~ "About the Descendants of Cherokee’s Black Slaves" ~ (8827 hits)
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The Black and (so-called) Red Man were in fact, kinsmen! Did you ever wonder about your buddy who told you about his or her Indian relatives…their Grandparents…their Great-Grandparents? Many of us have passed it off as believing they wanted to be identified, as other than Black - they did not want to be Black. Folks would say things like – “they ain’t Indian, they just don’t wanna be Black Folks cause they head is nappy and they wants to be like the white folks.” We’ve heard many claim to be children of the Cherokee, Seminole, or Black Feet. Many of us didn’t believe it…guess what? I’ve got news for you…we were wrong – dead wrong!
Yes, the Cherokee had slaves, and no, their descendants are not happy. They’re so unhappy, in fact, that they’ve sued the Cherokee nation that enslaved and freed their ancestors, only to kick them out a century later. On Saturday they’ll be gathering in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to prepare for next month’s court proceedings. What do they want? To be recognized as part of the Cherokee nation again, of course. Confused? You’re not alone.
The group, known as the Freedmen, have been fighting the Cherokee government for citizenship since it was revoked in the early 1980s on the basis that they lacked proof of native blood. Today around 3,000 reservation residents claim lineage from blacks once enslaved by the Cherokee and the rights they were entitled to.
Here’s what you need to know.
So the Cherokee had slaves?
Thousands, actually. And it wasn’t just the Cherokee. Many members the Five Civilized Tribes—Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaws, Creeks and Seminoles—all of them had slaves, though the Cherokee were the primary holders. By 1860, the tribe had 4,600 enslaved blacks under their dominion, owned mainly by a minority of elite members. Beginning in the late 18th century, white leaders encouraged the tribe to adopt the practice in order to facilitate large-scale agricultural production and their assimilation into the white way of life.
In 1827, the Cherokee even created a slave code virtually indistinguishable from that of white Southern plantation owners. The document explicitly barred slaves and their descendants (including those of mixed race) from owning property, making money, drinking alcohol and marrying into the tribe. Blacks were also categorically disenfranchised, even if they were free or partially Cherokee.
During removal in the 1830s, 2,000 slaves were forced to march westward with their masters on the Trail of Tears. The tribe eventually settled in what is now Oklahoma, and their agrarian nation prospered, largely because of slave labor. So when Lincoln threatened the practice of slavery at the start of the Civil War, the slave-dependent Cherokee pledged allegiance to the Confederacy.
Their ancestors were eventually freed. What’s the Freedmen’s main gripe?
In a nutshell, they want to be reinstated as rightful members of the Cherokee tribe. In 1866, after the Civil War, the Cherokee agreed with the federal government to grant full tribal citizenship to all freed slaves and their descendants in the wake of the Cherokee Emancipation Proclamation. The tribe’s newest members became known as the Freedman.
But the Freedmen’s rights were not easily won. The Cherokee became possessive and resisted the division of their assests. The U.S. government was able to overrule their efforts to shut the Freedman out of land and financial allocations, but nearly a century later, all progress was reversed. Ross O. Swimmer, the Chief of Cherokee Nation, issued an executive order in 1983 requiring that all citizens have a “Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood” in order to vote. The certificates were based on the Dawes Rolls, a tribal census taken between 1899 and 1906. At the time, mixed-blood Cherokees were treated as full members, while Freedman were listed separately, regardless of any native ancestry.
Following Swimmer’s declaration in 1983, 25,000 Freedman descendants were effectively cut off from their heritage, initiating a racially heated rumpus, which endures to this day.
Why do they want to be identified with Cherokee when they were enslaved by Cherokee?
Maybe history, maybe culture. Maybe free health care and other benefits. Freedman lived as citizens of the Cherokee nation for over a century before their rights were revoked, and some even served in the tribal government. They feel that to deny them Cherokee citizenship, is to deny them their cultural heritage. Excluding Freedmen from the Cherokee community also cuts them off from a host of benefits native populations now receive from the federal government, not to mention their right to restitution. That includes everything from free health care and housing assistance to scholarship money and employment opportunities.
So what’s happening now?
