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we arey committed to better understand history to promote equity and cultural understanding. there's no obligation but would like to begin with a statement about history and the land on the city of chicago. located near waterways, delivery sits on land that intersects with the home and of several tribal nations. the confederacy in the nation and corkyer nation and it takes part in the region of the hall. indigenous people live in this area and celebrate their ways. today chicago is home to one of the largest communities in the united states and it remains an important place for indigenous people. chicago institution is

responsibly to acknowledge context the tribal nations on the land. during the program, you have the opportunity to answer questions and enter a q&a in the comment section on facebook or youtube. speakers will respond to your questions. it is my pleasure to introduce today's speaker. doctor aleta roberts is assistant professor at the university of pittsburgh focuses on the intersection of african-american and native american history to the modern-day with attention to identity and anti- blackness. in addition, black freedom on native land in 2021 writing has appeared at the washington post, the journal of civil war era and i will hand it t over to doctor roberts.

>> hello, i am so happy to be here share my book with you all. i will introduce myself with the research i do connected to my family like people who identify as african-american, people were enslaved for generations my father said they were owned by native americans and we know today they are making their way to oklahoma and indian territory. ...

>> so assume this country's history, were different my w family because they lived within the indian nations not within the united states rated and reshaping this here three retelling the core of my book t printed one of the key themes of my whatin it means that native americans adopted within the first was taking on 90s outbreak in the race and black inferiority it heat that we usually associate with one people and of the mess how emancipation some african-americans put on negative and harmful stereotypes of the native americans as they migrated to the west.he so this evening i am going to give you an overview of this history and talk to you about how i think acknowledging some of the negative interaction between black and native people innt a past is necessary to work together is always today less are without native americans you

own block in about people's lives 18 hundreds white american politicians reformers encouraged native americans particular the east and southeast to adapt american culture such as language clothing political structures, arguing the symbolize them this might be familiar to some of you predict for example henry knox's secretary and present joe washington we call civilization posted because he lived like whites for willing to give up and majority of the land predict and is ideal world, within the reduce land holdings engaging in agriculture privateng but using disability of the communal ownership. and it became increasing interval to the white americans citing markets also encouraged by the native people become slaveholders they of course really the height of economic success pretty and there is a time when indian tribes to on

various facets ofou american culture ending ignored those that did not sue them for example, religion and american - were two things that most people and the foundation the nation in which all members of my family, do not embrace those until arguably the early 20th century printed in the native people of this country are picking and choosing what they're interested in with the care about what many the wealthiest and most influential members of five indian nations enslaved by people with my family members of these are these five types ofe chickasaw, creeks, seminal in turkey. and you probably heard of these tribes socially and whose lightly because their covid-19 vaccination efforts. and so in addition to slavery these five tribes also do things like creek newspapers a model of european-american newspapers

edit government structure similar to that it was my states of these are key things that are working alongside each other and the governor as well as the american merging of governorsec and as far as this reasons is because these five tribes choose to assimilate in various ways, what emergence begin calling them the five civilized tribes in arkansas, and five tribes because five civilized is problematic in along with these proximity comes with the idea the people are inferior and while justio like in the united states on the u majority the people and organizations do not have the slaves the accumulates a good, crating the culture, and economy that highly valued unregulated slavery and the slave owners. and then needing the reese, an event earlier process change the lives of all of these slaveholding tribes as well as

about people he lived among family that is the indian removal and the context of the various had several really to reconcile the fact that they wanted native american lands, with the reality they do not have the manpowerty or the - to just take it by force slimming treaties and agreements with native people for parcels of land for control the various regions in the colonial time of the native people in the europeans negotiated settlement on relatively equal grounds and often with native people actually having more power and influence in his relationshipsue with raven political measures as well as war and violence after the revolutionary war, the white congressional native american land, increased as he sought resources and homesteads have moved further west. the plantation slavery's and dispenser the 19th century. in the agricultural and homes in

her second they began illegally squatting of the lands on o tape and governments follow the lead and frankly that interstate laws of the native americans of the landed. the results part of an effort to force the indians to move west of the mississippi river as the americans have been trying to get them to do since the beginning of the country. or to force them to allow otherwise to take the lead. now native american people i guess this and sometimes militarily tomorrow conflict but also through law which is what they were told to do is with ever told t civilized people did come the use the law but all of these were ultimately unsuccessful for the majority of the native people especially in these five tribes. as you probably know, this is going on through the 1820s by the 1830s come the government was under jackson and chose the support for these white southerners were doing by advocating for the indian removal act. now for good reasons, indian removal is considered for many

