The Real Relationship Between The Native Americans and Black Americans in The Movie Sinners
Disclaimer: This is not an indictment on all Native Americans, just the systematic policies of the Choctaw Nation. It is worth mentioning that Native American tribes like the Seminole Indians were allies to the Black community. The Seminole Indians were arguably the greatest allies Black Americans have had.
After seeing the movie Sinners, My sister texted me asking if I knew the relationship between the Choctaw Indians and the Irish. I decided to ask Chat GPT, Which then made me curious to look into the relationship between Choctaw Indians and Black Americans.
I, along with. many other people wanted to see the Choctaw Indians more in the film.
Based off what I learned about the Choctaw Nation, I can’t say they would have helped the Black Characters in the movie or that they wouldn’t have betrayed the Black characters.
Sinners is a movie, and Ryan Coogler made the movie how he wanted to make it. Whether it was intentional or not, the fact that the film did not shown any solidarity between the Choctow Indians with Black people, is historically accurate.
Fast facts:
1. A Choctaw Indian household was more likely than white Southerners to own Black people as slaves.
Many of us heard of the “Trail of Tears” in which Native Americans were force able removed from their land to Western America, causing atleast 15,000 deaths.
The Choctaw Indians brought their enslaved Africans with them on the Trail of Tears.
2. During the civil war the Choctaw Nation. sided with the Confederacy to keep slavery.
They passed a measure requiring all white people living on Choctaw territory to “swear allegiance to the Confederacy and deemed any criticism of it or its army treasonous and punishable by death”
3. The Choctaw Nation established a form of segregation and stripped Black people of rights, citizen ship equal access to land, and voting rights and the right to hold political office within the Choctaw Nation tribal government .
4. To this day the Choctaw Nation denies rights, citizenship, healthcare, education grants, housing assistance, and the right to vote in tribal elections.
Choctaw Nation Slaveholders
“In proportion to population size, the number of slaves held by the Choctaw and Chickasaw was significant — comparable to the elite planter class of the South.”
— Daniel F. Littlefield Jr., Africans and Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws
(More Proof below)
Chat GPT generated response :
Choctaw Slave holders
By the Numbers:
White Southerners (1860 U.S. Census):
• Total white population in the South: ~8 million
• Number of individual white slaveholders: ~385,000
• That’s about 4.8% of individual white Southerners who owned slaves.
Choctaw Nation (circa 1860):
• Tribal population: ~13,000 — 14,000
• Enslaved people held: ~2,300
• Estimated number of Choctaw slaveholders: ~1,000 — 1,200
• That’s roughly 8 — 10% of individual Choctaws.
So yes, on a per-person basis, Choctaw individuals were 2 — 3 times more likely than white Southerners to be slaveholders.
Why That Matters:
• It challenges the myth that Native involvement in slavery was minimal or reluctant.
• It shows that the Choctaw elite deliberately aligned themselves with the Southern plantation system, both economically and ideologically.
• Some Choctaw leaders advocated for slavery, wrote slave codes, and even fought for the Confederacy.
Quote Supporting This:
Henry S. Halbert and Timothy H. Ball, 1893 (The Creek War of 1813 and 1814, discussing Choctaw attitudes)
“Among the Choctaws, Negroes were held as property, and their social status was that of the lowest grade. There were rare instances of affection or intermarriage, but they were exceedingly uncommon and generally disapproved.”
Meaning: Among Choctaws, interracial marriage with Black people was rare and frowned upon.
After slavery, for the past 150 plus years , the Choctaw Nation has systematically stripped Black people of their rights and citizenship.
After slavery the Choctaw established a system of segregation. on their territory.
Black Choctaw Indians were denied access to land, political rights such as voting rights and the right to hold office within the Choctow Nation tribal government.
As recent as 2020 the chief of the Choctaw Nation wrote a letter to. Nanci Pelosi to try to strip Black Choctaw Indians, (the descendants Black people the Choctaw enslaved) of their rights and citizenship.
The Choctaw Nation were allies with the Irish, but were enemies to Black Americans.
Generated Chat GPT Response regarding the historical relationship. of the Choctaw Indians and Irish people vs Choctaw Indians and Black :
Historically, the Choctaw and Irish have a real bond. It began in 1847, during the Irish Potato Famine.
At that time, Ireland was suffering horribly — millions were starving. The Choctaw Nation, who had justsurvived their own tragedy (the brutal “Trail of Tears” forced relocation by the U.S. government), heard about the Irish suffering.
Even though the Choctaw themselves were poor and had lost thousands of their own people, they collected and sent about $170 ($5,000+ in today’s money) to help Irish famine victims.
This was one of the earliest major international acts of solidarity.
The Irish people never forgot that act of generosity from the Choctaw.
Since then, the Choctaw and Irish have honored this connection:
In 2017, Irish citizens raised money for Native American causes, including during COVID-19 for the Navajo and Hopi Nations, in direct tribute to the Choctaw’s help long ago.
In Ireland, there is a permanent sculpture called the “Kindred Spirits” monument in Cork, shaped like a circle of eagle feathers, built to honor the Choctaw gift.
In short:
The Choctaw and Irish bond was born out of shared suffering and mutual compassion.
Both peoples were victims of colonialism and oppression — and they supported each other across an ocean, even when they had almost nothing themselves.
The history between Black people and the Choctaw Nation is very complicated — much more painful and divided than the Choctaw — Irish relationship.
Here’s the clearest way to explain it:
- Choctaw People and Black People During Slavery
- Some Choctaw owned Black slaves before the Civil War.
- After being forcibly moved to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) on the Trail of Tears, some Choctaw brought enslaved Black people with them.
- Enslaved Africans were used for farming, ranching, and household labor inside Choctaw communities — very similar to how they were enslaved by white Americans.
This was not universal (not all Choctaw individuals owned slaves), but it was significant enough to be part of Choctaw law and culture by the 1800s.
2. After the Civil War (1866 Treaty)
After the Union won the Civil War, the U.S. government forced the Choctaw Nation (and other “Five Civilized Tribes” — Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole) to sign new treaties.
The 1866 treaty required the Choctaw to free their Black slaves and give them full citizenship rights within the Choctaw Nation.
These freed Black people became known as Choctaw Freedmen.
3. Struggles of the Choctaw Freedmen
Even though the treaties guaranteed rights, many Choctaw Freedmen were excluded over time.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, battles over tribal membership, land rights, and identity became common.
Many descendants of Black Freedmen are still fighting today to be recognized as full Choctaw citizens.
4. Was There Solidarity?
No, not like with the Irish.
The Choctaw — Irish bond was one of compassion and solidarity against suffering.
The Choctaw — Black bond historically involved oppression, slavery, and later struggles for civil rights within Choctaw society.
That being said, today some Choctaw individuals, activists, and historians are working to acknowledge the Choctaw Freedmen history and repair relationships.
There is hope for future solidarity, but it’s rooted in very different and painful beginnings.