Hallo AskHistorians,
I found this quote in a book from the end of the 19th century (1875).
This place is named from the Wichita Indians, who, with a portion of the Cad- does, remained loyal to the government during the late rebellion, and were driven from their homes in the south-west by the more civilized Indians, many of whom, having become possessed of negro slaves, sympathized with the Confederate States, and made war upon those who remained loyal. The latter fled to this place, and, making their camp here, remained until after the close of the war, when they returned to their country, in the south-western part of Indian Territory.
I was curious about the truth in this. Did First Nations Americans actually keep African slaves? Was it a very large population? What happened to the slaves after the Emancipation Declaration, would they have had trouble integrating back into the African American society of the time after living tribal life? Did any of the former First Nations' slaves write their accounts?
Thanks so much for your time and answers!
Native American slaveholders were definitely a thing. This is something that happened in areas where Native Americans came closest to adopting Western customs (including chattel slavery). Most famously this occurred amongst the nations that were subject to the Trail of Tears, like the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw, with some individuals becoming substantial planters and slaveholders. During expulsion enslaved people generally accompanied their slaveholders to oklahoma where they were enslaved and where slavery did not end after 1865 but continued into the 1870s. Afterwards, former slaves were not given tribal membership and had a hard time getting US citizenship and were effectively stateless until the federal government forced the native americans to grant them citizenship. I know of no narratives by people enslaved by these groups, but they may exist..