To say that America was founded on the genocide of Native
Americans and the enslavement of African
people is a true statement, to be sure.
However, this does not tell the entire story.
Black people, including the descendants of
those who were enslaved by Native Americans,
are a part of the story of indigenous people.
These Native Americans, who are Black, have
fought against racism from their tribes and
some have struggled to be recognized.
There is a lost, painful history that must be reclaimed.
For example, many have heard about the Trail
of Tears, the forced removal of 60,000 Native
people from their land in the Southeastern
U.S. and relocation to Indian Country west of
the Mississippi River between 1830 and 1850.
Many died during the relocation through
hunger, disease and exposure, including 4,000
Cherokees. However, what many people do not realize is that among
those who suffered on the Trail of Tears were
Black people and Cherokees of African descent,
including people who were enslaved by the
Cherokees. It is a painful and traumatic
history that some folks had chosen to forget
over the years.
Around 24,000 Muscogee (Creek) Nation people were removed
during the Trail of Tears. By 1860, the Creeks
owned 1,600 Black slaves. By the time of the
Civil War, all of the indigenous nations
enslaved somewhere between 8,000
and 10,000 people. It is estimated there are 160,000
Black tribal descendants, many of them living in Oklahoma.
The descendants of Black folks enslaved by tribes are
still fighting for their rights and
citizenship as members. For example, in 1979,
the Creek
Nation adopted a new constitution and changed its criteria
for membership in the tribe to blood lineage,
meaning those with so-called freedmen ancestry
were no longer Creek citizens and no longer
eligible for federal payments. This, although
the post-Civil War treaties granted full
tribal citizenship to the formerly enslaved. In addition, these
circumstances signify a loss of cultural
identity for Black Native Americans, and only
serve to erase a history of tribal
enslavement.
In 2018, six Black Creek descendants sued
the tribe and the Department of the Interior to be reinstated.
The Choctaw and Creek Nations in Oklahoma
agreed to consider reversing their decisions
regarding the Freedmen. Meanwhile, U.S.
Secretary of the Interior, Deb
Haaland, who is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and a 35th
generation New Mexican, approved a new
Cherokee Nation Constitution that protects the
citizenship and political rights of Cherokee
Freedmen. Changes to tribal constitutions
require federal approval.
“The Cherokee Nation’s actions have
brought this longstanding issue to a close
and have importantly fulfilled their
obligations to the Cherokee Freedmen,” said
Haaland. “Today’s actions demonstrate that Tribal self-governance
is the best path forward to resolving internal
Tribal conflicts. We encourage other Tribes to
take similar steps to meet their moral and
legal obligations to the Freedmen.”
When Black people say they have Indian in their family,
there’s truth in that. Part of the struggle
against injustice means confronting a legacy
of racism against Black people in Indian
Country.