It’s a bureaucratic mess, and both sides are back in the courts. In 2006 the Cherokee Supreme Court ruled that the Freedmen’s native citizenship should be restored, saying that their government’s actions were unconstitutional. In response, Chad “Corntassel” Smith, then chief, called for a special election to create an amendment to repeal the ruling. After the vote, Freedman descendants were stripped of their citizenship yet again, which led to another brutal onslaught of lawsuits and appeals, battled out in U.S. and Cherokee courts. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development even went so far as to freeze $33 million in funds unless the Cherokee government granted Freedman the right to vote in an upcoming election for chief. The native leadership eventually caved, allowing the Freedman to cast ballots, but refused to budge on the question of full citizenship. The latest complaints were filed by both sides in 2012, and a federal court will begin sorting out the matter next month—hopefully for good.
/* "What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour." https://plus.google.com/+sunnyredcloud/pos... https://plus.google.com/+sunnyredcloud/pos... 'SHAMAN' http://www.boulwareenterprises.com/FAIRMOU... http://www.BoulwareEnterprises.com */
I have been saying that so-called black americans, native Indians, and west Indians and Latinos are the same people emanated from Hebrew heritage which started in Sumeria (Iraq) and spread throughout the four corners of the world.
Here is a summary of Native Indians utilizing captive prisoners or what Caucasians called slavery:
Another Summary of Caucasian Natives kicking out so-called black americans with Native Indian blood as well:
reference article:
White Indians Kick Black Indians Out of Cherokee Tribe Posted on March 4, 2007 by Rachel S. The White Indians of the Cherokee Nation have voted to revoke the tribal citizenship of Black descendants of the Freedmen (Black Indians in my view). So the descendants of the Freedmen can no longer be members of the tribe. The vote was overwhelming.
With all 32 precincts reporting, 76.6 percent had voted in favor of an amendment to the tribal constitution that would limit citizenship to descendants of “by blood” tribe members as listed on the federal Dawes Commission’s rolls from more than 100 years ago.
I have written about the background of this case before, and even people who are known descendants of tribal leaders are being kicked out. The evidence that the Freedmen are of Cherokee descent is strong, and the leader of the Cherokees, realizes that the Freedmen are indeed of Cherokee ancestry.
When the Dawes Rolls were created, those with any African blood were put on the Freedmen roll, even if they were half Cherokee. Those with mixed-white and Cherokee ancestry, even if they were seven-eighths white and one-eighth Cherokee, were put on the Cherokee by blood roll. More than 75 percent of those enrolled in the Cherokee Nation have less than one-quarter Cherokee blood, the vast majority of them of European ancestry.
Marilyn Vann said she could not believe that one election could determine whether she was allowed to claim Cherokee blood.
“There are Freedmen who can prove they have a full-blooded Cherokee grandfather who won’t be members,” said Ms. Vann, president of the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes. “And there are blond people who are 1/1000th Cherokee who are members.”
Mike Miller, the Cherokee Nation spokesman, agreed.
“We are aware that there are those who can prove Indian blood who are not Cherokee citizens, because they are not on the Dawes ‘by blood’ Rolls,” Mr. Miller said. “But I don’t know of a single tribe that determines citizenship through a bunch of sources.”
In the spirit of keeping it real, I can’t understand for the life of me why anyone who is of Native American/First Nations descent would use a document like the Dawes Rolls which was drafted using the United States definitions of race to determine ancestry. I hope that they would understand how the US governments treaties and documents have never been used in a way that uplifts Native peoples, which is why relying on those documents should be obviously wrong. People who have been so decimated by racism should really know better than to engage in this racist behavior.
But unfortunately this is part of a pattern, as the quote below from the New York Times notes. Ann pointed out to me that this had happened with the Black Seminoles in 2003.
This is the second time in recent years that an Indian nation has tried to remove its Freedmen. The Seminole Freedmen won a similar legal battle in 2003.
The Seminoles were formed when refugees from several tribes joined with runaway slaves. But after the Seminoles denied their Freedmen voting rights and financial benefits, effectively abrogating the Treaty of 1866, the federal government refused to recognize the Seminoles as a sovereign nation.