tribes to be really foundational during crating a journey to solidify the resilience as a people but when they want you to take from this talk is that indian removal did the same thing for the enslaved people endured alongside their owners in the five tribes those people of african descent remember removal as really trauma the solidify the memberships in these tribes their shared history with these tribes so that really two different ways of black history intersect and what i've given you and that's first that the indian removal is necessary for these plantations of slavery and secondly, any removal itself involves people ofof africa descent. and now as for these tribes going up removals, many historians are arguing that actually rebuild better than before and so they force create buildings and homes and plantations and there are many

people are very economically successful was that make it to again what is been known as indian territory. but about 30 years pass, the united states is increasingly divided over slavery. we have the civil war the nation's work important influential families owning enslaved men and women tribes were interested in these occurring in the united states with documentaries about race and civil war and the central slavery all of thesey things tht you think about is key to this country and also very s importat 85 tribes in a some types of especially cherokee and the greek nations were large over the institutions of slavery and running in the war. now is the confederacy in the building alliances in an effort to recruit them for the consider confederacy talk to the five tribes using agency very familiar with membersib of the tribe they really tell them what they want to hear they argue they will give them with the

united states and unions have not been givingg them and so thy think it would allowow them to have more say the government and have congressional w reputation1 nuclear dignity and territory forever without white settlement and be more reliable to me than for the moment they had the u.s. government can multiply for something elise allow them to keep the slavery pretty well the unions averaging 63 was of course had not known the confederacy with a kathy's promises, probably not enough early confederacy was partially composed of the states that had just forced the five tribes out of the romance around 30 years earlier still is treaties were enticing to the members of the five tribes. summa shared etiology around slavery members five tribes and they have theyy think are very important geography pretty and so the indian territories especially for these five tribes are located, very close to

texas, arkansas, confederate strongholds, the more western parts of the country at this time. and it's important that they have some sort of protections. so the practical aspects of these annoyances as well as find the shirt sentiment around slavery. and so the going to the war on the five tribes, members of all of these tribes of the union said confederacy and others are refugees partially be hoping to avoid fighting. at about 14000 brought in and around you need territory just like in thehe united states anda number of the enslaved black men fight benefit lead to five for the union or stay and are forced to work for their confederate owners predict one of when the war is overcome of the united states ignores the fact that unsome tribal members five for e union at the north about they t had not five tribes any protections or give them extra

ammunition and a set of the united states is in fact the some tribal members have fought for the confederacy against them. the point of the five tribes the confederacy behavior closely deserving of punishment during this distrust because it made the ice and with the confederacy that the seasonal overhead ability treaties with rated so they threaten to withhold money that they desperately need after a war unless they find a new treaty because they been chorused into it and so they treated itre of 1866 pretty sere as a five tribes official surrender as well as the reconstruction documents. counseling want to be by that principle know most extreme items these phrases that session a blended five tribess are forcd to give up a majority of the lands we had just moved on, the around 30 years earlier.

then the three big items in these treaties relevant towards the discussion is a five tribes had space enslaved people and their nation and adopt them as citizens, had to get them planned pretty these nations had to get them specifically, and after all familiar with reconstruction really history in general, you know significant since pretty because americans in0 the u.s. that they did not get it. so this the united states intonation indian nation, they're supposed to the right to create their own flaws nation completely sovereign in just about every other way in the iu.s. is saying, going to force you to free people something we ourselves cannot do without a work of art of virtue to adoptis these people citizens given all of the rights of citizenship and we ourselves in 1866, have not yet done over to force you to give them land. and i was is right.

legally no. another cherokee nation have been massive taken a they were the only one of the five tribes who decided to do this without direct coercion but all of the others, recent seminoles and chickasaw send the chop saws where they had emancipated linkages a people without american intervention. we don't know emancipation give their former slaves rights to citizenship prayed probably not they've given them land, probably not this freedom these rights and especially this planet put the former slaves ofe the five tribes on a different plane and so african-americans the united states to give them ddifferent opportunities, these opportunities are wasn't made by people in the office block their agreements a patient. so oklahoma is many black towns away had black i wall street, which of course anniversary of the massacre just passed more people are far more aware of black wall street and its

