Indian Territory Freedmen History Month-The Trail of African Tears

 The Trail of African Tears

As we near the close of "Black History Month" it is important to note that there is some history that constantly gets overlooked and ignored during this time of remembrance and celebration. The history of chattel slavery among the so called Five Civilized Tribes barely is mentioned in the mainstream history books and sad to say there appears to be very little acknowledgement of this tragic chapter in Native American history.

M-234 Emigration Roll#144 (1839-1842)

There is a wealth of documentation when the Five Slave Holding Tribes were removed to Indian Territory they brought with them numerous people of African and African-Native descent. It has been demonstrated in previous articles that many of these individuals survived to experience their emancipation in 1866 as well as be enumerated on the Dawes Freedmen Rolls. 

It is because the enslaved people of African and African-Native descent took every step with the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians their involuntary participation must be recognized as well. 

When the tribes speak of their hardships along that trail without including those in chains, they present a story that is denying the tears left by people who are a part of that history and suffer again from being marginalized by those who speak only of the hardships experienced by Native people along the same trail.

As we look back at the history of America and specifically as it relates to the varied experiences of Black people on this continent, it is an imperative that we include the history of Indian Territory Freedmen. 

It is an imperative that the Five Slave Holding Tribes include the history of chattel slavery to begin the process of reconciliation with the descendants of Indian Territory Freedmen. 

We are seeing a great example of this with the recent acknowledgement of the Cherokee Nation as they remove the references to “citizenship by blood” that is the predicate for excluding Freedmen descendants in all five nations.

M-234 Emigration Roll #144 (1839-1842)