Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-10
RICH CREEK NEGROES.
Live In Indian Territory and Are De-
scendants of Slaves.

From the New York Tribune.
The richest community OF negroes in the
United States live In Indian territory.
There are 1000 Of them, and they are worth
on an average of 5000 each. The wealth
of the more Industrious foot up even high
er, certain individuals being the owners of
from $4,000 to $4,000 worth of land each.
These negroes are the descendants of
slaves Of the Creek tribe of Indians, and
are known as Creek negroes. They are
entitled to share in the division of Creek
Indian lands, also part of the trust funds.
Together the 1909 negroes own 20 600 600
acres or land. And yet their education is
1ar from complete. Their social environ
ments are crude in the extreme and prog
ress goes slowly amid their huts and fields
Cnilke the other Indians of the rich five
civilized tribes. the Creeks insisted upon
freeing their slaves to give them an euua |
snare In their lands and money At that
time there were few slaves but the number
grew through descendants, until now fully
f!"o nave laid successful claim to a head
right on the Creek rolls of citizenship
They have their own representatives in the
| Creek Indian legislature, their own schools
and their own churches. Everything bids
fair to make them the model community of
negroes in the United States when India N
territory is recovered from the tangled
wilderness of reconstruction, its laws made
uniform and itself state of the Union
Iner is little culture among the Creek
negroes They have a social set all their
own. to which not even the Indians are in
vited. Their characteristics are in a great
measure different from the negro of the
south or the north 1t is a mixture of both
with additional peculiarities
Like the Indians. these negroes have
their dances in the open, which have come
to be a sort Of religion with them And
following in the footsteps of the southern
negro, they have barbecues, possum hunts
and the like. AS a northern type of the
negro they are more Industrious and indie
pendent of the whites, know how to work
hard and save their money, and like the
type from the city, are well dressed-gaudi-
ly, but at the same time wearing expensive
clothes.
These 1900 Creek negroes live in a tract
of rich land called the Canadian river bot
TOMS and Okmulgee is their town and trad
ing point Okmulgee is the capital of the
Creek Indian nation, and has been for years
negro town. Recently. however white
people fiocked in and have taken possession.
The negroes are starting their own towns
along the branch Of the Frisco railroad.
Notwithstanding that many of these Creek
negroes are Industrious there are some
among them who rent out their estates and
lounge in fdieness about the railway sta
tfons 1t Is a common sight to see a 500
acre tract of rich land in the Canadian bot
toms being titled by a white man. Invari-
ably. upon inquiry as to his landlord, he
will refer TO the negro owner In no compli-
mentary terms. Meanwhile one will find
the owner shooting craps or enjoying him
self eating turkey and 'possum in a neigh
boring village.
When the Creeks freed their negroes in
1864 the two fraterniZed for time and
even intermarried. but that has all passed
now. In accordance with the terms grant
ing their freedom the Creek negroes are
allowed voice in the tribal government
and so they have their own members in the
council, have their own schools and all
that; but the Creek Indian feels above the
Creek negro and refuses to associate with
him.