Trail Sisters: Freedwomen in Indian Territory, 1850–1890

Title & Copyright

Plains Histories John R. Wunder, Series Editor Editorial Board Durwood Ball Peter Boag Sarah Carter Pekka Hämäläinen Jorge Iber Todd M. Kerstetter Clara Sue Kidwell Patricia Nelson Limerick Victoria Smith Also in Plains Histories America’s 100th Meridian: A Plains Journey, by Monte Hartman American Outback: The Oklahoma Panhandle in the Twentieth Century, by Richard Lowitt As a Farm Woman Thinks: Life and Land on the Texas High Plains, 1890–1960, by Nellie Witt Spikes; edited by Geoff Cunfer Children of the Dust, by Betty Grant Henshaw; edited by Sandra Scofield The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska–Pine Ridge Border Towns, by Stew Magnuson Free Radical: Ernest Chambers, Black Power, and the Politics of Race, by Tekla Agbala Ali Johnson From Syria to Seminole: Memoir of a High Plains Merchant, by Ed Aryain; edited by J’Nell Pate “I Do Not Apologize for the Length of This Letter”: The Mari Sandoz Letters on Native American Rights, 1940–1965, edited by Kimberli A. Lee Indigenous Albuquerque, by Myla Vicenti Carpio Nikkei Farmer on the Nebraska Plains: A Memoir, by The Reverend Hisanori Kano; edited by Tai Kreidler The Notorious Dr. Flippin: Abortion and Consequence in the Early Twentieth Century, by Jamie Q. Tallman Oysters, Macaroni, and Beer: Thurber, Texas, and the Company Store, by Gene Rhea Tucker Railwayman’s Son: A Plains Family Memoir, by Hugh Hawkins Rights in the Balance: Free Press, Fair Trial, and Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart, by Mark R. Scherer Ruling Pine Ridge: Oglala Lakota Politics from the IRA to Wounded Knee, by Akim D. Reinhardt Where the West Begins: Debating Texas Identity, by Glen Sample Ely Women on the North American Plains, edited by Renee M. Laegreid and Sandra K. Mathews Trail Sisters Freedwomen in Indian Territory, 1850–1890 Linda Williams Reese Foreword by John R. Wunder Texas Tech University Press Copyright © 2013 by Linda Williams Reese Unless otherwise indicated, maps by Charles R. Goins and Danney Goble in the Historical Atlas of Oklahoma, 4th ed., copyright © 2006 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including electronic storage and retrieval systems, except by explicit prior written permission of the publisher. Brief passages excerpted for review and critical purposes are excepted. This book is typeset in Amasis MT Standard. The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997). Designed by Kasey McBeath Cover photo credits: (top) University of Oklahoma Press © 2006; (bottom) Research Division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Reese, Linda Williams, 1946– Trail sisters : freedwomen in Indian Territory, 1850–1890 / Linda Williams Reese ; foreword by John R. Wunder. pages cm. — (Plains histories) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-89672-810-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-89672811 -0 (e-book) 1. African Americans—Relations with Indians. 2. African American women—Indian Territory—History—19th century. 3. Ex-slaves of Indian tribes— Indian Territory—History. 4. Indians of North America—Mixed descent. 5. Slavery —Oklahoma—History. 6. Oklahoma—Race relations. 7. United States—Race relations. I. Title. E98.R28R44 2013 305.48'896073—dc23 2013011211 Printed in the United States of America 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 / 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Texas Tech University Press Box 41037 | Lubbock, Texas 79409-1037 USA 800.832.4042 | ttup@ttu.edu | www.ttupress.org The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned. Maya Angelou ...