Junteenth was celebrated today and yesterday in many parts of America.Came accross this short clip and wanted to share it with you all.Feel free to comment.

Sugar T. George a.k.a. George Sugar was born in approximately 1827, as a slave in the Muskogee Nation. This former slave from the Muskogee Nation went from poverty to prominence in his lifetime, serving in the House of Warriors, House of Kings, having been an African Town King, coming first from the town of North Fork, he emerged as a tribal leader in the nation of his birth. By the time of his death in 1900, Sugar T. George was also said to have been the "wealthiest Negro in the Territory." (1)

His father was Sorrow Pigeon, and his mother was Nancy Lovett. Sorry was a slave of David Pigeon, and George himself had been a slave of Mariah McIntosh. When the Dunn Roll was created, he was enrolled at that time as Sugar T. Hared. He was enrolled in the town of North Fork at the time.

He escaped form bondage when Opthole Yahola took a band of people into Kansas to avoid the war. He did not hesitate to join the Union Army serving in company "H" of the 1st Indian Home Guards. Because he could read and write and because of his natural skills as a leader he quickly became a 1st Sgt. in his unit. Historian Gary Zellar of the University of Arkansas, notes that while a soldier, Sugar George acted as the unofficial leader taking charge after the white officer and Indian officer had been dismissed for improper behavior. For some time the unit actually was run under his direction, although black soldiers were not to be elevated to any rank of authority as an officer. Thus this man remained as a 1st Sgt, though clearly could have been an officer.

In 1867 after the War, Sugar T. George was one of the first soldiers to file a claim as part of the Loyal Creeks. His claim for compensation can be found at the National Archives, as part of Record Group 75 (1) Among these documents his claim would be one of over 300 Freedmen, and of 60 black soldiers who served with the Indian Home Guards.

The next several years, Sugar T. George, rose to prominence, amassing money, and influence in the nation, and he subsequently rose to prominence. For some time he lived in North Fork, Colored Town, in the Creek Nation. He became a Town King, and served on the Muskogee Creek Nation Tribal Council.

He married twice in his lifetime, first to Mariah McIntosh and lived with her until she died in 1867. In 1876, he then married Betty Rentie. They were married by another prominent Freedman, Monday Durant. Sugar George and his wife, Betty had no children, but they adopted and raised James Sugar as their own son. (Also living with Sugar T. George at the time of the Dawes Enrollment were his step grandchildren, Rena, and Julia Sugar.)

During his lifetime, Sugar George had a strong reputation, and his name appeared on many critical documents. He served as witness for many people, and often he prepared letters for illiterate people in the community.

In addition to his being a veteran of the Union army, his serving as part of the leadership of the Muskogee nation, Sugar George had a strong interested in the plight of his people. Being a literate man himself, he supported educational causes of the Indian Territory Freedmen. He served on the board of the Tullahassee Mission School, a school for Creek and Seminole freedmen. Because of his strong sense of finance, he also was requested to keep the financial records of the school.

Sugar T. George died on June 30, 1900. He is buried in the Agency Cemetery in Muskogee. A beautiful gray granite tomb with large marble monument about five feet high with the following inscription:
"In memory of Rev. SUGAR GEORGE. Died July 31, 1900. Aged 82 years. The day is past and gone the evening shadows appear. O may we all remember well the night of death draws near." (3)



http://www.african-nativeamerican.com/sugar_t.htm




A significant number of Afro-Americans were sold, escaped or fled from Slavery and eventually settled in the West, where they were adopted by Indian tribes and accepted into the tribal structure as equals. Many even assumed roles of leadership.

Sugar George is buried under a five-foot marble marker in the now-abandoned Agency Cemetery. This burial ground is in complete abandon, off Highway 69 in Muskogee, behind a truck repair shop. Sugar George and other African leaders rest in the over-grown thicket, now forgotten by townspeople and historians alike. I tried so hard to get something written in his own hands. But as stated above the Creek nation like many Native American Nations are ashamed of their role in the Slave trade of Africans. Despite their first impression of this African being a human image of their sacred Buffalo. Because his skin was brown like the buffalo, his eyes dark like the buffalo, and his nostrils flared and strong like the buffalo, they thought of the African as a sacred being in human form. Greed can change a Human Being faster than the wind. My family was on the Trail of Tears with Wild Cat. It hurts me to my core to know that not even the MIGHTIEST of African WARRIORS are aknowledged as well as their offspring. Native Americans must open their eyes to their role in the enslavement of Africans and its lingering hold on the Nations. So that WARRIORS like Sugar can have their burial sites looked after like any other member of the tribe. shame and fear of the past has allowed weeds and growth to cover his tomb, but not his memory EVER... He shall never be forgotten no matter how hard the Creeks try. You can hide a lot of things, but the African influence is obvious in the Creek Nation flag and in the faces of many. I call this Great African Creek Leaders name out with great reverance SUGARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

Note---A visit to the Creek Council House in Okmulgee will provide little information on Sugar T. George, although he served on the tribal council of this nation for many years. Authorities will claim no knowledge of his history.

