ORAL HISTORY WEBSITES
Oral History – Oklahoma Slave Narratives
The words of the ancestors are the words that tell the story. They can open doors to the past and can reveal so much rich history about days long gone, and oral histories are considered essential tools to use when studying the past.
For those researching the families of Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen many insights into their lives can be found in two essential resources—the Oklahoma Slave Narratives, and also the Indian Pioneer Papers.
The Oklahoma Slave Narratives were conducted in the 1930s and were part of the WPA (Works Progress Administration) effort to document the lives of formerly enslaved people through a series of interviews. In the mid-1930s there were people still living who had survived slavery and who had memories of the dark days that were part of their past. Interestingly, many of the narratives recorded in Oklahoma were never forwarded to Washington to become part of the Federal Writer’s Project. Thanks to the effort of T.Lindsay Baker, and Jlie P. Baker, many of those un-forwarded narratives were published by the University of Oklahoma Press in 1996.
The book contains 130 interviews. Of that number, 19 were once enslaved in Indian Territory. Many of the interviews were conducted in cities like Tulsa and Muskogee, but others were taken in smaller communities. Few, if any were conducted in southeast Oklahoma, so places like Idabel, Ardmore, Tishomingo, or Stonewall, were missed. As a result much is still missing about life for the enslaved people in the Territory.
A list of Freedmen whose stories are included in the book, appears below. Because many families from both Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen have relatives in the other tribes from the Territory, Freedmen from all of the tribes are listed here, with Choctaw/Chickasaw naames appearing in bold letters.
Frances Banks, Choctaw Freedwoman (Card #1414 Roll #678)
Phoebe Banks, Creek Freedwoman
Henry Clay, Creek Freedman
Polly Colbert, Chickasaw Freedwomen (Card #866 Roll #3597)
Lucinda Davis, Creek Freedwoman
Mary Grayson, Creek Freedwoman
Nellie Johnson, Creek Freedwoman
Mary Lindsay, Chickasaw Freedwoman (taken to Texas not on Dawes)
Kiziah Love, Choctaw Freedwoman
Chaney McNair, Cherokee Freedwoman
Cornelius Neely Nave, Cherokee Freedman
Patsy Perryman, Cherokee Freedwoman
Phyllis Pettie, Cherokee Freedwoman
Matilda (Tildy)Poe, Chickasaw Freedwoman, (Card #25 Roll#113)
Chaney Richardson, Cherokee Freedwoman
Belle Robertson (aka Bettsy Robertson) Cherokee Freedwoman
Morris Shephard, Cherokee Freedman
R. C.Smith Cherokee Freedman
Milton Starr, Cherokee Freedman
Johnson Thompson, Cherokee Freedman
Victoria Taylor Thompson, Cherokee Freedwoman
Lucinda Vann, Cherokee Freedwoman
Rochelle Allred Ward, Cherokee Freedwoman
Charlotte Johnson White, Cherokee Freedwoman
Sarah Wilson, Cherokee Freedwoman
Oral History – Indian Pioneer Papers
In the 1930s Oklahoma was still a young state. The state decided to interview individuals who would be considered “Pioneers”, or early residents of the territory that would become Oklahoma. People of all backgrounds were included in this effort, whether, white, black or native. The result of this effort is a 116-volume collection of oral history interviews known as the Indian Pioneer Papers, which are part of the University of Oklahoma’s Western History Collection.
The volumes contain interviews of people of African descent, including Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen as well. Beyond the mere existence of this collection is the fact that the collection is fully digitized, and also searchable by keyword. There is also no charge for exploring the site.
Once on the website, one should select Indian Pioneer Papers then after it loads, start to search by using keywords. It is helpful to search by different keywords. For example, the word “Freedmen” will bring up several dozen interviews. Some are interviews with formerly enslaved people, and some are interviews where Freedmen are mentioned. Some suggested keywords to try are: Freedmen, Slave, Slavery, Negro, in addition to town names like Boley, Stonewall, Tishomingo and more. Once can even enter the names of well-known persons such as Cherokee Bill, Sugar George, Cow Tom. Likewise one can search by surname, or institutional name, such as Dawes Academy.
Some of the interviews will reveal rich local history and others will reveal stories of remarkable families.
Here are a few sample interviews from Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen:
Jack Campbell , Choctaw Freedman
Susan Colbert. Choctaw Freedwoman
Jefferson Cole, Choctaw Freedman
Lula Mabry Neighbors, Choctaw Freedwoman
B. C. Franklin, Chickasaw Freedman
Thomas Franklin, Chickasaw Freedman
Matthew Maytubbee, Chickasaw Freedman
The collection of oral histories are worth exploring. Even if an ancestor is not found chances of learning about the ancestral community is high. The site also provides an opportunity to learn about the culture of the Freedmen of both Choctaw and Chickasaw nations.