S A A TUDIES IN FRICAN MERICAN H C ISTORY AND ULTURE Edited By Graham Russell Hodges Colgate University A R S OUTLEDGE ERIES S A A TUDIES IN FRICAN MERICAN H C ISTORY AND ULTURE GRAHAM RUSSELL HODGES, General Editor PROPHETS OF RAGE “WHITE” AMERICANS IN “BLACK” The Black Freedom Struggle in San AFRICA Francisco, 1945–1969 Black and White American Methodist Daniel Crowe Missionaries in Liberia, 1820–1875 Eunjin Park AN UNDERGROWTH OF FOLLY Public Order, Race Anxiety, and the THE ORIGINS OF THE AFRICAN 1903 Evansville, Indiana Riot AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, Brian Butler 1865–1956 Aimin Zhang UPLIFTING THE WOMEN AND THE RACE The Educational Philosophies and RELIGIOSITY, COSMOLOGY, AND Social Activism of Anna Julia FOLKLORE Cooper and Nannie Helen The African Influence in the Novels Burroughs of Toni Morrison Karen A.Johnson Therese E.Higgins GRASS ROOTS REFORM IN THE SOMETHING BETTER FOR OUR BURNED—OVER DISTRICT OF NEW CHILDREN YORK Black Organizing in Chicago Public Religion, Abolitionism, and Schools, 1963–1971 Democracy Dionne Danns Judith Wellman TEACH THE NATION W.E.B. DU BOIS Public School, Racial Uplift, and The Quest for the Abolition of the Women’s Writing in the 1890s Color Line Anne-Elizabeth Murdy Zhang Juguo THE ART OF THE BLACK ESSAY AFRICANS AND INDIANS From Meditation to Transcendence An Afrocentric Analysis of Contacts Cheryl B.Butler Between Africans and Indians in Colonial Virginia SOCIAL TEACHING OF THE PROGRESSIVE Barbara A.Faggins NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION NEW YORK’S BLACK REGIMENTS A Critical Analysis of the Least, the DURING THE CIVIL WAR Lost, and the Left Out William Seraile Albert A.Avant, Jr. JESUIT SLAVEHOLDING IN MARYLAND, EMERGING AFRIKAN SURVIVALS 1717–1838 An Afrocentric Critical Theory Thomas Murphy, S.J. Kemau Kemayó S LAVERY IN THE C N HEROKEE ATION The Keetoowah Society and the Defining of a People 1855–1867 Patrick N.Minges Routledge New York & London Published in 2003 by Routledge 29 West 35th Street New York, NY 10001 www.routledge-ny.com Published in Great Britain by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane London EC4P 4EE www.routledge.co.uk Copyright © 2003 by Taylor & Francis Books, Inc. Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Minges, Patrick N. (Patrick Neal), 1954– Slavery in the Cherokee Nation: the Keetowah Society and the defining of a people, 1855–1867/by Patrick N.Minges p. cm.—(Studies in African American history & culture) ISBN 0-415-94586-0 (alk. paper) 1. Keetowah Society. 2. Cherokee Indians—Societies, etc. 3. Cherokee Indians—Ethnic identity. 4. Secret societies—Oklahoma—History. 5. African Americans—Relations with Indians. 6. Slavery—Southern States—History. 7. Slavery—Oklahoma—History. 8. Ex-slaves of Indian tribes—Oklahoma. I. Title. II. Studies in African American history and culture. E99.C5M56 2003 973.7'09766–dc21 2003011565 ISBN 0-203-49675-2 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-60413-X (Adobe eReader Format) Dedicated to the memory of James Melvin Washington scholar, mentor, friend Contents Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Chapter One: Red, White, and Black in the Old South 5 Matters of the Heart 5 Early Points of Contact 7 The “Old Ways” 13 Contact and Conquest in Early America 20 The Birth of a Nation 22 The Building of a New World 24 Chapter Two: “Civilization” and Its Discontents 29 The First Awakening 29 The Beginnings of “Civilization” 32 Religion and Resistance 37 A Land of Their Own 47 Chapter Three: The Birth and Growth of the Keetoowah Society 55 Indian Pioneers 55 A Peculiar Institution 57 The Baptist Churches and Slavery in Indian Territory 65 The Birth of the Keetoowah Society 71 The Keetoowah Society 73 The Keetoowah Mission to other Nations 85 Chapter Four: “Between Two Fires” 95 The End of Secrecy and the Birth of the “Pins” 95 “A Position of Neutrality” 98 The Shadow of War 100 Into the Fire 104 The Confederate Cherokee 107 The Civil War Comes to Indian Territory 110 A Turning Point 116 The Mourning After 119 vii Chapter Five: “So Laudable an Enterprise” 127 The Nakedest of the Naked 127 The Home Front 130 “So Laudable an Enterprise” 135 Homecoming 139 Fraught with Danger, Distress, and Ruin 146 A New Nation 150 The Turning Point 154 Chapter Six: “The Most Sacred Obligations” 159 His Terrible Swift Sword 159 “An Indian shall not spill an Indian’s blood” 164 Thorough Harmony 165 The Birth of a New Nation 170 Reconstructing a Nation 179 A New Mission 184 Conclusion: Identity and Ideology 193 Epilogue 199 Notes 201 Bibliography 265 Index 289 Illustrations 1. Stand Watie—leader of the Knights of the Golden Circle 90 2. Louis Downing—leader of the Keetoowah Society 91 3. Opothle Yahola—leader of the Mvskoke 92 4. Keetoowah Society with wampum and stickball implements near Gore, OK., in 1917 93 5. Keetoowah Society stomp dance at ceremonial round near Gore, OK., in 1917 94 ix