu20zC4Jg/w400-h254/record-image_%20(4)_Frame%23140_112-EnslavedPeople_KEMP,Jackson.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M-234 Chickasaw Agency Emigration Roll #144, frame #140</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">It would be remiss of me not to mention the obligatory” mea
culpa” given by Mr. Greetham on behalf of the Chickasaw Nation that went
something like; blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, slavery and Jim Crow. The
Chickasaw Nation should reflect on their history and determine, is this what
secures your sovereignty at the expense of the humanity of African and
African-Native people? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All of the programs and good things the nation is doing in
the state of Oklahoma serve only to obscure the history of the Chickasaw Nation
and its relationship to the formerly enslaved <b>AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.</b> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Which of the two Golden Rules are the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations adhering?</b><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: red;">“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that
men should do to you,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: red;"> do ye
even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”</span></i><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">“He, Who Owns the Gold, Makes the Rules!”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Write to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="mailto:testimony@indian.senate.gov">testimony@indian.senate.gov</a><o:p></o:p></p>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-47678361137407180182022-08-01T05:21:00.002-07:002022-08-01T16:34:42.445-07:00Thank You Congresswoman Maxine Waters<p>I don't know that we have properly and sufficiently thanked
Congresswoman Maxine Waters for bringing much needed attention as well as
Congressional oversight into the issues of Indian Territory Freedmen
Descendants.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those who live in her district should call her offices and
those of us outside her district can at least write her and thank her for the
efforts she and her staff have performed in our name.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As they say in Congress, I would like to take a moment of
personal privilege to thank the Congresswoman for including the statements of
Freedmen Descendant activists; Angela Walton-Raji, Damario Solomon-Simmons, @Sharon
Lenzy, Several Seminole Freedmen and their Band Chief as well as me, Terry
Ligon into the record with the statement she gave at the hearing Wednesday
before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the things I promised my father when he began telling
me the story of his "Indian Grandmother" was I had to share her
story, the family artifacts and my research with my siblings and their
children.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I did not see myself sitting across the table from the
Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee sharing the story of his Indian
Grandmother. I didn't see the work I've
been doing now for practically half my life, to be entered on the record of a
Senate Hearing that would take into account the struggle and battle of his
grandmother then and now to properly recognize her identity, heritage and value
as a human, as well as a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Again, let me thank publicly Congresswoman Maxine Waters
D-43 District Los Angeles for the hope and dignity of telling my father’s story about his “Indian
