McCloud, Okla. – Tribal citizens whose ancestors were enslaved by citizens of many of Oklahoma’s tribal nations are beginning to see more comprehensive access to health care, education and other social services for Native Americans, but barriers remain.
Federal and tribal agencies have worked in recent years to clarify eligibility requirements and train staff on the land, but a report released by the Government Accountability Office ahead of Black History Month makes clear there is more work to be done when it comes to the treatment of descendants of freedmen.
The COVID-19 pandemic has helped expose what longtime activist Marilyn Phan called disparate treatment of grandchildren. She pointed to high-profile cases in which people were denied vaccines and financial aid during the virus surge.
“There are certainly more doors open now, but that doesn’t undo the damage,” Vann said, adding that the “chilling effect” prevents many descendants of freedmen from seeking services to which they are entitled.
The Cherokee, Seminole, Muscogee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations are among those whose citizens enslaved people in the 19th century. After the Civil War, they each signed treaties with the United States that abolished slavery and guaranteed tribal citizenship for freedmen and their descendants.
Today, the Cherokee Nation is the only one that grants full citizenship to descendants of freedmen who are equal citizens “by blood” under tribal law. The Seminole Nation allows its descendants to vote and sit on the Common Council but restricts their access to certain benefits of tribal citizenship. Freedmen descended from the Muscogee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations are currently denied tribal citizenship altogether.
The GAO report found that descendants of registered Cherokee and Seminole repeaters are sometimes required to provide proof of “Indian blood” when seeking help, and that the Seminole Nation has effectively blacklisted their descendants to prevent them from receiving federally funded housing, education, and assistance to the elderly.
“It is important to shine a bright light on this racism in the 21st century,” Fan said.
John Beacham, a Cherokee freedman, knew he qualified for a low-cost education at Haskell Indian Nations University. In 2020, he decided to apply when the school switched to distance learning.
A few weeks later, he received a letter from the federally run tribal college in Kansas requesting documents proving his degree of “Indian blood.”
“I felt wrong, like I was being treated unfairly,” said Beacham, who presented his registration card as proof of his tribal citizenship.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin intervened to verify Beecham’s citizenship and urged Haskell to consider his application. After months of delay, the school reversed course and said Beacham must reapply.
“I thought, if this is how they treat me during the application process, I might have a hard time going to school there,” said Beacham, who was upset by the experience and chose not to apply again.
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Education, which oversees two tribal colleges including Haskell and dozens of K-12 tribal schools, issued a letter in 2024 clarifying that “eligible Indian students” include all citizens of federally recognized tribes and that tribal enrollment cards are sufficient to prove eligibility.
An agency spokesman said the Bureau of Indian Education cannot confirm whether any descendants of freedmen have attended its schools in recent years because it does not differentiate between those descendants from other tribal citizens in its records.
Beacham, who now works for a rail technology company in California, has “come to terms” with the incident, but said he would likely receive a higher salary if Haskell accepted him into an undergraduate programme. He has not requested any other services for tribal citizens since then.
Other descendants were persistent.
Mark McLean, a Cherokee citizen, conducted an informal review of Indian Health Service clinics throughout Oklahoma. He said that between 2018 and 2020, six clinics asked for proof of “Indian blood” before confirming his status as a patient. When he refused, he was sometimes met with hostility from IHS employees, McLean said.
In 2021, after reviewing its own policies, the agency clarified that descendants of Freedmen only need to prove their citizenship in a federally recognized tribe to receive IHS care. The agency also provided training to employees in its Oklahoma City service area on how to properly assess eligibility.
As a result, McLean serves the Kickapoo tribal health center that once turned him away.
The Government Accountability Office review found that the Seminole Nation excludes descendants of freedmen from federally funded programs administered by the tribe for technical reasons. For example, senior assistance, college scholarships, and burial stipends are available through a fund that is accessible only to tribal citizens with a degree certificate of Indian blood and descendants of the Seminole nation as it existed in 1823 — before so-called “black Seminoles” were recognized as citizens.
The Seminole Nation distributes federal housing assistance using a point system that, according to the Government Accountability Office, prioritizes “blood” citizens of all tribes and gives descendants of free Seminole 0 points for priority consideration.
Descendants of freedmen are already disenfranchised by the legacy of slavery and segregation in Oklahoma, said Loretta Osborne Sampson, who represents one of two free Seminole bands on the tribe’s General Council.
“Our hope is that our tribe has a heart and realizes that we are not going anywhere,” Osborne-Sampson said, adding that many in her community live in poverty and struggle to afford safe housing while their tribe effectively prevents them from getting help.
The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma did not respond to emailed questions about eligibility for its federally funded social programs.
Descendants of freedmen in the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations are not currently recognized as tribal members and do not have access to tribal services such as health care, education, or housing.
Last year, the Muskogee Nation’s Supreme Court struck down a constitutional requirement adopted in the 1970s that required citizens to be Muskogee “by blood,” clearing the way for descendants of freedmen to enroll in the tribe.
However, the ruling was not implemented.
In a status report filed with the court in December, Chief Chief David Hale said the tribe’s national council would need to adopt new laws and possibly amend the constitution before citizenship could be expanded to include descendants of freedmen. The Muscogee Nation did not respond to emailed questions about the timeline for these changes.
Hoskin, a Cherokee, called slavery a “moral stain” on his tribe’s history. In an interview, he expressed optimism that other tribes would eventually recognize their free descendants.
“They want to be seen and they want their story to be understood after having been suppressed for so many generations,” Hoskin said. “This will take time.”
Peters reported from Edgewood, New Mexico.
This article was generated from an automated news feed without any modifications to the text.
