Muskogee, Okla.–The Cherokee Nation will host a history presentation for Freedmen descendants seeking to reclaim their roots inside the Martin Luther King Center in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Friday, June 20, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Titled, “A Taste of Freedmen History,” the event will highlight the important contributions Freedmen have made to Cherokee Nation history, collective healing, and services available today.
Cherokee Nation Community Liaison Melissa Payne, a Freedmen descendant, will lead the presentation. Going back to the 1700s, the presentation will explore “the early interaction between the Cherokee Nation and the institution of slavery, including the forced removal of enslaved individuals alongside Cherokee citizens during the Trail of Tears,” Payne told the Black Wall Street Times.
Payne said it’s about highlighting truth, recognition and collective healing.
“We’ll also be discussing the complex legacy of Cherokee Freedmen, emphasizing that many descendants not only carry the names of their former enslavers, but they also have Cherokee ancestry, meaning the blood runs through their veins,” Payne added.
Cherokee Nation pushes equity for Freedmen descendants
The history presentation comes over a year after Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. signed a series of executive orders implementing racial equity initiatives across all levels of government. It’s part of an effort to fully integrate Freedmen descendants into programs, services and the cultural responsibility of Gadugi.
“I’ve offered an apology for the enslavement of Black people as chief of the Cherokee Nation, and I offer it to the descendants of Freedmen who are here today,” Principal Chief Hoskin Jr. said inside the Greenwood Cultural Center during Black History Month last year.
His office signed three orders related to Freedmen descendants, including: push Congress to eliminate discriminatory language in the Major Crimes Act, assess the levels of participation among Freedmen descendants in government programs and services, and purchase a property in North Tulsa for the long-neglected Cherokee Freedmen community.
Ultimately, the history presentation in Muskogee will seek to connect Freedmen descendants more deeply with their culture. Notably, enslaved Cherokees were often the interpreters between their enslavers and Europeans, serving a crucial role that Community Liaison Melissa Payne plans to highlight.
“I just need those that are Cherokee Freedmen today to understand what their ancestors endured and why they endured it,” Payne said.
Freedmen history takes center stage
In total, over 15,000 of the Cherokee Nation’s roughly 450,000 citizens are enrolled Freedmen. The enrolled Freedmen population experienced a boom following the successful legal battle to restore citizenship rights filed by Marilyn Vann, a Freedmen descendant who now serves on the Cherokee Nation Environmental Protection Commission.
Of the Five Major Tribes to engage in chattel slavery (Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw) only the Cherokee Nation has fully embraced citizenship and rights for Freedmen descendants.
Nearly 160 years after signing a treaty with the U.S. government guaranteeing citizenship and equal rights to the descendants of Freedmen who were formerly enslaved by the tribal nation, the current administration of Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. continues a years-long effort to pursue reconciliation even as other tribal nations pursue litigation.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in a case involving Creek Freedmen citizenship. The tribal government is seeking to reverse a tribal district court ruling that affirmed citizenship eligibility for Muscogee (Creek) individuals who descend from the Freedmen Roll.
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