The Freedmen Files

Angela Y. Walton-Raji
  • 4.5 (10)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

This podcast explores the lost stories and untold histories of the Freedmen of Oklahoma. The goal is to unravel the tapestry of the past, sharing the voices and tales that come from the Freedmen from Indian Territory. Theirs is a history of resilience, strength and triumph. Stories of both the people and the places where Freedmen from the Five Nations lived and negotiated lives on the western frontier.

  1. APR 24

    Episode 37 Caesar Bruner & Rich Seminole History

    This was an effort to capture details from the life of Caesar Bruner leader and founder of the Bruner band of Seminole Freedmen. But the more I researched Caesar the man, the more I learned about the very dynamic structure of the communities of Seminole Freedmen. This is a community of many parts, based in Oklahoma, Texas, Mexico, as well as Florida, The Bahamas, and also the Gullah Geechee communities of South Carolina. Caesar Bruner was a dynamic leader surrounded by an even more dynamic community of survivors, leaders, warriors and more.

    24 min

  2. MAR 31

    Conversation With Kenneth Ford

    On this first 5th Monday taping, I had a wonderful conversation with Kenneth, founder of the Descendant Freedmen Alliance of Kansas City. Mr. Ford's ancestry comes out of the Creek Freedman Sells family from Taft Oklahoma. He has become a leader in the Kansas City area, in organizing a group of Oklahoma Freedmen descendants to gather, and study their history coming from the Five Tribes. In this conversation we learn about the how he made a discovery about his own history and later learning how many of ther families in the greater Kansas City area share a similar family story.   (To save time for listerners, fast forward to the 30 second mark on the recording where the conversation begins. This will bypass the silent space on the tape.)

    31 min

  3. MAR 10

    Episode 35 Isaac Alexander A Leader of Leaders

    This is the story of a man who enlisted in the Union Army when he was in his late 30s and nearly 40, and ended up participating in several major battles in Missouri, Arkansas, and Indian Territory. After the war he became an advocate for Chickasaw Freedmen and even traveled to Washington DC to present a memorial to Congress from the Freedmen Community. Isaac Alexander who also emerged as patriarch to two large family clans, has a distinguished history and hopefully will have a story that will no longer be ommitted from the anals of Oklahoma nor Chickasaw history.

    17 min

  4. FEB 24

    Episode 34 Record Reflecting Early Life of Freedmen

    This episode explores the records that can tell you more about lives of Oklahoma Freedmen many decades before the Dawes era.  Slave Schedules, Indian Pioneer Papers, WPA Slave Narratives, Family Search tribal records, and Ancestry US Marriages, Citizenship and Census 1841-1927, are some amazing collections that might open doors for you. Take a deeper dive into some of these records and hopefully you will come out with a more indepth understanding about the lives of your ancestors.

    20 min

  5. FEB 18

    Episode 33 An Overview of Freedman Education

    From the 1860s onward after slavery was abolished in Indian Territory, the Freedmen, once enslaved in the Five Tribes found themselves in a quest for the education of their children. As early as the 1860s after the treaties were signed, schools began to appear in the Cherokee Nation. Each decade more schools appeared, most as neiorhood schools or day schools but a few boarding schools some supported  by the various Church Missions in Indian Territory. This week's podcast looks at some of those schools and thanks to much of the research of the late James McCullough, a close look at education among Cherokee Freedmen provides an amazing array of information in this area.  This podcast presents some of this information that has been found.

    25 min

  6. FEB 9

    Episode 32 An Interesting Community of Choctaw Freedmen

    While browsing through Dawes Cards, an interesting community of seventeen Choctaw Freedmen appeared on a series of cards. They were interesting because they did not reside in the Choctaw Nation, and in an unlikely place. Years later they had resettled in Choctaw County Oklahoma, well into the 20th century. Why did they live outside the nation?  Do they still have ties where they were during the years of the Dawes Commission? Are they your ancestors?

    17 min

  7. FEB 3

    Episode 31 Watson Brown A Leader for Life

    This episode reflects the life of a man born in Virginia, taken to Mississippi, and then to Indian Territory. His name first appears in a letter to the Freedmen's Bureau in 1865. His name appears again in a letter sent to Congress on behalf of Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen. Over the years his name would sometimes appear on random documents because he served his community as an interpreter, being fluent in Choctaw. From his letters to his acts of service the words of this man made a difference, and for many thanks to Watson Brown, they had a voice.

    19 min

  8. JAN 26

    Episode 30: The Records are the Proof

    Today is the 4th Monday, and this year on the 4th Monday I shall take a dive into the many record collections that reflect the Freed people among the Five Nations of Oklahoma. These are records of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations. Many of these records extend decades back before the Dawes Commission. For those who want to take their documented past back to the years before the Civil War, this episode will mention the various record sets that reflecting an amazing presence in these tribal nations. Hopefully many of you are already using these records, and possibly there are some of you who have never used this plethora of reocrds that bring forth our history and our truth.

    20 min
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About

This podcast explores the lost stories and untold histories of the Freedmen of Oklahoma. The goal is to unravel the tapestry of the past, sharing the voices and tales that come from the Freedmen from Indian Territory. Theirs is a history of resilience, strength and triumph. Stories of both the people and the places where Freedmen from the Five Nations lived and negotiated lives on the western frontier.

Information

  • Creator
    Angela Y. Walton-Raji
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    37
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    The Freedmen Files