Black Seminoles once thrived in Florida before the Trail of Tears. Today, they are fighting to get full recognition from the Seminole Tribe.
LeEtta Osborne-Sampson, Activist and Council Representative for the Seminole Nation
“Being a Seminole was all I knew growing up, our grandfather told us that’s who we were. This is a struggle, it’s tiring, and we are fighting the same fight." In Florida, Seminoles — a coalition of different Native tribes, including Muscogee, Creek and others, and Black people — fought three wars against U.S. forces.
Left out of the often-stereotypical portraits were discussions of why the Seminoles, whose name meant 'runaway' and 'wild,' were fighting. "You have to understand that generally the African people who freed themselves from plantation slavery had been living free in Florida for 100 to nearly 200 years before it became a state," Tillis said.
“These were two totally different groups of people who came together for a common cause,” Griffin said. Some of the Black people intermarried freely and formed alliances with the Seminoles. Others became warriors, chiefs, farmers, or indentured servants.By 1821, Florida was formally in U.S. hands as a territory, but it was not a quiet transfer. It was seen as a challenge to the practice of slavery prevalent in the South.
“Inasmuch as there are among the Seminoles many persons of African descent and blood . . . it is stipulated that hereafter these persons and their descendants . . . shall have and enjoy all the rights of native citizens, and the laws of said nation shall be equally binding upon all persons of whatever race or color, who may be adopted as citizens or members of said tribe,” the treaty stated.
“Some forgot the role of Blacks and there was even talk of getting rid of the Freedmen. Some years, the Seminole Nation barely registered the Freedmen,” Vann noted, adding that in Florida, the remaining Black Seminoles were mostly absorbed within the remnant tribe. “The federal government said you can’t put out. The ignored that however. even issued cards stamped ‘Freedmen' and would even make it hard for them by asking for other documents,’” Vann said. "But why don't we hear about this more? These are other people of color.
“We were brought here to Oklahoma and a lot of our people were forced to assimilate, to become Christians. But our nation is surviving," said Jake Tiger, the cultural specialist for the Seminole Nation Historic Preservation Office in Oklahoma. “From my understanding, it’s one of the many things … they call themselves traditional, but they are allies of the people, not traditional Seminoles. There is an ongoing conflict about this,” said Tiger, adding that there are about 18,000 Seminoles in Oklahoma today.
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