The Cherokees are also risking their tribal sovereignty, said Jon Velie, a lawyer for the Seminole and Cherokee Freedmen.
“There is this racial schism in Indian Country that is growing and getting worse,” Mr. Velie said. “Even having the debate is the problem. You then become a lesser person because people get to decide whether you’re in or not.”
Taylor Keen, a Cherokee tribal council member who supports Freedmen citizenship, suggested that proponents of the amendment were pandering to racism, trying to score political points for when they run for tribal office in June.
“This is a sad chapter in Cherokee history,” Mr. Keen said. “But this is not my Cherokee Nation. My Cherokee Nation is one that honors all parts of her past.”
Personally, I wonder if this racial split is related to the resurgence in Indian identity, where you have many people now claiming Indian ancestry, who had previously been living as Blacks or Whites. I suspect that many of these leaders have an identity that is just as tied to whiteness as it is to Cherokeeness. The White Indians really disappoint me. It is their lighter skin and lack of visible African ancestry that is allowing them to engage in such racism. If the tribe didn’t want to be so racist, they would accept a broad definition of “Cherokee” that was not based on the US government. Let’s be real– since when did the US government act in the best interest of First Nations people?
It would be an an ironic twist if the Cherokees lose tribal sovereignty for excluding the Freedmen’s descendants. First, they tried to rely on a US government document, which applied two versions of a one drop rule. Then later the US decides, “hey because you used our old document, we are taking your sovereignty.”
This is indeed a sad day, when we see racism being used to divide and conquer, and it provides some evidence for the irrationality of racism. Here we have people who don’t even act in the best interest of themselves because of their biased views. This is a glaring example of institutionalized racism at its worst.
Finally the proof that Israelite heritage from West Africa and we all know that Europe is not the native home of so-called white people.
Thus Harry Watley rants about "plantation slavery" has no merit. I tell him to give it up, sadly he continues with his charade that lacks historical accuracy.
Reference statements:
FROM AFRICA TO THE TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
The African Jews, as all other Romanized-African of this era, were caught in a rebellion in Cyrene (Cyrenaica) during 115 C.E. against Roman imperialism and colonialism. This rebellion also marked the beginning of a mass Jewish migration southward into Soudan (Sudan or West Africa) along the way of the city Aer (Air) and into the countries of Futa Jalon and Senegal (Sene-Gambia) which lie below the curve of the Niger River's most northern reaches, where the City of Tumbut (Timbuktu, Timbuctoo, etc.), Melle (Mali) presently stands." ("African Origins of the Major Western Religions," 1970, p. 76).
Dr. Ben goes on to relate that Israelite immigrants from northern and eastern Africa merged with indigenous groups in western Africa to become the Fulani of Futa Jalon, Bornu, Kamen, and Lake Chad. They also formed the parent-stock of groups such as the Ashanti, the Hausa, the B'nai Ephraim (mentioned in earlier posts), and the Bavumbu (Mavumbu or Ma-yomba, descendents of the famous Loango Jewish kingdom). All of these groups suffered tremendous population decreases during the years the Atlantic slave trade was in operation, others were completely eliminated. Thus, every so-called African American has Israelite ancestry in their family tree whether he or she knows it or not. Even in the very crucible of slavery the descendants of West African Hebrew captives in America struggled to keep their heritages from being obliterated by forced assimilation and acculturation. Their distinctive traditions became submerged in Christianity but always remained a part of the oral tradition via the so-called Negro Spirituals which praise the memory of ancestors and kinsmen like Moshe (Moses), Dawid (David), Yehoshua (Joshua), and Dahnniel (Daniel).
