Juneteenth wasn’t the end of slavery in America. Here’s what history left out.
Slavery didn't come to an end until 1866, when five so-called “civilized” Native American tribes signed treaties with the U.S. government that finally freed the Black people they had enslaved.
Juneteenth has been called America’s second Independence Day, and surely it is a glorious occasion worth commemorating, but it is important to remember that Juneteenth was not the end of slavery.
The Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to the border states, nor to Northern states where slavery was technically still legal (like Pennsylvania). The 13th Amendment ended slavery in those states and all states in December of 1865.
But the 13th Amendment did not end slavery in all of America either. Thousands of Black people remained enslaved after its ratification, held in chains by the so-called Five Civilized Tribes.
The Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek (or Muscogee), and Seminole nations were considered “civilized” because they adopted, in order to better assimilate with white people, an American way of life in governance, economy, religion, and attire. Part of being “civilized” included being an enslaver, so the Five Civilized Tribes began enslaving Black people.
By 1861, more than 8,000 Black people were enslaved throughout the Indian Territory.
The Cherokee Nation was the largest enslaver, holding 4,600 Black people in bondage in 1860. Enslaved Black people made the grueling march with their captors on the Trail of Tears, and then helped them rebuild their new life in Indian Territory. The Cherokee forced their enslaved laborers to work as translators, interpreters, maids, butlers, and farmhands.
The Choctaw Nation counted 2,298 enslaved Black people in 1860. Choctaw leaders saw enslaved workers as economic commodities that could be used for international trade, and also as a tool to increase their social status among white people.
Choctaw military and political leader Peter P. Pitchlynn, principal chief from 1864-1866, enslaved 81 Black people. Choctaw business mogul Robert M. Jones enslaved more than 500.
The Chickasaw Nation held 917 Black people in slavery in 1860. They were forced to work as interpreters, servants, wagoners, blacksmiths, and carpenters. Black people cut and shaped stone masonry on Chickasaw buildings and built public and private Chickasaw dwellings with their bare hands.
As an expression of love, Chickasaw parents would often present an enslaved Black person as a gift to their daughters on their wedding day.
The Muscogee (Creek) forced Black people to work in the deerskin trade, and as farmers, blacksmiths, cowboys, horse trainers, interpreters, and boatman. They traded enslaved Black people for English-made guns, which made them the best-armed and most feared Native Americans in the Southeast.
The Seminole Nation is well-known for providing a safe haven for Black people who fled bondage, but they enslaved Black people, too. British officials would present Seminole chiefs with gifts of enslaved Black people to strengthen alliances, and the Seminoles themselves enslaved Black people that they captured from other tribes.
Because Native nations are not states, the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment did not apply to the Five Civilized Tribes, which supported the Confederacy during the Civil War.
After the South’s defeat, the tribes had to sign new treaties with the U.S. government. The tribes had to agree, as punishment for siding with the Confederacy, to give up a large portion of their territory, and among other tenets, outlaw slavery in their lands.
The new treaty terms came into effect in the spring and summer of 1866, and then and only then did slavery come to an end in America (unless you have been convicted of a crime).
The end of slavery in the Five Civilized Tribes doesn’t necessarily necessitate a holiday, but we could do our ancestors justice by putting a spotlight on Black people enslaved by Native Americans — an often-overlooked group — and including them in discussions and celebrations about the end of slavery.
So this Juneteenth, rejoice, to the high heavens, for Black people in Texas who escaped from hell on Earth and found freedom, but save a few moments of silence for their brothers and sisters in Indian Territory and elsewhere who were still in chains, still yearning to be free.
Greg Johnson is a writer and editor in Philadelphia, and the creator of “The History of Black Philadelphia” Facebook page. He is working on a book about the history of Black people in Philadelphia. gregjohnson1804@gmail.com