Choctaw freedmen facts for kids

Henry Crittenden, who was born into slavery in the Choctaw Nation but was later freed.

The Choctaw freedmen are people whose ancestors were enslaved African Americans. These ancestors were freed and became citizens of the Choctaw Nation. This happened after the American Civil War as part of a new peace treaty with the United States. Today, the term also includes their descendants.

Like other Native American tribes, the Choctaw traditionally took captives during wars. Later, as they adopted parts of European culture, some wealthy Choctaw families began to buy and own African-American slaves. Important Choctaw leaders like Moshulatubbee owned slaves. So did many European fur traders who married into the Choctaw Nation. Families like the Folsoms and Greenwood LeFlore were rich Choctaw planters. They owned many slaves before and after the Indian Removal.

Slavery continued in the Choctaw Nation until after they signed the 1866 Reconstruction Treaty. This treaty required the Choctaw to free their enslaved people and grant them citizenship. The U.S. government insisted on this new treaty because the Choctaw had supported the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. The Confederacy had promised the Choctaw and other tribes their own Native American state if they won.

Former slaves of the Choctaw Nation were called Choctaw freedmen. This is similar to African-American freedmen in the United States. Many Choctaw freedmen also had mixed Choctaw or European family backgrounds. In 1885, the Choctaw Freedmen were officially accepted as full members of the Choctaw Nation.

However, in 1983, the Nation's constitution added a rule requiring a blood relationship for membership. This rule excluded many Choctaw Freedmen. As of 2021, Choctaw Freedmen are still working to gain equal legal status within the tribe. They feel they are treated as second-class citizens. The Freedmen argue that the tribe has not honored the 1866 treaty. They have asked the U.S. Congress to stop funding tribes until they address freedmen citizenship. By 2021, only the Cherokee Nation had changed its rules to accept citizens who cannot prove blood descent but whose ancestors were listed by the Dawes Commission.

The History of Slavery Among the Choctaw

Before Europeans arrived, the Choctaw, like other tribes in the American Southeast, took captives during wars. These captives were either enslaved or adopted into families. When European colonists settled in the 1600s and 1700s, they began to buy Native American slaves for work.

Some Choctaw slaveholders were reported to treat their slaves poorly. Slaves, especially those of mixed Choctaw heritage, were sometimes punished harshly. Records also show instances of slaves resisting their owners. The history of people with both African and Native American heritage is complex. Individuals had different experiences and roles within the tribes. Some people of African and Native American descent do not identify with their Native ancestry. This is because they grew up mostly in African-American communities.

Social Status of Freedmen

The Freedmen had an unclear role within the Choctaw Nation. In the early 1900s, the Choctaw's shared lands were divided among tribal members. This happened before the Choctaw Nation government was dissolved. Tribal members were registered as "Choctaw by blood." But most Freedmen were listed as "Black" if they looked African-American. They did not receive the same amount of land and resources as "By Blood" Choctaw members.

For many years, Choctaw Freedmen faced much unfair treatment. This affected their social identity and legal rights. By the late 1900s, the Choctaw considered accepting mixed-race Choctaw with some white ancestry as citizens. But they continued to classify Choctaw Freedmen strictly as descendants of African Americans.

Government's Role in Slavery

Some historians believe the U.S. government supported slavery among Southeastern tribes. This was to encourage Native populations to become more like white settlers. By adopting slavery, tribes would no longer protect enslaved African Americans who ran away from plantations.

Before African slavery, colonists tried to enslave Native people in the 1760s. But diseases like smallpox killed many Native people, making this system ineffective. Also, Native people knew their land well, making it easier for them to escape.

In the 1600s, race-based slavery became a way for wealthy Choctaw members to keep their political and cultural power. This helped them against the expansion of Western settlers. It also helped them achieve economic goals. African slavery among the Choctaw was growing and accepted. However, it was different from slavery in the Southern U.S. It was not usually for making a profit. Instead, the Choctaw owned slaves to avoid doing farm work themselves. Also, the Choctaw knew that if they freed their slaves, nearby slave states like Texas and Arkansas might invade their nation. They wanted to prevent their land from becoming a safe place for runaway slaves.

After the Dawes Commission

In 1894, the Dawes Commission was created. Its job was to register Choctaw and other families in the Indian Territory. This was done so that each tribe's shared lands could be divided among its families. The final list included 18,981 citizens of the Choctaw Nation. It also listed 1,639 Mississippi Choctaw and 5,994 former slaves and their descendants. Most of these were connected to the Choctaw in the Indian/Oklahoma Territory.

After the land was divided, the U.S. government planned to end the tribal governments of the Five Civilized Tribes. They wanted to combine the territories into one new state. The rules for land division were published in The Daily Ardmorite. These rules affected more than just land. They also brought up questions of identity.

For example, in 1896, Susan Brashears asked the Commissioner to the Five Civilized Tribes to list her four children as "Choctaw Indian by blood." Their father, Oliver Stock McCoy, was a recognized Choctaw citizen. He was of mixed Choctaw and white heritage. Their children had been listed as half-Choctaw and full citizens in an 1885 census because of their father's status. But Susan Brashears's request was denied.

According to a 1897 agreement, the Choctaw Nation would divide its land among its citizens. This included about 15,000 Choctaws, 5,000 Freedmen, and 1,500 intermarried white citizens. Both Choctaw and intermarried white citizens received about 320 acres of land per family. However, Freedmen were given less than 40 acres per family. Susan's attempt to be recognized as having full Choctaw blood was rejected. The council denied that she had Indian blood because her mother was classified as Black, even though her mother might have had mixed ancestry.

The federal Stigler Act of 1947 stated that protected lands of the Five Tribes had to be owned by someone with at least ½ Native blood. If land passed to a relative with less than ½ Native blood, it would lose federal protection. This caused tribal members to lose land their families had farmed for generations. But in 2018, both the House and Senate voted to remove this blood quantum rule for the Five Tribes. This change put them on the same level as other tribal members in Oklahoma. It allows enrolled tribal members to keep family lands under federal protection.

In 2007, Principal Chief George Wickliffe of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians worried about threats to tribal sovereignty. He felt this was due to the Cherokee Nation's freedmen controversy. He believed that the Cherokee Nation not following the 1866 Treaty threatened the relationship between all Native tribes and the government.