existence pretty is with this moment, and reconstruction indian territory history, is really one of those interesting historical moments were my identities both historian and a descendent of former slaves and chickasaw and the chop saws which are called free people. they come into play because i have to recognize something else legally wrong is u.s. intervention in the formations or as indian nations were not out of the cherokee nation's case, or case in the nations. twenty also need to recognize the people in my family might never have been freed if not for these technically legally just ecactions on the part of the united states printed know when to use that term former say slaves again andga again probaby presentation, i wanted to run of the strokes the indian free people is the general terms i use my work to refer to as a former slave of any of the five tribes and of course specifically, suffering people and free men and women refer to

specifically. the former slaves of the chickasaw indians. and so the reason that the land is for the indian free people in these treaties 1866, is direct and historically significant is because this was black through american government action republicans have not been able to giving african-americans in the united states, land pretty and it was frankly impossible for the majority of republicans who were moderately to imagine taking them from a white person giving into a black person has i'm sure you know, property ownership o was continues to be one of the most revered american values. but republicans such as the secretary of interior and unit in the affairs time can imagine imgiving inland to people of african dissent because of the opinions the five tribes did

value plan because it devalued private land ownership in the same way the white americans dead and as you saw the indians use the plan is in civilized not properly use utilizing land therefore to leon community in atlanta people of african descent, is kind of the softy idealistic republican goal of like land ownership was still allowing the in the united states to maintain their land. and so here's the united states using this idea of this savagery against the five tribes who told you earlier, used to be considered civilized. different from other native people and now that is no longer political if useful, the five rights once again, uncivilized in this change allows the black people take ownership of the landed indian territory. and indian free people in the five tribes played into this from what i tell you the chickasaw friedman and blaine goldman, in a way that he talked about his former a owners, thene

said, at the time the indians did not have anything but small farms and of course the freedoms were among them so they do not work like it should just raise enough corn to make bread and so this may well maybe some bad the language that he uses some of the did not work like they should. to me you saying the idea of americanness test being enterprise and creating wealth. but in native americans are looking to survive and what he saying is that with american tutelage for people work capable of working harder, believe they should if they were only given the model and the opportunity. so this is strategic languages and ended free people were very aware that the united states had negotiated for the freedoms the land ownership about the native former slave owners of predict

system have aligned themselves with white markings in the definitions of civilization and productivity in a small have been about people toiv the west, we see some of them also using these ideas about native american laziness like a productivity or civilization. and in fact, one of the most famous african-american leaders of the 19th century and really ryabout time, frederick douglass and several speeches were he spoke about how african-american's my prevent piece of the west now the united states should support this endeavor financially but to support this appeal, integrating native american so this speech of the american antislavery society in 1869, douglas said this, and erupts more like the way men in the indian in his taste and tendencies his position to accept civilization in the andean reset projects or civilization is not filled with vapor new york they lets you remains with you no matter under

slavery and in freedom. and now here, we can see a clear dichotomy made between african-americans and white americans i would have to have the native americans on the what other native americans are the outside and the uncivilized side.. really joining african-american schools and behaviors with white people and they are civilization hurried another earlier speech from landless, douglas. and people of the national domain were in surprising intelligence race of immigrants in forming the otherness into flourishing civilized communities and multipoint essays and adding immensely to the wealth of the productive industry of the nations and what he said the area of freedom an increase in political powers northwest power people with dangerously gratuity of the institution of slavery and a departing state holy - built upon it.

some of these are things right we want to increase freedom and we want to limit the power of the democratic takeovers aristocracy. but to see these things have of what is douglas doing, hannigan is putting down native people who in his words, have not utilized the west and southern of course is an educated man familiar with native americans and native reformers and he knew they were not free and not always been by the national domain rather happen taken from indian hands predict douglas also knew that the american immigration for the reason of a change in person circumstances for native people. yet, here he is using language of saturn she just with the region was allegedly like an indian - and what it might be like after interracial american integration of whites andci blacks.

