Learning about Cherokee Freedmen after enslavement
It’s common knowledge that white Americans forced Africans to come to this country on slave ships until the slave trade was abolished in 1833. But, if you’re like me, you might have thought that white Americans were the only ones to own slaves on this land.
And, if you’re like me, your American History textbook has failed you (and probably not for the first time). In the 1830’s and onward, some Cherokee Indians also owned African slaves, and took them along the “forced relocation” dictated by Andrew Jackson—the Trail of Tears.
Luckily for those of us who are behind on our history, the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in cooperation with the Bessie Smith Cultural Center will be hosting a free educational program on the lives of Cherokee Freedmen after enslavement at the Bessie (200 E. MLK Blvd.) Until then, I’ve prepared a little history snack to get us a bit caught up.
After the Civil War, a treaty was signed granting the former slaves of freedmen “all the rights of Native Cherokees.” However, despite what seemed like a positive step towards equality, these new “freedmen” were still discriminated against within the Cherokee nation (as well as pretty much everywhere else, but that’s a story for another day).
In 2007, the Cherokee nation revised their constitution, declaring “Indian blood” a requirement for membership and excluding many descendants of Cherokee freedmen.
To learn the rest of the story and make up the history gap, come out to the Bessie Smith Cultural Center Tuesday evening. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., presentation begins at 5:45 p.m.