Grandmother, Bettie Ligon and having it on the record of this committee.</p><p class="MsoNormal">https://financialservices.house.gov/uploadedfiles/chairwoman_waters_testimony_scia_.pdf</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8PALGcBly_DNp-rTltjM_dTALFSQ48gcVyKXsF3tGHfrT03Q2RecEQbrpJmanOFdm9YVuen0i1EPCZdm0qguF3M1JwMhQ0hrNoLO7zvVcukbI4OHCpGQynHicDX0vsJkad2mfbiOwPy0sSFLUaPxwqn6sIXPPUViLkbdkgKHtVRC2n3CMZkrH27fxKg/s3540/BETTIEBWfx.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3540" data-original-width="2360" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8PALGcBly_DNp-rTltjM_dTALFSQ48gcVyKXsF3tGHfrT03Q2RecEQbrpJmanOFdm9YVuen0i1EPCZdm0qguF3M1JwMhQ0hrNoLO7zvVcukbI4OHCpGQynHicDX0vsJkad2mfbiOwPy0sSFLUaPxwqn6sIXPPUViLkbdkgKHtVRC2n3CMZkrH27fxKg/w266-h400/BETTIEBWfx.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Write to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:testimony@indian.senate.gov">testimony@indian.senate.gov</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-72133417106229485062022-07-31T09:49:00.002-07:002022-08-01T16:33:17.200-07:00"Tribal Membership is Based on Blood, Not Race!"<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU4kzd-Dr0OCWvy0hBH3HuaI2wgNUbPeyztxS6FO-PWMgnsV0va4BO4R94zj-zeY9FIyFPazmERFR5fZGQ_MHF-AhEaGaQdvIAcqEUlGxqXkkXQ6Konrdq-uSywivsxDW05EZiFIBLHo52vUJyz7SscizyPP8QWq5DuVFWJmag82vEimQ1k4Fxw4UqMw/s1994/Antlers_News_Record_Fri__Apr_29__1910_p1c6&7_EDIT_01.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1994" data-original-width="772" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU4kzd-Dr0OCWvy0hBH3HuaI2wgNUbPeyztxS6FO-PWMgnsV0va4BO4R94zj-zeY9FIyFPazmERFR5fZGQ_MHF-AhEaGaQdvIAcqEUlGxqXkkXQ6Konrdq-uSywivsxDW05EZiFIBLHo52vUJyz7SscizyPP8QWq5DuVFWJmag82vEimQ1k4Fxw4UqMw/w248-h640/Antlers_News_Record_Fri__Apr_29__1910_p1c6&7_EDIT_01.jpg" width="248" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Antlers News Record April 29, 1910 p1c6&7</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">While listening to all of the representatives from the Five Slave
Holding Tribes I gave particular attention to the words of the attorneys from
the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations. It was particularly revealing that practically from the
outset the representative from the Choctaw Nation, attorney and former judge
Michael Burrage began his remarks with a familiar line of rhetoric that was not
surprising but from my point of view totally disingenuous.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><o:p> </o:p><i>“To be clear, the
Freedman issue, as it relates to the Choctaw Nation, has nothing to do with
race. Tribal membership is based on blood, not race.”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">WRONG!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">From the home town newspaper of "The Honorable Michael Burrage" that demonstrates without a doubt, race, not blood and lineal descent was used to prevent thousands of people with Choctaw or Chickasaw blood from being transferred to the blood roll and receive their rightful share of THREE-HUNDRED & TWENTY ACRES OF LAND as citizens of their respective nation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Today, citizenship based on the Dawes Land Allotment Rolls is all about "Race."</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4P2e7hUKO_yrqDi_Tb4rnFnsaqNLvbpsSyKte8IDF3EW9ntQvAM_zuM01x5I1olv_W-bwjvJMc6HNCkhRv-wqcSuqF6ynctj_dIHhBXPhJokWdRX-MyoI3RptNR5GIxGvKBPRPTQQBoqTYcuXiNIxvB44nazfzbDAgckLXUmOpKSt5eNWqLbPn_RJA/s1309/Antlers_News_Record_Fri__Apr_29__1910_p1c6&7_EDIT_02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1309" data-original-width="859" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4P2e7hUKO_yrqDi_Tb4rnFnsaqNLvbpsSyKte8IDF3EW9ntQvAM_zuM01x5I1olv_W-bwjvJMc6HNCkhRv-wqcSuqF6ynctj_dIHhBXPhJokWdRX-MyoI3RptNR5GIxGvKBPRPTQQBoqTYcuXiNIxvB44nazfzbDAgckLXUmOpKSt5eNWqLbPn_RJA/w263-h400/Antlers_News_Record_Fri__Apr_29__1910_p1c6&7_EDIT_02.jpg" width="263" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWt3ZuE2TTH0cWJF5purS_JGuXgYqYL4MvMFcjQoVNUqFtjnfuuBKjEuxLpjDZ1lB_hQHZWzPhg0wccZXQ3nHaeov94--ewb8ZlJjTiI1y9kSNO3c4KPujrV2wk9uYAlh4Bx3Zm57vjUb6eiIouJNYT_dudwHRZx0eZncRJxh_vGdVpMFyz7heRAMmgQ/s1837/Antlers_News_Record_Fri__Apr_29__1910_p1c6&7_EDIT_03.