Choctaw & Chickasaw Descendants Black History Day 13, p126
Argument Submitted by Douglas H. Johnston, Governor Chickasaw Nation
#BlackHistory365
To return to a discussion of the specific cases under consideration, these claimants have always taken the status of their mother. They are, with very few exceptions, the illegitimate descendants of freedmen. They now enjoy the status of freedmen, and such is in accordance with the law of the land as well as according to the laws, customs, and usages of the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes. Their mothers being freedmen, they are freedmen, and they have always been so classed and called by the tribes and by the officers of the United States in the preparation of the tribal rolls.
When the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes began its work of enrollment in 1898 and 1899, these persons voluntarily applied as freedmen. An attempt has been made by the attorneys representing them to show that they were compelled by coercion and duress to make application as freedmen, although they insisted and desired to be permitted to apply as citizens by blood.
This charge has been fully gone into in former investigations conducted by the committees on Indian Affairs of Congress and has been absolutely refuted by the testimony introduced, including that of members of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, who were engaged in the enrollment work in these two nations, and other reputable persons. It would seem unnecessary to bring these matters to your attention again, as they have been so clearly brought out in former investigations. In this connection permit me to refer you to Senate Report No 5013, Fifty-ninth Congress, second session.
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| Senate Report 5013 part 1, p497 |
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| Senate Report 5013 part 2, pp1524-25 |
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| Senate Report 5013 part 2, p1609 |
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| Senate Report 5013 (59th Congress, 2nd Session) part 2 p1610 |
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