and while douglas to speeches are given around for your support, having them represented sustainably on the part of one of her most black radicals that african-americans deserve the sure and the cornmeal spoiled of the native west. and so what my book argued about what flows down to us that my identity in this two different world that of indian we people in african americans in the united states led me to see the past these categories that we should put meant need for blood people into so we might see the mess victims are people that horrific events occur in the lives fight back against him and were resilient and so we celebrate their triumphant of course i understand why but when were confronted with the complexity of their actions and in the in which the words affected others, only willing to see blocking native people in a different way. can we set up affected people

suffered so much from colonialism and for slavers enforcement producers mixed-race children predict we accepted these same people would also i can capacity the serves the cornmeal stated times. the difficult question but i do look forward to hearing your thoughts about them and thank you. >> thank you so much alaina roberts that is fascinating and i feel like i already learned so much i want to talk to you more about the topic and vulnerable think about what you justok thig about frederick douglass and sergeant there. could you tell us afr little bit about with the reaction to douglas' words were from african-americans to the to listen to leaders like douglas and my great love. >> essence of douglas from there plenty of leaders popped up on either already exist in the rules like a church pastor or as

well as like a politician after the civil war but then also people become speculators who sometimes work with white americans to createec black tons so there are lots of african-americans who want to take advantage of the with the season opportunity 200 cash in on the land allotments by people getting indian territory buty also there are people who really appreciate the kinds of ideas frederick douglass is saying that african-americans deserve to kind of not just about the west but also have access to these ideas of democracy and freedom everything that the united states stands for. >> and then how did the five tribes and free people act of that migration. >> was really interesting because there is losman intermarriage between indian free people african-american's andy think to her spirit of

experiences similar's former slaves and soim there also any free people seeee african-americans as become a missing up thing that they have pretty so we see this as a result their enslavement in front labors in terms of andn- when these more and more african-americans. [inaudible conversation] native people get afraid he will no longer be seen as natives pretty will affect their political status subornation and in afraid that something americans will kind of politically overrun them and become a bigger building block than they are so these interactions that african-americans fromm the u.s. have the free peoples really kind of enlightening because we've seen different groups of people of all part of suffered at the hands of united states coming together to try to defend what they see as this really a lot of this land the indian

territory. >> and went to step back a bit ask you about the actual process of how indian people received land allotments and can you tell us little bit more about what that exactly look like and how they did patients reacted and how it affected them in that moment. >> yes so big part of my book is talking about how land allotments is very positive for people of african descent and also very negative for data people as part of the predominant narrative that i think as existed with land allotments and if it happens with the dawes act increase acted specifically vice the dawes act to the five tribes and you see the late 1890s. in the early 1890s people be can't begin to receive your land allotments informally there

really coming on various parts of each indian nation and you could basically claim as much people want recycled improve so you pick a place in a nation that has there and you know build a fence there and the dodd allotment process makes is more formal see land allotments that is worse than he goes into traditional american way of owningto property. and in this process native american nations are really trying to defend themselves and keep as much land as they can for their tribal citizens and baalso stopping the united stats from trying too absorb it into itself. in essence so when allotment really sets up in the indian territory to become state of oklahoma which is unfortunately what happened. although ofit course the suprem- and they establish that the reservation still exists and never stopped existing but it is still reneged on their five

tribes there never be any american settlement in indian territory at all. >> so the next question i want to ask us sort of about the relationship between the native people between the time and of the lease up today and ties into a question the somebody's asked in a q&a, so question i want to rescue his wife today and if by people take on these negative aspects of each want to hear more about how the ties to colonialism and it sort of ties to a question somebody asked in a chat about assimilation. we are asking specifically about the use of the word choice no sink the indigenous people chose was somewhat in the white norms rather than coerced some winter if you talk more about how these problematic developed and what role colonialism played inon tht in tough little bit about what he said these issues still exist today. >> so i talked about the part of

assimilation a talk about which are specific related to the black his choices because the fact there are the five tribes in part is because they areve slave owners there were members of other nations in north america on the slaves disputed in slavery different ways of these five nations did make a choice to protect the slavery in terms of really being kind of a part of capitalism something that allowed them to family wealth weather source of thes wealthiest tribes in north america but of course there are many ways that these native people were forced to change ways of culture her ways of disseminating the culture is just the discovery of children and residential school also art history of the united states and so there are many ways native mpeople do not have control ovr

soe much. butt there are many ways especially in kind of these 17 hundreds and even early 18 hundreds that it was kind of a choice to decide you want to let missionaries into your nation on do youno want to send your children to a boarding school at the time because it was voluntary the time and so as we go on as the united states gains more military power and expense post on, native people have less and less of a choice but i think it's important to differentiate differentiate when they do in the decisions are strategic and that they help to them become seen this specific right right and being seen as civilized five tribes to negotiate with the united states in different when u.s. avers probably just the secretary of engine intended target often public them inntn a different way they were able to choose the land to degree they