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1837" data-original-width="798" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWt3ZuE2TTH0cWJF5purS_JGuXgYqYL4MvMFcjQoVNUqFtjnfuuBKjEuxLpjDZ1lB_hQHZWzPhg0wccZXQ3nHaeov94--ewb8ZlJjTiI1y9kSNO3c4KPujrV2wk9uYAlh4Bx3Zm57vjUb6eiIouJNYT_dudwHRZx0eZncRJxh_vGdVpMFyz7heRAMmgQ/w174-h400/Antlers_News_Record_Fri__Apr_29__1910_p1c6&7_EDIT_03.jpg" width="174" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">"It is against the laws of nature, against the laws of God, against laws of the United States and against the sacred obligations between the general government and the Indian tribes."</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">"The negroes must remain negroes. They can not be transformed into Indians."</span></i></p>Write to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and leave a message about your Freedmen Ancestors:<div><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:testimony@indian.senate.gov">testimony@indian.senate.gov</a><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-26748110541850468492022-04-27T11:46:00.002-07:002022-09-28T08:19:59.031-07:00Let's Call On Congress to Fix Equity Case 7071<p> Let's Call On Congress to Fix Equity Case 7071</p><p></p><p><i>Addendum: September 2022</i></p><p><i>The Chickasaw Nation on its official television network has vignettes of their "men of distinction," among them is the former Congressmen from Oklahoma Charles D. Carter. The nation would like the world to believe this man is worthy of recognition because of his "service to Native Americans." </i></p><p><i>What they don't tell you are his "racism" towards the formerly enslaved people of the Chickasaw Nation and their descendants during his time in Congress. This becomes relevant when you review the testimony provided by attorneys Michael Burrage and Stephen Greetham during the Senate Indian Affairs Committee Oversight Hearing on Selected Provisions of the Reconstruction Treaty of 1866, in July of 2022.</i></p><p><i>This is just another example of the "freedmen issue" having "everything to do with race" that must be addressed by the Committee, the Senate and House of Representatives today.</i></p><p><a href="https://www.chickasaw.tv/episodes/chickasaw-leaders-and-legacies-season-1-episode-3-charles-carter">Charles Carter</a></p><p>Looking back on history, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek
(1830), the Treaty of 1866 and the Dawes Commission and the U.S. Courts when
the 2,000 claimants involved in Equity Case 7071 sought to be transferred from
the Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen Rolls to the Choctaw and Chickasaw by Blood
Rolls, there was considerable lobbying for Congress to pass legislation to have
those 2,000 people with an ancestor that was a recognized citizen transferred
to the blood rolls.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>However, practically the entire Oklahoma Congressional
delegation led by Congressman Charles Carter and Senator Gore blocked a bill
that was passed in the Senate that would have rightfully had those 2,000
individuals transferred to the blood rolls. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fast forward to today and the irony is should not be lost on
anyone that the Choctaw Nation is asking Congress to “fix the problem with
legislation." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps Congress can now "fix the problem" of the
descendants of those 2,000 claimants involved with Equity Case 7071 and earmark
some funds for the loss value of 640,000 acres of land? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The problems that have
emerged from the McGirt decision could be remedied promptly by Congress. Rather
than scolding Justice Neil Gorsuch for his majority opinion, let’s call on
Congress to fix the problem with legislation.<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/congress-choctaw-reservation-mcgirt-11650659358">https://www.wsj.com/articles/congress-choctaw-reservation-mcgirt-11650659358</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDg6Wpj1TP0YVqHNQQBjRQqCLlVRU4p1igR3C4yAP8U0gfp3W_UfR2pC_FS0G3loZooisznNsaQe-XdRgj_VJdJPtz45v53kGRYMQupp_PPmpVut-sefHzIx4EfFsvT9cA83Jh0U7kWDC7yAV2IhSkeLTcU1xIXW-aI772fXjpqegAOqVY8SaEStrMJw/s577/AppendixCongressionalRecord_IndianAppropriationBill_Speech_CharlesD.Carter_OK_Feb.22,1910_p24_Edit_C.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="577" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDg6Wpj1TP0YVqHNQQBjRQqCLlVRU4p1igR3C4yAP8U0gfp3W_UfR2pC_FS0G3loZooisznNsaQe-XdRgj_VJdJPtz45v53kGRYMQupp_PPmpVut-sefHzIx4EfFsvT9cA83Jh0U7kWDC7yAV2IhSkeLTcU1xIXW-aI772fXjpqegAOqVY8SaEStrMJw/w400-h189/AppendixCongressionalRecord_IndianAppropriationBill_Speech_CharlesD.Carter_OK_Feb.22,1910_p24_Edit_C.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>This line of argument that the children of a recognized male in the Choctaw or Chickasaw nation was the result of perjury and illegitimacy of an enslaved woman is the immorality in this situation. To blame that child and punish it because the two nations feel it necessary to lie about their "racial purity" is almost laughable but that same mindset appears to be guiding the two tribes today as they distance themselves from their history and their people.<br /><br />Frankly, Congress should not give another dime to these two nations for their continued racial practices and that money should be set aside for the use of the descendants of Equity Case #7071.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJ8JfjmMao_OhaQ4Hi9kqwHIGUEhEGHFY8VMjOjGozs38uyjEn7fpalbG_yUshAYV2-o8MhcrW-L2c2Tgr_pL2EMm18O0Kt1_dk-UTMDZiahsD8RiKt80cBRqX4-qX3RPx8DSIyH3mHAGJcqEwL7FFsWBkjRLtRbxKMIh9eVEZxK7fF--9QmHSwUTKA/s3004/H.R.19279_61-2_BillForTheRelief_Choctaw&ChickasawIndians_p027_B2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="3004" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJ8JfjmMao_OhaQ4Hi9kqwHIGUEhEGHFY8VMjOjGozs38uyjEn7fpalbG_yUshAYV2-o8MhcrW-L2c2Tgr_pL2EMm18O0Kt1_dk-UTMDZiahsD8RiKt80cBRqX4-qX3RPx8DSIyH3mHAGJcqEwL7FFsWBkjRLtRbxKMIh9eVEZxK7fF--9QmHSwUTKA/w400-h131/H.R.19279_61-2_BillForTheRelief_Choctaw&ChickasawIndians_p027_B2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>and by the way, the descendants of Charles and Eliza Perry should be citizens in the Chickasaw Nation because their ancestors were TRANSFERRED from the FREEDMAN roll to the BLOOD roll FIRST in 1906, FIVE MONTHS before Equity Case 7071 was filed...<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTN7VAcLAQAYTy4SpPr3Rc6yjuUMT2HBHsRF9zz4jL7SlNqkMG0kC-1WRWFiD9Sfk0Un36cuqiBgMAcfyMqQDKgtya3-3oEpbMfAukSeVnDFQM_kIAbDKeytxEQuB_w_eVSwhTW6u9hhlVLtQpF2YUPxEFZVHtn86OlbDlS_xngtQVzZutWHAhO5_Oiw/s2217/Valliant_News_Thu__Nov_8__1906_p3c3_LegalBattleEnded_Edit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2217" data-original-width="691" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTN7VAcLAQAYTy4SpPr3Rc6yjuUMT2HBHsRF9zz4jL7SlNqkMG0kC-1WRWFiD9Sfk0Un36cuqiBgMAcfyMqQDKgtya3-3oEpbMfAukSeVnDFQM_kIAbDKeytxEQuB_w_eVSwhTW6u9hhlVLtQpF2YUPxEFZVHtn86OlbDlS_xngtQVzZutWHAhO5_Oiw/w200-h640/Valliant_News_Thu__Nov_8__1906_p3c3_LegalBattleEnded_Edit.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and because the tribes just couldn't do the right thing, they continued to fight for their "racial purity" in the courts and in Congress so the Department of the Interior had to do it all over again in January of 1909. The Perry's got their land, it's time the rest of us seek Congressional action since McGirt is having such an impact on Indian Country?</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqgqU2lXiAuqRsyIMpOROu_DqBoEECfcy1eEwt44lnWlHGpNu6DA5-zZacE-sP_te_ZarwQ3fhS8a6rcgZWlpvZeE5C2fvytfTPJoQJsbJDxHIBJIGKlXqCi3wK6rareZWGeQahknNb23CvxUwWLmCIGeA92HqpneJ2IUkMXKyHDhk1MTdjizAakvS7A/s4824/43873_2421401757_0210-00092-PERRY,Joe&Dillard.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2479" data-original-width="4824" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqgqU2lXiAuqRsyIMpOROu_DqBoEECfcy1eEwt44lnWlHGpNu6DA5-zZacE-sP_te_ZarwQ3fhS8a6rcgZWlpvZeE5C2fvytfTPJoQJsbJDxHIBJIGKlXqCi3wK6rareZWGeQahknNb23CvxUwWLmCIGeA92HqpneJ2IUkMXKyHDhk1MTdjizAakvS7A/w400-h205/43873_2421401757_0210-00092-PERRY,Joe&Dillard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirm5HRiSxA2bD8bIKZX9CLxaRy9ClYwxOphx6j-K73qi4I7AO7jjj7vKbLe77ad12p7IEdkC4p6xaeXyoeMcGfBvz2OPkx9q69P--XQomKN3d7EDUF7ugUubGcpmIhSC8eDiD6RZonbnpIb7AEc4LqDsrzo6LDprJX4CV6BICQjJnXUJ6MSEowggDIaQ/s3285/Muskogee_Times_Democrat_Sat__Jan_30__1909_p5c6_Joe&Dillard_IndiansMayGoOnRolls_FX.