Choctaw Freedmen of Skullyville : uncovering an Oklahoma ghost town / Angela Walton-Raji.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Walton-Raji, Angela Y., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Freed persons--Oklahoma--History.

Freed persons.

African Americans--Oklahoma--History.

African Americans.

Choctaw Nation--History--19th century.

Choctaw Nation.

Indians of North America--Oklahoma--History--19th century.

Indians of North America.

Physical Description:

192 pages : illustrations, facsimiles, portraits ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Charleston, SC : The History Press, 2026.

Summary:

"From settlement to sediment Unlike the freedman communities in Spiro, Ft. Coffee and Poteau, the town of Skullyville faded into a forgotten ghost town. Dr. G. E. Hartshorne's 1950 "Skullyville and Its People in 1889" chronicled the inhabitants' lifestyle and culture. Yet he excluded many that arrived in the 1830s, having survived the long and arduous journey of the Trail of Tears. Enslaved people of African descent, arriving alongside their Choctaw masters, were seldom mentioned in contemporaneous accounts. They labored for decades without pay, or the comforts of freedom. Their tribal oppressors joined the Confederates, vowing to maintain their slaveholding lifestyle. Conversely, some from Skullyville resisted by joining the Union Army. Many lived to see freedom, and established livelihoods after abolition. In April of 1866, Choctaw leaders joined the Chickasaw at Fort Smith to sign a peace treaty that abolished slavery and promised citizenship and suffrage to those once enslaved by their nations. Freedman descendent Angela Walton-Raji resurrects the lost voices of Skullyville and champions a legacy that outlasted the town itself."-- Provided by publisher.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781467170024

146717002X

OCLC:

1563981591

Publisher Number:

90104723958