Freedmen - Freed Men!
Peace Corps Online: Directory: Sierra Leone: Special Report: Historian and Anthropologist Sierra Leone RPCV Joseph Opala: April 21, 2002: Headlines: COS - Sierra Leone: Black Studies: Anthropology: Native American Issues: Nathaniel Turner: The Seminoles did not exist when Europeans colonized the United States. The anthropologist Joseph Opala argues that they are not a Native American tribe at all, but "an Afro-Indian tribe" that coalesced in the mid-1700's when refugees from other tribes came together in the Florida wilderness with runaway slaves from the lower South. The origins of the tribe are suggested in the name Seminole, which has been translated as "runaway," "separatist" or "pioneer." : Freedmen - Freed Men!
By Ms Alfreda Doonkeen (adsl-70-233-139-131.dsl.okcyok.sbcglobal.net - 70.233.139.131) on Saturday, May 05, 2007 - 11:55 am: Edit Post

This is in regards to Ms. Sylvia Davis' statements regarding her Seminole Blood within the Great Seminole Nation of Oklahoma tribal context; Our Seminole tribal laws never excluded any tribal member who was in fact descended of the Seminole bloodline. We, as a tribe encourage those who can prove the lineage and not simply by freedmen association. Billy Bowlegs was a wealthy Seminole in 1858 and had a very large number of slaves (Littlefield, Daniel F., Jr. -American Native Press Archives, Sequoyah Research Center, 2007), 50 slaves and $100,000.

Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: