“What Must Be Preserved”
While in Oklahoma for my book signing, Enslaved on the Trail of Tears: Race, Removal and the Transformation of Indian Territory , I had the opportunity to speak with several people about our shared Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen history and ancestry. Visiting historic places, some for the first time, also gave me a deeper sense of the culture in which our ancestors lived and the importance of preserving that history for future generations. After years of research, I was struck by how fragile our history remains. Too often, the urgency of pursuing citizenship overshadows the equally urgent need to preserve the communities, records, and cultural legacy of our ancestors. As historical sites deteriorate and elders pass away, we risk losing irreplaceable pieces of our past. Meanwhile, narratives that distort or misrepresent the history of Indian Territory and Freedmen continue to gain attention, threatening to erase the documented presence of our ancestors among the Five Civilized Tri...
