Despite recent gains, tribal citizens descended from slaves face disparate treatment

MCLOUD, Okla. (AP) — Tribal citizens whose ancestors were enslaved by citizens of several tribal nations in Oklahoma are starting to see more inclusive access to Native American health care, education and other social services, but barriers remain.

Federal and tribal agencies have worked in recent years to clarify eligibility requirements and train on-the-ground staff, but a report released by the Government Accountability Office ahead of Black History Month shows there is more work to be done when it comes to the treatment of Freedmen descendants.

The COVID-19 pandemic helped to lift the veil on what longtime activist Marilyn Vann called disparate treatment of the descendants. She pointed to high-profile cases in which people were denied vaccines and financial aid while the virus was surging.

“Certainly there are more doors open now, but that doesn’t undo the harm,” Vann said, adding that a “chilling effect” prevents many Freedmen descendants from seeking out services they’re entitled to.

The Cherokee, Seminole, Muscogee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations are among those whose citizens enslaved people in the 19th century. Following the Civil War, each signed treaties with the United States that abolished slavery and guaranteed tribal citizenship to Freedmen and their descendants.

Today, only the Cherokee Nation extends full citizenship to Freedmen descendants equal to “by blood” citizens under tribal law. The Seminole nation allows descendants to vote and sit on the general council but restricts their access to certain benefits of tribal citizenship. Freedmen descendants of the Muscogee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations currently are denied tribal citizenship altogether.

The GAO report found that enrolled Cherokee and Seminole Freedmen descendants are sometimes asked for proof of “Indian blood” when seeking aid, and that the Seminole Nation has effectively blacklisted the descendants from receiving federally funded housing, education and elder assistance.

“It’s important to shine a bright light on this 21st century racism,” Vann said.

A chilling effect

John Beecham, a Freedman citizen of the Cherokee Nation, knew he was eligible for a low-cost education at Haskell Indian Nations University. In 2020, he decided to apply when the school shifted to remote learning.

A few weeks later, he received a letter from the federally run tribal college in Kansas asking for documents proving his degree of “Indian blood.”

“It felt wrong, like I was being treated unfairly,” said Beecham, who had provided his enrollment card as proof of tribal citizenship.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin stepped in to verify Beecham’s citizenship and urged Haskell to consider his application. After months of delay, the school reversed course and said Beecham should 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 Beecham, who was unsettled by the experience and chose not to reapply.

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 enough to prove eligibility.

An agency spokesperson said the Bureau of Indian Education can’t confirm whether any Freedmen descendants have enrolled in its schools in recent years because it does not differentiate such descendants from other tribal citizens in its records.

Beecham, who now works for a rail technology company in California, has “made peace” with the incident but said he would likely be making a higher salary if Haskell had admitted him to a bachelor’s program. He hasn’t sought any other services for tribal citizens since.

Other descendants have been persistent.

Mark McClain, a Freedmen citizen of the Cherokee Nation, conducted an informal audit of Indian Health Service clinics around Oklahoma. Between 2018 and 2020, he said six clinics asked for proof of “Indian blood” before establishing him as a patient. When he pushed back, McClain said he was sometimes met with hostility from IHS staff.

In 2021, after a review of its own policies, the agency clarified that Freedmen descendants need only prove their citizenship in a federally recognized tribe to receive IHS care. The agency also provided training to staff in its Oklahoma City service area on how to properly assess eligibility.

As a result, McClain is served by the Kickapoo Tribal Health Center that once turned him away.

Locked out of assistance

The GAO review found that the Seminole Nation excludes Freedmen descendants from federally funded programs administered by the tribe on technicalities. For example, elder assistance, college scholarships and burial stipends are available through a fund only accessible to tribal citizens who have a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood and are descended from 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 points system that, according to the GAO, prioritizes “by blood” citizens of all tribes and awards Seminole Freedmen descendants 0 points for priority consideration.

Freedmen descendants already are disenfranchised by the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow segregation in Oklahoma, said Loretta Osborne-Sampson, who represents one of two Seminole Freedmen bands on the tribe’s general council.

“Our hope is that our own tribe can have a heart and recognize that we’re 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 locks them out of assistance.

The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma did not respond to emailed questions about eligibility for its federally funded social programs.

The pursuit of recognition

Freedmen descendants in the Choctaw and the Chickasaw nations currently are not recognized as tribal members and do not have access to tribal services like health care, education or housing.

Last year, the Muscogee Nation Supreme Court struck down a constitutional requirement adopted in the 1970s that required citizens to be Muscogee “by blood,” paving the way for Freedmen descendants to enroll in the tribe.

The ruling, however, hasn’t been enforced.

In a status report provided to the court in December, Principal Chief David Hill said the tribe’s national council will need to adopt new laws and potentially amend the constitution before citizenship can be extended to Freedmen descendants. The Muscogee Nation did not respond to e-mailed questions about the timeline for these changes.

Hoskin of the Cherokee Nation has called slavery a “moral stain” on his tribe’s history. In an interview, he expressed optimism that other tribes will eventually recognize their Freedmen descendants.

“(Freedmen descendants) want to be seen and they want their story to be understood after it’s been suppressed for many generations” Hoskin said. “That’s going to take time.”

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Peters reported from Edgewood, New Mexico.