As the Crow Flies Blog #12

On September 30, 2021, I was one of the presenters in a Zoom panel session titled “History Track” at the 2021 Online Symposium of Emory University titled “In the Wake of Slavery and Dispossession: Emory, Racism, and the Journey towards Restorative Justice.”  The panel session featured three papers. One paper was presented by me from Contra Costa College.  A second paper was presented by Dr. Lucas Kelley from Valparaiso University. A third paper was presented by Sheena Roetman and Laura Cummings Balgari from the Atlanta Indigenous Peoples Association.  The title of my paper is as follows: “Geechees and Other Gullahs in Georgia: Remembering Their Alliance with the Muscogee Nation During Enslavement Before and After the 1821 First Treaty of Indian Springs.”  The abstract for my paper is as follows: “This paper examines the alliance between Gullah Geechee people and the Muscogee Nation during the enslavement period before and after the 1821 First Treaty of Indian Springs.  It also examines how a subgroup of the Gullahs became known as Geechees and united with some Muscogee people to create the Seminole Nation. In addition, this paper details how the Okefenokee Swamp and other areas of southern Georgia became battle zones in the Seminole Wars. Furthermore, this paper examines some ways wherein the alliance between Geechees and Muscogees in the Seminole Nation impacted White slaveholders in northern Georgia, including the present-day Emory University area. A key goal of this paper is to enhance awareness of a dynamic relationship between Gullah Geechee people and Muscogee people and how it impacted others. It will provide new knowledge to many people regarding two groups who have faced slavery and dispossession.”