ended up settling on in indian territory come the chickasaw's were able to simply carry out their own removal of pay for it and kind of doing more in the way they would've liked even though the corrosion okay so moving into have received this today there are so many legacies the adoption of slavery in the five tribes reverberates predominantly in the way we think about citizenship and what is in i indian will quiet can let's importance of history and kinship i think it's important to think of the adoption event type blackness is a choice because is still choice, i mean, okay so all the five tribes about issues with simply throwing out there citizenship of the former slaves ander subjecting nation really the only other five tribes to accept

formally legally, former slavess as citizens even though all of these tribes promised to do so the civil war but in the 1970s and 1980s, all of the tribes franchises essentially claimed these people c know history because they're not indian mission beyond just taking in the resources that are hours. as head of segregationist very hundred narrative and it today, people like black seminoles and the people they don't have full citizenship so they actually have a second-class citizenship these are all remanence from ideas these people chose to take on and adopt into the 17 hundreds. >> thank you and certainly complicated history the still has a lot of notification today as we talked about. so one must question and i want to open it up to audience. they and we already have quite a few questions coming on on the

chart. the entire to the massacre because we are you know centennial this week and went up to just to talk a little public migration to overall and connect to the massacre. >> and so you so with the anniversary for like i would like screaming it everywhere i can hoping this narrative is kind of changing get out a little with the centennial but understanding that african-americans came to tolson were interested in tulsa oklahoma region because of this black native history and because of this existence of by on dividing up americans and i think that is really key to understanding foundation of the wealth that created black wall street and also this kind of the existence of not just black entrepreneurship at community building and so many of the black towns in oklahoma were created by people who were

headlined allotment to to the dos process and so those people came together with african-americans from the west. informed oklahoma and started with land allotment. in the african-american to complete indian territory already expecting a different experience because theyy know about their are opportunities that there is a different kind of landscape because of the tribal sovereignty and because is black people do have the right field to vote at going up to statehood in 1907 when the united states and much of that is kind of been remailed why terrorism and violence heard fthese plus politicians in offie have been taken out so there's still black people in tribal council indian territory as of the sea this difference pretty and this is why migration there is really some in terms of the century really such a large kind

of population. and that is why the district is black and black native people make sure that some of them use wealth from their land allotment and sometimes oil and gas 12 but also farming and get education something like that they really create that community that we now think of as black wall street. >> thank you so we have like to set a number of questions and the chatter try to q get to as many as i can. swim a couple of questions about gender so start there predict one person asked you to the role about gender played for the u.s. indigenous tribes to grant the former slaves landed the women access toe the land and then i wonder if another person is asking if you could talk a little bit about the role that native women it are perhaps black women played in the marriages between native and by

people during this time. so you're thinking about sort of health gender played a role as these allotments were playing out. >> will there is been a l lot of writings on the dawes allotment process and applies to native women there was rose - had a great workout and let me see, free people families, everybody gets in allotment so women get allotmentg children general and sometimes are actually perhaps often, maybe not next week's other so there's decisions to be made about which one are we going to live in or will we sell the others reason for farmland or etc. unusual demand allotment was chosen more often but there are various ways of when allotments are better or worse like sometimes there's timber on

her sometimes it barren but the soil underneath and as far as intermarriage, are relatively small amounts of intermarriage and especially the chickasaw and choctaw patients overr there are people like franklin is a father of john hope franklin it talks about is grandmother being chopsaw and there are kind of stories of intermarriage. when he comes down to it, nurse relatively will about the pending of the nation so the selections they have mark and there is always a kind of a fear of dissemination that intermarriage andrm interregionl will create people who were as black and novice native and so you seeac that elective legislation in the tribes for brilliant murder under

interracial marriage and citizenship for interracial children in the first booked up by divine talks about that and how it is difficult to have an interracial marriage orre relationships and children and how those children were treated differently depending on all of the nation how it was thinking about citizenship's thinking about kinship and belonging at that time. >> thank you and yes, those books are great and definitely anybody interested in this topic it in learning more. and so thiss is a question thati think again highs to discussions that you know well everybody sort of having out everybody bloods of people having within society right now, and thank you for your discussion in my question is about reparations an increase in the discussion of preparations are getting attraction especially across academic they were built with