Native Indian Links To Hebrew Heritage reference article:
In 1650, Rabbi Menashe Ben Israel, Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam recorded an incredible story in his book Mikveh Yisrael. He relates a conversation that he had with a Jewish Dutch explorer of the Americas. The explorer related how he made contact with the Native Americans but after trying to communicate with them in every possible European language, he had no success. Being a Jew, as was his first mate, these two began to talk amongst themselves in Hebrew. To his utter amazement, upon hearing him speak Hebrew to his first mate, the Native American chief responded in kind and stated, “Shema Yisrael.” This is only one of the very numerous instances that seem not only to suggest, but to actually prove that indeed, somehow, in some way, a number of Biblical Israelites managed to leave the Holy Land, over two thousand years ago and by the Hand of G-d found their way to the shores of what today we call the Americas. It was known in Talmudic times that the world was indeed round and some Sages suggest that there is hints to the existence of what today we call the Americas in some of the oldest Rabbinic literature. Archeological evidence to establish this claim is rather significant and wide spread. There are numerous archeological artifacts that have been found throughout the Americas, specifically here in the United States that are clearly thousands of years old and written in either Biblical Hebrew or later block (modern) Hebrew script. These include full inscriptions of the Ten Commandments, etched in stone and written in Ktav Ivrit (original pre-Babylonian Biblical Hebrew script). There is even one claim made that an ancient pair of Tefillin have actually been found buried in an Indian burial ground. In 1775, Englishman James Adair, after living with Native Americans for 40 years, recorded his experiences and published a book about them in London entitled, “The History of the American Indians.” Almost his entire work is dedicated to document and prove that the Native American tribes of the central and southern territories, soon to become the U.S.A. were definitively of Jewish origins and to his day maintained a sizable amount of their ancient Israelite heritage. He goes so far as to say that the tribes that he knew worshiped a single God Creator who they called in their language Ye'ho'wah. Adair's book created quite a stir and was widely read. Even President Thomas Jefferson in 1803 was aware of Adair's book and made mention of it in one of his letters to John Adams. Jefferson quotes Adair's belief that, “all the Indians of American to be descended from the Jews: the same laws, usages; rites and ceremonies, the same sacrifices, priests, prophets, fasts and festivals, almost the same religion, and that they all spoke Hebrew.”
/* I do recall the posting of such a little while back 'Brother Saint!'
"I have been saying that so-called black americans, native Indians, and west Indians and Latinos are the same people emanated from Hebrew heritage which started in Sumeria (Iraq) and spread throughout the four corners of the world.
Let’s be real– since when did the US government act in the best interest of First Nations people?
This is indeed a sad day, when we see racism being used to divide and conquer, and it provides some evidence for the irrationality of racism. Here we have people who don’t even act in the best interest of themselves because of their biased views. This is a glaring example of institutionalized racism at its worst. Thus, every so-called African American has Israelite ancestry in their family tree whether he or she knows it or not. Even in the very crucible of slavery the descendants of West African Hebrew captives in America struggled to keep their heritages from being obliterated by forced assimilation and acculturation. Their distinctive traditions became submerged in Christianity but always remained a part of the oral tradition via the so-called Negro Spirituals which praise the memory of ancestors and kinsmen like Moshe (Moses), Dawid (David), Yehoshua (Joshua), and Dahnniel (Daniel). Being a Jew, as was his first mate...these two began to talk amongst themselves in Hebrew. To his utter amazement, upon hearing him speak Hebrew to his first mate, the Native American chief responded in kind and stated, “Shema Yisrael.”
...the tribes that he knew worshiped a single God Creator who they called in their language Ye'ho'wah. Adair's book created quite a stir and was widely read. Even President Thomas Jefferson in 1803 was aware of Adair's book and made mention of it in one of his letters to John Adams. Jefferson quotes Adair's belief that, “all the Indians of American to be descended from the Jews: the same laws, usages; rites and ceremonies, the same sacrifices, priests, prophets, fasts and festivals, almost the same religion, and that they all spoke Hebrew.” ~Yaiqab Saint~ http://blackhistory.com/cgi-bin/blog.cgi?c... > Thank You Broher Saint! I really apppreciate your additional information and comment(s) regarding "Truth and Justice!" You're additional information aoids greatly in the teaching and re-education of our people at large...it serves a great purpose and will prove to be ubiquitous.
Ya’ateeh, As Salaam Alaikum, Shalom, Hotep, and Hola!
