The Choctaw-Chickasaw Freedmen Project© is designed to
bring some clarity on the relationship between the Freedmen and the Chickasaw,
and Choctaw nations. The index and extractions are provided as a learning tool
for the interested researcher on the nature of this relationship. Areas covered
by the newspapers consist of enrollment, legislation, citizenship, litigation,
allotment, treaties, Indian affairs, land, payments, taxation and more.
The publications are from all over the Indian Territory and
Oklahoma
. They
include small papers like “The Alva Review”, “The Branding Iron”, “The
Fort Smith Elevator”, “The Edmond Star Democrat”, and “The Lexington
Leader” among others. The larger papers like “The Cherokee Advocate”,
“The Indian Chieftain”, “The Daily Oklahoman” and “The Daily
Chieftain”, contain much of what has been written on the freedmen. These
publications offer over three hundred articles on the freedmen’s attempts at
securing their franchise within the nations of their births and the birthplace
of their ancestors.
It is hoped that by reading these articles, the researcher is given a
perspective not yet articulated by the genealogy or historical communities. As
interest in the lives of the freedmen increases, we hope by introducing this
material to the public, more people will begin to understand and resolve the
issues of citizenship and enrollment that have dominated the discussion
regarding the freedmen.