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3285" data-original-width="713" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirm5HRiSxA2bD8bIKZX9CLxaRy9ClYwxOphx6j-K73qi4I7AO7jjj7vKbLe77ad12p7IEdkC4p6xaeXyoeMcGfBvz2OPkx9q69P--XQomKN3d7EDUF7ugUubGcpmIhSC8eDiD6RZonbnpIb7AEc4LqDsrzo6LDprJX4CV6BICQjJnXUJ6MSEowggDIaQ/w138-h640/Muskogee_Times_Democrat_Sat__Jan_30__1909_p5c6_Joe&Dillard_IndiansMayGoOnRolls_FX.jpg" width="138" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p></div>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482836303696451528.post-44338196360421815072022-04-01T05:47:00.003-07:002022-04-01T05:50:57.516-07:001950 Census Happy Dance<p>I went to bed last night not really thinking about the 1950
census but when I woke up around mid-night thirty I turned the coffee pot on
and sat down with my roomie to watch the last few minutes of the Nets/Bucks
game.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Afterwards I grabbed another cup of Joe and slipped upstairs
and hearing the statement, "you leaving me now?" To which I replied,
"Nope, I'll be upstairs, if you need me." Silence...</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Taking that as my cue to giddy upstairs while I could, I
settled back to do a little census search for my parents and two siblings that
were born before 1950. Talk about taking me back to the "good old days of
microfilm research" I finally found a link that took me to the actual
census records roughly indexed by enumeration districts. Fair warning, if you
are doing census research for Los Angeles, you need to do a little preparation
because as we all know, L.A. is a big ass county.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>I downloaded some enumeration district maps months ago
anticipating they might come in handy, eh! not so much...</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>But, because I'm smarter than the average bear I thought of
another strategy that might help me. Since 1950 was before the time and place
we lived after I was born, I wasn't sure were my father and mother settled when
they migrated to Los Angeles in the 40's but I had a vague idea.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>What I did to try and pin a location down on them in the
wide world of Los Angeles was look for a voter registration record that might
yield an address that I could then use the enumeration district maps more efficiently. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This was a stroke of genius if I say so myself (smart bears
are like that.) After I found a couple of addresses in 1948 and 1952 which
covered the 1950 time period I was then able to slog through all of the various
enumeration districts and descriptions to zone in on the area that the
addresses were in the voter registration records for my father and mother. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the addresses was news to me because I hadn’t heard
about before; the other was one that brought up an old memory from when I was
about four years old. I remember playing outside my mother’s bedroom window doing
something “naughty” that got me in a whole lot of trouble (that’s another story
that goes to the grave with me.) But what I remember (other than the “whupping”
I got was we lived in the projects and right across the street from an
elementary school. Didn’t know the name and couldn’t tell you where we lived;
but because smart bears do what smart bears do, I googled the address I found
in the voters registration index and (as Marvin Gaye said) I’ll be doggone…<br />
<br />
There is a photo of my brother and sister when we lived in the projects with my