slave labor and w on the discussions about rob reparations were descendents of slaves and free people of the five tribes with a look like in five all. >> it i was jus having this conversation on twitter today. and so i loosely called the land allotment that free people received is reparations. i do that because the white americans who are orchestrating this document are doing it definitely to create plaintiff's possession to associate kind of get a foothold yet turn part native nations making hard under part of the united states but also a lot of these men are republicans a about bond ownership is something that will allow people to find create their ownre communities and to themselves up after slavery and so this usually in thinking, but i think that it is really with

the intent to make a difference in these black people's lives there but it all in the united states and so i do think of that land allotment is something that did economically and socially, changed the lives ofes those fre people predict economist melinda miller, has an workers shows cherokee free people did have better educations about wealth accumulation and retention as a result of this and it does not come with elegant apology these indian nations at tivoli really did not come willingly but still it that i think that gets given this desire to make a difference and it does make a difference and what is continue to create generational wealth and so, the course the conversation about prince karen reparations for that is going and it's really one of the clearest examples of black wealth thatf is been you

knowbe purposely destroyed and there are plenty of records that show exactly what people lost and the survivors spoke to congress b spoke about how her life change in the economics and circumstances change of the massacre and yet there are still no abilities andnd desire to in the conversation by yes bleepco you something, not to some apologies but financially. and so the reparations discussion i think, is interesting in indian territory because i feel like it did kind of happened and that reconstruction was used as an experiment the land in possession provide people but also is kind of an example of how racism in the united states works and builds on itself and so even you get up after slavery, you know maybe everything you had just go up because race and why people and

i will you know him sort of a again and you know even if you do that, you know it will happen when redlining happens over you know well it's almost impossible. so yes, basically i think oklahoma is a great study on reparations and billing for it. >> thank you and the sort of ties to know thehe question that we goo to the child about the aftermath of the allotments and so you know after indian free people were given allotments with able to maintain that plant and you know, edged talk about the multiple other barriers that come up the black land owners and taking her elements back to that 1866 treaty and just because i want to hear about what the aftermath of that is. >> yes, my family so has their planned allotments there's at least one that are so there is funny to see this because now,

30 or 40 people because every generation or more and more g owners. there many families like that in oklahoma but unfortunately, there were kind of guards put in place to protect native and free people by no having them pay taxes and also, kind of paternalistic but not allowing some native people to self land allotments which was when kind of beneficial the other hand impossible because they needed the money to eat and buy things and eventually in a few years from the end of allotment the restrictions are taken off. many natives about people don't realize the restrictions were taken up in a paychecks and they lose mind that way. sometimes there are people who just kind of cheaters is still

underway. various means may be of people are so illiterate and so forth like him sometimes they find things that i despond. but there also people like sarah lector who maybe some people "was the riches buckle actually i think riches girl maybe in the united states who was a freed person heard and was able to keep all the wealth from her land and that came from oil and natural gas. so a guardian appointed by the united states and certainly there are success stories on a very high level come there kind of stories like my family, who didn't get really money from the land allotment but still pretty sentimentally imported i think that we have the land and the family and many more people do not have that they do need more so there's reasons most of which were out of their control. >> thank you and we have a

couple of different questions about the differences between some of the tribes that help the slaves and so i will say that generally in sort of follow up with the specific things. as one person asked, thank you know, following up and what you talked about the treaty of 1866, some tribes resisted such as the chickasaw a resisted adoption more successfully we can talk more about the differences between these tribes in terms oh the relationship the free people predict specifically how toci understand the differences in ways of my challenge this topic. >> i am not sure i understand the differences between the five tribes in a way that is challenging existing scholarship. there has not been that much work done on the chickasaw and more but still not much as the cherokee solar even - generally

are known for really disliking black people. the historical way to say charlie does, my mentor come into these nations often say that there kind of surprised at how badly black people are treated or how badly the indians think about black people not to say like a racially utopia but the other nations but they do kind of in a better way to quickly become around and cherokee and symbolization to adoption into allowing people like indians to take on leadership roles for the parts of the government pretty where as as you mentioned in the chickasaw nation, free people never adopted and so there's nothing to point to suit to say that one time where adopted predict the senate treaty and

they never follow through on the terms and chickasaw studio later date date but because the chickasaw topsail treaties or side-by-side together did not necessarily come to the treaty and that was supposed to come to. how can i explain this and so they have an interesting treaty because the united states said that you can adopt these people come in these freed people or you cannot adopt them but if you don't adopt them you will getf the money for the land use that we took from yourself is an interesting choice given to them and always come to search for documents on white there were given a specific choice i have not found but maybe somebody else well but i have to draw a conclusion that this prejudice among this patient was nfl 12 they're not going to adopt them and we will get to keep the money.