Picture is of Chief Black Eagle

Many of the Yamasee mixed in with the Seminole and moved to Oklahoma. In 1730 some of the Yamasee settled on the site of what is now Savannah Georgia and took on the name, "Yamacraw." The Yamasee originally resided in Georgia but moved to the Carolinas when Spanish settlers pushed them out of Savannah. The Yamasee then became allies with the British in the Tuscarora War of 1711. Just as the Spaniards did, the British as well turned on the Yamasee and took advantage of their "gentle" nature. After the Tuscarora War, The British took the Yamasee land at gunpoint and refused to pay the tribe for the land. The British then captured Yamasee women and children and sold them into slavery. In retaliation the Yamasee gathered their relative, neighboring tribes of the Apalachees, Choctaw, Chickasaw, the Creek Confederation, The fearsome Catawbas, and the Cherokees. This event was one of the largest Native American war parties in history called "The Yamasee Uprising." The Catawbas was formed from the remnants of other Native American tribes that were massacred by war and epidemics of the 17th century. The main tribes of the Catawba was made up of the Chowan, Cangaree, Nachee, Coosah, and the Yamasee. The term "Catawba" comes from the Yuchi words "Ko" meaning "People" and "Taba" meaning "Strong." The name "Catawba" was used primarily after 1715 but the name that this group originally went by was "Iswa." The Iswas called themselves "Iyeye" and "Nieye" which means "Real People" and were in reference to them being the original Native Americans whom were black. The Iswa are mentioned in early Spanish records by the name of "Isa" when referring to the black Moors of Spain. The word "Isa" is an Ashuric Syraic Arabic word used by Muslims for Jesus and the language of the Moors was Arabic. The Olmecs spoke a dialect of Nuwabu which is a Akkadian dialect of Nubia in Africa. In 1736 the Catawbas joined the Mu-skogee.

After the 1715 war, Native American power collapsed in the South. Many of the Yamasee escaped to Florida joining Negro slaves and other black tribes to form what would later be called the Seminole. The nucleus of the Seminole tribe was the Oconee who lived along the Oconee River in Georgia. The Oconee were part Hitchiti. The Oconee emigrated from the Oconee River Westward to the Chattahoochee River where they mixed in with the Lower Creeks. Many of these bands began to settle in Florida and became known as Seminole, which means "Runaway." Five tribes made up the Seminole which were the Oconee, Yamasse, Apalachicola, Yuchi, and Lower Creeks. In 1729 A Kashita chief named Captin Ellick married three Yuchi women and persuaded some of the Yuchi to move in with the Creeks, but Governor Ogelthorp of Georgia fearing this mass joining of the two nations agreed to give the Yuchi the rights to their own land. The final seize of land did not occur until 1751. The U.S. Government's concern was to keep the Indian nations segregated for fear of a mass uprising. Many of the Yamasee and the Oconee decided not to inter-marry into the red tribes and decided to keep their original "black" ancestry. Other Oconees and Yamasee did infact mix with other nations and produced black factions in almost every aboriginal tribe. There is a saying in the Shoshone tribe that states, "Coming full circle" in which is in reference to the original Natives being of African ancestry, loosing their African blood due to the mixing with Asians and Europeans and thousands of years later, mixing back into the vine. In a book entitled, "A Guide to Indian Tribes of Oklahoma" it states on page 228:

"The Seminole are one of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma. More than any
other of these tribes, they are a cosmopolitan Indian group. Both their men and
their women have always been remarkable in their appearance. The men particularly o the Tiger Clan , have a dark, copper-colored complexion . They are well develop in muscle and limb, and are capable of great physical endurance, a large head, square chest and face, and slightly aquiline nose are tribal characteristics. The women generally tend to average height or less. One ethnologist has stated that the three representatives types of a handsome and pretty, and comely woman coal be selected from the Seminole as the first tribe in rank among the American Indians for fine looking women."