The Choctaw Freedmen of Skullyville: Uncovering an Oklahoma Ghost Town
Advertisement
Fort Smith Museum of History to Host Author Angela Walton-Raji for Book Signing and Historical Program
FORT SMITH, AR. — The Fort Smith Museum of History invites the public to a special author presentation and book signing featuring nationally recognized genealogist, historian, and author Angela Walton-Raji, who will discuss her newest book, The Choctaw Freedmen of Skullyville: Uncovering an Oklahoma Ghost Town, on Friday, August 14, at 6:00 p.m.
In this compelling presentation, Walton-Raji explores the forgotten history of Skullyville, once one of the earliest and most important communities in the Choctaw Nation. Located in present-day LeFlore County, Oklahoma, Skullyville served as an important community in Indian Territory before eventually fading into a ghost town. Through decades of research, Walton-Raji uncovers the stories of the enslaved men, women, and children of African descent who were forcibly removed on the Trail of Tears during the Choctaw removal to Indian Territory—voices that were largely omitted from earlier historical accounts of the town and its people.
They endured decades of enslavement before witnessing emancipation following the Civil War. Walton-Raji also examines how many established new lives after abolition, tracing the enduring legacy of the Choctaw Freedmen and their descendants while preserving a history that has too often been overlooked.
The program also highlights Fort Smith's significant place in this history. In April 1866, Choctaw and Chickasaw leaders gathered in Fort Smith to sign the post-Civil War Treaty of 1866, officially abolishing slavery within their nations and promising citizenship and suffrage to those formerly enslaved. This pivotal moment forever connected Fort Smith to the story of the Choctaw Freedmen and the rebuilding of Indian Territory following the Civil War.
"Fort Smith has long served as a crossroads where significant chapters of American, Native American, and African American history intersect," said Caroline Speir, Executive Director of the Fort Smith Museum of History. "Angela Walton-Raji's research offers an opportunity to examine an important chapter of our region's past through the experiences of the Choctaw Freedmen and their descendants."
Angela Walton-Raji is internationally respected for her pioneering work in genealogy, historical research, and the history of the Freedmen of the Five Tribes. After discovering records documenting her own family's history as Choctaw Freedmen in 1991, she devoted her career to researching the lives of thousands of Freedmen from the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole Nations.
Her groundbreaking book, Black Indian Genealogy Research, published in 1993, was the first genealogical guide devoted to researching the Freedmen communities of the Five Tribes. Her work led to national recognition, including participation in the National Endowment for the Humanities' My History Is America's History project, later featured in Parade magazine. During the 1990s, she became a featured speaker for numerous programs sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and was the first and only genealogist at the time to present regular genealogy lectures at the National Museum of the American Indian in both Washington, D.C., and New York.
Walton-Raji is the recipient of the Milton Stern Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Genealogical Society and has served as a historical advisor for the feature film Sarah's Oil. In addition to her research and writing on Oklahoma Freedmen history, she continues to support public understanding of Freedmen history through lectures, research, and community engagement. She is the host of The Freedmen Files, a weekly podcast dedicated to the history of the more than 20,000 Freedmen of the Five Tribes, and her areas of specialty include Oklahoma Native American records, Arkansas Black history, and Civil War history on the western frontier.
Following the presentation, Walton-Raji will sign copies of The Choctaw Freedmen of Skullyville: Uncovering an Oklahoma Ghost Town, which will be available for purchase.
Event Information:
• The Choctaw Freedmen of Skullyville: Uncovering an Oklahoma Ghost Town
• Author Presentation & Book Signing with Angela Walton-Raji
• Friday, August 14
• 6:00 p.m.
• Fort Smith Museum of History
320 Rogers Avenue
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Admission is free for Fort Smith Museum of History members. Regular museum admission applies to non-members.
Tickets are available at fortsmithmuseum.org
FORT SMITH, AR. — The Fort Smith Museum of History invites the public to a special author presentation and book signing featuring nationally recognized genealogist, historian, and author Angela Walton-Raji, who will discuss her newest book, The Choctaw Freedmen of Skullyville: Uncovering an Oklahoma Ghost Town, on Friday, August 14, at 6:00 p.m.
In this compelling presentation, Walton-Raji explores the forgotten history of Skullyville, once one of the earliest and most important communities in the Choctaw Nation. Located in present-day LeFlore County, Oklahoma, Skullyville served as an important community in Indian Territory before eventually fading into a ghost town. Through decades of research, Walton-Raji uncovers the stories of the enslaved men, women, and children of African descent who were forcibly removed on the Trail of Tears during the Choctaw removal to Indian Territory—voices that were largely omitted from earlier historical accounts of the town and its people.
They endured decades of enslavement before witnessing emancipation following the Civil War. Walton-Raji also examines how many established new lives after abolition, tracing the enduring legacy of the Choctaw Freedmen and their descendants while preserving a history that has too often been overlooked.
The program also highlights Fort Smith's significant place in this history. In April 1866, Choctaw and Chickasaw leaders gathered in Fort Smith to sign the post-Civil War Treaty of 1866, officially abolishing slavery within their nations and promising citizenship and suffrage to those formerly enslaved. This pivotal moment forever connected Fort Smith to the story of the Choctaw Freedmen and the rebuilding of Indian Territory following the Civil War.
"Fort Smith has long served as a crossroads where significant chapters of American, Native American, and African American history intersect," said Caroline Speir, Executive Director of the Fort Smith Museum of History. "Angela Walton-Raji's research offers an opportunity to examine an important chapter of our region's past through the experiences of the Choctaw Freedmen and their descendants."
Angela Walton-Raji is internationally respected for her pioneering work in genealogy, historical research, and the history of the Freedmen of the Five Tribes. After discovering records documenting her own family's history as Choctaw Freedmen in 1991, she devoted her career to researching the lives of thousands of Freedmen from the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole Nations.
Her groundbreaking book, Black Indian Genealogy Research, published in 1993, was the first genealogical guide devoted to researching the Freedmen communities of the Five Tribes. Her work led to national recognition, including participation in the National Endowment for the Humanities' My History Is America's History project, later featured in Parade magazine. During the 1990s, she became a featured speaker for numerous programs sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and was the first and only genealogist at the time to present regular genealogy lectures at the National Museum of the American Indian in both Washington, D.C., and New York.
Walton-Raji is the recipient of the Milton Stern Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Genealogical Society and has served as a historical advisor for the feature film Sarah's Oil. In addition to her research and writing on Oklahoma Freedmen history, she continues to support public understanding of Freedmen history through lectures, research, and community engagement. She is the host of The Freedmen Files, a weekly podcast dedicated to the history of the more than 20,000 Freedmen of the Five Tribes, and her areas of specialty include Oklahoma Native American records, Arkansas Black history, and Civil War history on the western frontier.
Following the presentation, Walton-Raji will sign copies of The Choctaw Freedmen of Skullyville: Uncovering an Oklahoma Ghost Town, which will be available for purchase.
Event Information:
• The Choctaw Freedmen of Skullyville: Uncovering an Oklahoma Ghost Town
• Author Presentation & Book Signing with Angela Walton-Raji
• Friday, August 14
• 6:00 p.m.
• Fort Smith Museum of History
320 Rogers Avenue
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Admission is free for Fort Smith Museum of History members. Regular museum admission applies to non-members.
Tickets are available at fortsmithmuseum.org
Advertisement
Where is it happening?
320 Rogers Ave, Fort Smith, AR, United States, Arkansas 72901
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherFort Smith Museum of History
