‘Faces of Freedmen’ exhibit links descendants to ancestors

OKLAHOMA CITY–A new exhibit honoring the Freedmen of the Five Tribes offers a tribute to the past and a tool for descendants to reclaim their lineage.

The Oklahoma Indian Territory Museum of Black Creek Freedmen History will host “Faces of Freedmen” Saturday, August 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 8625 S. Walker Ave. The exhibit pays a tribute to ancestors of free and formerly enslaved Black members of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole Nations, but it doesn’t stop there.

Using curated examples of Dawes enrollment cards, census documents, and family photos, “Faces of Freedmen” gives descendants a roadmap to starting their own genealogy journey. It first launched at the beginning of August.

Sache Primeaux-Shaw is a member of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma and a descendant of the Seminole and Chickasaw Freedmen. She’s also an educated historian and curator of the “Faces of Freedmen” exhibit.

In an interview with the Black Wall Street Times, Primeaux-Shaw spoke about how the exhibit aims to humanize Freedmen descendants, who face discrimination today, and to challenge the narrative around who qualifies as Indigenous.

Centering Freedmen truth

BWST: When it comes to the Faces of Freedmen exhibit, what did it mean for you to center both the trauma and the triumph of the Freedmen lineage through visual storytelling?

SPS:
It was a lot going into it, because I’m a descendant of both Freedmen and what people call “by blood” Seminoles and Chickasaws. But I’m also a Ponca tribal member, so going into it with that duality was really emotionally taxing. At the same time, I got a lot out of it.

I wanted to provide information about these descendants—real people—across all Five Tribes. For the grand opening, I picked folks for different reasons. I wanted to show the diversity of Freedmen descendants, to show how some were “by blood” and some weren’t. But at the end of the day, they were citizens of these Nations.

So, part of this was about humanizing them. As you know, Creek Freedmen descendants just won their case against the Creek Citizenship Board after being disenfranchised in 1979. Releasing this exhibit now feels really special and important. I want to make sure our ancestors are seen as human—not just used as a talking point.

Reclaiming the narrative

BWST: When we think about Freedmen versus “by blood,” that was really a product of U.S. policy through the Dawes Roll. How does your Freedmen exhibit reclaim the narrative around who is Indigenous and who counts as a tribal member?

SPS:
That’s one of the main reasons I wanted Faces of Freedmen to stand alone, even though it’s going to be part of a larger project called the Oklahoma People’s History Project. This exhibit tells our stories without the colonial lens.

For example, I’m featuring Sharon Lindsey Scott. She passed away recently, but she was one of my mentors on this journey. She was a Creek Freedmen descendant—and also a descendant of Legus Perryman, who was “by blood” Creek. But because her family had been enslaved, her descendants were classified as Freedmen. That happened a lot.

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Through my own research and what others have shared, I’ve found many Freedmen were also “by blood,” often because of sexual violence during chattel slavery—whether by white or Native slave owners. I’m not saying every enslaver committed those acts, but it happened. That’s how a lot of people became part of these Nations. And there were other cases too, like Choctaw Freedmen being sold to Chickasaw slaveholders and ending up on Chickasaw rolls.

Regardless of what the Dawes Roll said, these folks were culturally part of those Nations. They spoke the language, ate the food, lived the traditions. Blood quantum was never about culture. It was about erasure. Today, some Nations like the Cherokee and Chickasaw don’t require a blood quantum anymore, and I appreciate that. But there are people who weaponize that history against Freedmen.

Genealogy as resistance

BWST: On the other side of things, this exhibit also empowers a new generation of genealogists. Can you talk about Roots Reclaimed and the work you’re doing through your organization?

SPS:

I’ve been doing genealogy since around 2008, but I started Roots Reclaimed officially in the last few years. I made it an official entity because so many people were reaching out, asking for help—and I love doing it. But it’s a lot of work.

At first, I was just freelancing, but this isn’t just typing names into a search bar. I dig through all kinds of archives—not just census records, but deep research. And I’ve been paying for everything out of pocket: subscriptions, document requests, travel. Plus, it takes time. Some family trees I’ve worked on took months because of how many brick walls there were.

But I enjoy it, and it’s helped a lot of people. I’ve helped folks find biological relatives. I’ve helped people get enrolled in their tribes. That’s why I do it.

“Faces of Freedmen” exhibit ongoing

The Freedmen exhibit will continue on an ongoing basis at the Oklahoma Indian Territory Museum of Black Creek Freedmen History, Primeaux-Shaw said.

To connect with Sache, contact her on Facebook or visit her website reclaimingmyroots.com.