Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes

Valerie Coleman

2015

Flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano

'Freedmen' for Alto Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano is a musical hybrid of Native American and African cultures that honor the legacy of the Freedmen. They were former African slaves adopted into tribal membership through emancipation or marriage. They were later cast out of the government’s National Registry of those tribes that would have entitled them to land and other benefits. Still, they fight for their rights even today. The history of what the early US colonial Government labeled as the “Five Civilized Tribes” (the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, Seminole and Choctaw nations) and their relationship with the Freedmen resonates within me as it is a true merging of cultures, sometimes clashing with aggression, but more than often melding into a soulful exchange.