Ann Elizabeth "Liz" Kulze was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina as the oldest of four children. She studied creative writing at Boston College before moving to New York to work as a journalist. She lived in Brooklyn for four years where she met her soon-to-be husband, Thomas, adopted their dog, Archibald, and nurtured her love for interesting characters. She came to the University of Wyoming to work on a collection of short stories and explore the surrounding wilderness. She enjoys running long distances, cooking and consuming large, extravagant meals, and talking to most people. As a child, she had a pet pig named Bacon.
This is a total surprise to me and a lot of other black people since we been told that we have less than 2% native blood in our DNA. Black people's background has always involved slavery. We are a gullible and easy pickings for everyone. Black people just walking around earth like this event couldn't happen again. My people better wake up. THINGS ARE GETTING SICK! It is so true that if you don't remember your past, your doomed to repeat it. Seems all the nations have had a piece of us. Lord knows as a nation we need help, but apparently it not going to come from outside sources.
Sunday, November 15th 2015 at 7:40AM
Alona Israel
/* Ya’ateeh, As Salaam Alaikum, Shalom, Hotep, Hola, and Hello to One and All!
Good Brother Imam Robert Powell: To the best of my knowledge, she is the author of this piece. Thank you for your in-depth research and tutelage.
Sister Israel, you should not be surprised. The entire world is "US!" We/Our People are the seed of nations across this globe. The correct analogy is 'We Are A Piece of Every Nation!' And yes, if we don't soon wake up, the mental slavery will continue... We are to depend on non-other than ourselves. "Man/Woman, Know Thyself!" ( http://www.blogger.com/profile/10910946197... ). We Do Need To Take Heed of Our Past In Order to Make Things Better In Our Future!
I haven't been In the extreme reality of my people except of the year 2014 when I read the bible PAGE FOR PAGE and did an indepth research of the matter. I read the bible page for page because I was totally confused and spiritually empty. I hungered for GOD and knowledge as to why my people are constantly on the bottom of everything except catching major diseases. I heard that we were a rich and holy nation at one time and I just wandered how did we come to be nothing but the offspring of slaves. It just constantly ate at me, I felt in my heart that we were destined to be more, so I read the bible, studied DNA, research Bible History, listened to those of biblical significance, research Archealogical findings. I know now and I'm sad, angry, bewildered, confused and I want to just shout like a crazy woman "WAKE UP MY PEOPLE, but they won't know what I'm talking about. I now see what the Biblical Disciples went through. Even today their work is in vain. We still go to all of these ignorant churches that are as blind as the congregation it leads and all we can do is BLOG OUR FRUSTRATIONS. Every nation has had a piece of the Black Nation like she's a whore and we just open our legs while a train is ran over our mentality again and again and again. Yet, all we can do is BLOG OUR FRUSTRATIONS, Every nation has taken our identity, culture, language, gold, diamonds, oils, etc. and all we can do is BLOG OUR FRUSTRATIONS. We bare their half breed offspring and they just claim the portion that belong to them or none at all. BLACK NATIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD OPEN YOUR EYES AND GET READY FOR THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY. Stand back and watch GOD'S ANGER MOVE UPON THIS EARTH. Watch our father fight for his children. He said, "The Battle is not with flesh and blood, but with powerful authorities and governments of this world. He is coming to claim what is rightfully his by inheritance - YOU!!. European Jews, he know who you are, He knows what you did last Summer and times past. Revelation 2:8, 9, Revelation 3:9. The European Jews might have translated the bible into Greek, but they apparently still don't understand it and didn't read it well, because they wouldn't have did what they did. You are right Mr. Boulward WE ARE THE SEED OF GOD, THE ROOT OF DAVID, BLACK LIKE SOLOMON AND ABRAHAM, WE BARE THE OFFSPRING OF JACOB'S BLOODLINE. They can't take that from us NO MATTER HOW HALF BRED!!
/* ...Oh My Goodness! You have truly said (and understood) a mouth-full! :-)
Teaching and Learning Sister...if blogging is the way to opening eyes, minds, and hearts, then so-be-it! Books, articles, and word-of-mouth warrant justification...like the 'Fathers/'Teachers/Sooth-Sayers of olde - The Village, if you will.
You have done well My Dear. Keep it coming for all to see and hear.
Thank You Dear Lady for your sagacious and redolent infusion.
