Black/Indian Relations

THE FIRST-EVER COMMEMORATION OF THE SPECIAL ROLE PLAYED BY

AFRICAN AMERICANS AND BY THE TOWN OF HUMBOLDT, KANSAS

IN ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC SAGAS OF SURVIVAL, STRENGTH

AND TRIUMPH IN AMERICAN HISTORY

A COMMEMORATION OF

THE GREAT ESCAPE

of INDIANS and BLACKS

INTO KANSAS FROM CONFEDERACY-CONTROLLED “INDIAN TERRITORY”

During the bitterly cold winter of 1861/2 thousands of Creek, Cherokee, Shawnee, and Seminole Indians, a number of them with African ancestry, and several hundreds of blacks who had been slaves to Indians, fought their way toward Kansas in order to escape the Confederacy and link up with Union officials. Hundreds of them were brutally killed along the way or died in Kansas awaiting the promised help from Washington that was too slow to come. The Indians were seeking help to liberate their land and people and demand fulfillment of the many promises long made to them by the Federal Government. The former slaves sought their freedom, promised to them by Opothleyahola for assisting the escape. That promise was kept and ultimately became the basis for many Freedmen gaining full citizenship rights, land, and capital in the liberated lands of the Creek and Cherokee Nations. Many blacks stayed in Kansas, some of them with descendants still living in the greater Humboldt area.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER -- CHIEF L. PERRY BEAVER
PRINCIPAL CHIEF, MUSKOGEE (CREEK) NATION

The entire ceremony has been rendered in a DVD, available from the KIAANAFH. For the 10 minute INTRODUCTION of the DVD click here. This file, although compressed, will take about 6 minutes to download. It may require ExpressLink-Power DVD software to play efficiently (avaiable free on-line).
For three of the main speeches during the ceremony, click here. These speeches are by the ceremony organizer, and KIAANAFH President, Dr. Willard R. Johnson, and by County Commissioner William Linde, and by one of the key Humboldt Historic Days founders and organizers, Mrs. Eileen Robertson. The download will require about 30 minutes on most computers. The play time is about 35 minutes.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: click here for information regarding Opothleyahola Memorial Site in Leroy, Kansas

For information about a 4-county Heritage Tour area inspired by and based on the story commemorated in this Humboldt, Kansas ceremony, "Tracing Trails of Blood on Ice" Brochure page 1 click here

Brochure page 2

For a rough estimate of the route of the Escape (cir. early 1860s), click here

For a selected READING LIST regarding these events and their background, click here

Painting of Chief Opothleyahola

To see photographs from this ceremony, click here

For a copy of the full program of this ceremony, click here

To order a back issue containing an article about this story and ceremony that was published in the
Jan-Dec 2001 (Vol 64) Black History Bulletin, click this link ASALH - Black History Bulletin

For a verbatim tanscript of the most recent and authoritative discussion of "The Legacy and Future of Black/Indian Relations" held at the 57th Annual Meeting of the National Congress of American Indians, NCAI Session Transcript

The principal funding for this program came from KIAANAFH members.

Partial funding was provided by the Kansas Humanities Council, a nonprofit cultural organization encouraging the appreciation of history, heritage, and values

THE KANSAS INSTITUTE FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN
AND NATIVE AMERICAN FAMILY HISTORY

Resident Agent:
Mr. Eric Kirkwood
2530 N. 54th St.
Kansas City, KS 66104

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
(Kansas area ancestral base in parentheses)


OFFICERS PRESIDENT Dr. Willard R. Johnson Professor Emeritus of Political Science The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Humboldt - Leavenworth) VICE PRESIDENT Rev. Robert L. Baynham Pastor, Metropolitan Baptist Church Kansas City, KS (Kansas City, MO) TREASURER & CLERK Ms. Edith Walker secondary school math teacher (Hugoton) Resident Agent Mr. Eric Kirkwood Administrator, Sickle Cell Disease Program (Kansas City) OTHER BOARD MEMBERS Ms Deborah Dandridge Spencer Research Library University of Kansas	Mrs. Charlotte Goodseal Retired Educator (Humboldt) Mrs. Thirkelle Howard Administrator, Kansas State Univ (Wichita) Dr. Amber Reagan Kendrick Dean of Students, Donnelly College Kansas City, KS Rev. Khadijah Matin Trainer-Counselor NY Lutheran Medical Center (Oklahoma & Nebraska) Mr. Charles F. McAfee Architect (Wichita) Ms. Deborah Tucker Librarian Adamany Undergraduate Library Wayne State University

To join the KIAANAFH download and fill out this form and send payment of $25/yr ( payable to “KIAANAFH”) to the KIAANAFH Treasurer
Ms. Edith Walker
492 Beacon St. #76
Boston, MA 02115


for program matters, contact: Prof. Willard R. Johnson (KIAANAFH President) MIT E53-367 Cambridge, MA 02139 tel: 617 253 2952 fax 617 258 6164	for legal matters , contact: Mr. Eric Kirkwood (KIAANAFH Resident Agent) 2530 N. 54th St. Kansas City, KS 66104

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