brother on his tricycle that looked just like the place I googled:<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzdOw1o2Ue1281YSikEb6W2lFFyYWIqKgxssEewzIZ5y272XY50O3aVqfYsME_wRTWW-4Tb5dzgtqIVZF9fgBQ4LE6czI5w1wXF9YgUFeY9EF7wPTReHejIZRQV1QQL0pSJioz5o2w3V4dDtKJAupGF9rSMNUggVjNj2-Xrkj22TCovJ2lQWfZwes3Q/s1596/1531-104th%20Street,%20Watts,CA.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="1596" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzdOw1o2Ue1281YSikEb6W2lFFyYWIqKgxssEewzIZ5y272XY50O3aVqfYsME_wRTWW-4Tb5dzgtqIVZF9fgBQ4LE6czI5w1wXF9YgUFeY9EF7wPTReHejIZRQV1QQL0pSJioz5o2w3V4dDtKJAupGF9rSMNUggVjNj2-Xrkj22TCovJ2lQWfZwes3Q/w400-h173/1531-104th%20Street,%20Watts,CA.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTY8abtvNKZXB51K0SVxcmuL_aZuSEhn1nCjZQr3f5N0azgH553oeqjnClYyvFglCNvGlTHOqmWibfMIJkqw8I3qpk16LOOLplgeEBssvrup6zGsHVU9uF5-VjYQjNjqQyFtH-PL9noStgqCUpcdbK74q3LFBcaOY9ylCJe_t1KpK4NH6sXPskJnXxDw/s300/BARBJUNR.TIF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="300" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTY8abtvNKZXB51K0SVxcmuL_aZuSEhn1nCjZQr3f5N0azgH553oeqjnClYyvFglCNvGlTHOqmWibfMIJkqw8I3qpk16LOOLplgeEBssvrup6zGsHVU9uF5-VjYQjNjqQyFtH-PL9noStgqCUpcdbK74q3LFBcaOY9ylCJe_t1KpK4NH6sXPskJnXxDw/w400-h303/BARBJUNR.TIF" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">But wait, there’s more!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">When I went on Google street view the most amazing thing
came up right across the street from this photo.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoRi_TfU4Ds2KpBRK8PJLtFnJhF0s6pRJN8JAaJBQgths0vd8r9Mv9IWVUJpR9o8zCc-S6f-bVRkDU-qsROclXyzgHG5mofHupk9Q0QogPuhVWyCG56WzKzCiWBM_HK3s6wCtS1uuAjEQmGykI5Pq3bkBlhHX2_r5whmxeKlCJKLfVYiY7lHvC96b5Q/s1551/projects_street%20view.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="1551" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoRi_TfU4Ds2KpBRK8PJLtFnJhF0s6pRJN8JAaJBQgths0vd8r9Mv9IWVUJpR9o8zCc-S6f-bVRkDU-qsROclXyzgHG5mofHupk9Q0QogPuhVWyCG56WzKzCiWBM_HK3s6wCtS1uuAjEQmGykI5Pq3bkBlhHX2_r5whmxeKlCJKLfVYiY7lHvC96b5Q/w400-h145/projects_street%20view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5kCOOPtdW5i655o5vgu82mJHvvh8QSOUum3DYzL-7aKttb9pMHAfXuYeXU_iaemzWQvu-RmiJazGcESxhAd2xyI7y3D8DuGYiiSt_j9UsDL-XK_NqrC3_6RtF85QCQ5EDF7Ju4CpIHjoTtbbfIKAVznGcSzs14MsisFwjoupL9ffCGwi38mz1sTswwA/s1461/ComptonAveElementarySchool.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="1461" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5kCOOPtdW5i655o5vgu82mJHvvh8QSOUum3DYzL-7aKttb9pMHAfXuYeXU_iaemzWQvu-RmiJazGcESxhAd2xyI7y3D8DuGYiiSt_j9UsDL-XK_NqrC3_6RtF85QCQ5EDF7Ju4CpIHjoTtbbfIKAVznGcSzs14MsisFwjoupL9ffCGwi38mz1sTswwA/w400-h151/ComptonAveElementarySchool.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The school and projects are still there seventy years later!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal">Now all of these discoveries happened before I was able to
located my parents, sister and brother for the first time in a census record so
for those of you who know the joys of researching microfilm back in the day, I
did my happy dance not once, not twice but three times this morning before my
third cup of coffee!!!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>HAPPY CENSUS HUNTING!</b></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULTiZxujiCc-2Su5ee6-tVGs9iYWju4CTmgWKWQxEvhFQhbVnn5KMMhilfNfA7TUwU85hn5aajPlZVpceNSxaBlOtG8jEuOSOVemy43eWDEi__eIrE9_Jy9rjxc9qZj5Y9DolIu5hcA_4ONFgdxO6S9T0seasoKqcrUfBaZV87k4M3X3FtrIVXs9pRw/s4493/1950_Census_LosAngeles(Watts),CA_LIGON_ED%2366-2490_27_lines_18-21_Redacted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4493" data-original-width="3871" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULTiZxujiCc-2Su5ee6-tVGs9iYWju4CTmgWKWQxEvhFQhbVnn5KMMhilfNfA7TUwU85hn5aajPlZVpceNSxaBlOtG8jEuOSOVemy43eWDEi__eIrE9_Jy9rjxc9qZj5Y9DolIu5hcA_4ONFgdxO6S9T0seasoKqcrUfBaZV87k4M3X3FtrIVXs9pRw/w345-h400/1950_Census_LosAngeles(Watts),CA_LIGON_ED%2366-2490_27_lines_18-21_Redacted.jpg" width="345" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Terry LIGONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07984215829377154156noreply@blogger.com0