and there have been losses back and forth between the twowo nations the money and over the difference in the treaties but that is the biggest difference in the road differences in how much land is given to the free people in all of these treaties at the nation treaties also the only treaties not to have we call guilt clause to go for allying themselves with the confederacy. where's the other nation but they do have the treaties and sh another kind of part of the difference in they decided to educating their children predict know about the united states the strategic choice they made to buy into certain american things that ended up helping them out in multiple ways. >> thank you and we have a couple of other russians about the aftermath of months these

different tribes are required to have citizenship atlanta the free people and one is a question about boarding schools and the indian free people during the above of her today for the over center warnings was the same way that children work during this time in which about thatat briefly before. this is another question about you know, of course at this time, you the dots ruled lots of ways that united states government serve try to make sense of the populations of people and someone persons asking if it were pressure from indian free people to identify decided black or native on the census. and if that was a choice that people were able to make personally or one that was sort of force upon them. >> so there's a twitter account called chopsaw friedman from the two believe that undergrads at columbia, and there also

descendents and they have like a wealth of information eventually introduced me things i didn't know so they were talking about the boarding school the other day. more free people went there and i had never found anything to talk about free people being forced to go to boarding school with her many schools for black and native people unnecessarily like native people but african-american native people canri contact like the academy which gym signers written a book about there's also places like camp tenant schools. students went either voluntarily or forcibly and so those are examples of blackening people getting pushed into theo subservient role because these are really supposed to learn how to basically be a second-class citizen. and there are lots of interesting examples about how your an alliance with schools but also racism and prejudice is him against each other and your

second question, and so gosh 1960 think you didn't get to choose your own race so since this paper usually white person we come to your door and decide what race you are they something you look ten sometimes was in your household how they looked so my family actually in one instance as we are native and next census, wen are black and s a because else came to the door the next time and there are multiple reasons why. but it actually creates kind of an issue for historians and people doing this work because it can be hard to trace your family and to know can see if your point out what my family native a pet is the ratio leave because prices change all of the time.he and after the census i know that

in pacific thing when people check multiple boxes that i think maybe last census no while blast would like to ago that you could be multi ratio suddenly and another that was kind of early great for people who were able to finally have their whole identity and there's a lot of other mixed-race people. >> will be in that ties really well into we have time for one more question in a couple of questions and hear about your - and a couple of people interested in researching your family history so i wonder if you could talk a little bit about some of the challenges that you face in archives and oral tradition and thinking about methodology in the field and just kind of bringing these unheard voices to the forefront how the work in your own research and any advice you have for others interested in exploring their own familyy histories that are tied to this past. >> at my first word of advice is

the minute you start to think about it, start talking to people especially your elders and i waited too long and my elders have passed on which something i will always regret addicted to introduce some of them because i knew they would be important for me to have my family my book which they are. but also, you know, oral history and families is important and you want to make sure that they are interspersed with private sources and things you can also had appointed to simple, like this was a pattern the diktat just happened with my family or perhaps like with all of these other people in addition to mye family so the show something else about history and a certain prophecies happen pretty so for example, my second cousin there was the might be kind of treasure trove. >> told me about a story like great great-great-grandfather being told by his former owner

that he could ride in a horse as long as he could write in the horse any good live on that landed he did attend he had a very big piece of land until landlubber broke that up and it was like will okay this is legal but it's also kind of something like a tv show counted two other times in the archives peoplehe saying, the same thing and okay hopeless still, means that s is not just n kind of an exaggeratn or fabrication right means that okay it happened a few times maybe it was rare but is still shows the sort of relationship between five native people and to workinly applicable get asas much information as you can and use things like the dawes words and testimonies in place like ancestry .com and then use genealogical resources, the black native after eugenia's run by angela wilson - i went

there is a college student just printed and i got think this is my relative and they were amazing as of the community is certainly there ready and willing to help you predict and be humble because i think will want to find these really interesting part of our family history but find a certain thing because it could lead to heartbreak sometimes. >> i think that is good advice pretty think you so much doctor alaina roberts this was a wonderful conversation and i really appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us. >> if you are enjoying american history tv, for our newsletter using the qr code on the screen, to receive the weekly schedule of upcoming programs like tristan history, the presidency and more as sign up for the american history tv newsletter today about we should want emerging history tv every

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