Turn the Cherokee Gestapo into Something Better, Part 2 of 4

Please read the previous blog entry and this one together. Then go on to parts three and four.

http://vancehawkins.blogspot.com/2017/08/controversy-of-fake-indians.html and http://vancehawkins.blogspot.com/2017/08/dna-proof-of-ancesty.html
and http://vancehawkins.blogspot.com/2017/09/there-should-be-better-way.html .

They document a nightmare I have recently been subjected to.  Newton’s Third Law of Motion states basically that for every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction for the system to remain in equilibrium. I guess this is my “reaction” to those Cherokee Gestapo I recently ran into.

Cherokee Gestapo

Most Cherokee people are better than this.  You shouldn't insult your separated cousins like these folks do! You are BETTER than these bitter angry people who lure people to a website and then call them names and lie about them. You are BETTER people than this!

I'll be adding a little bit of information here as time permits, over the next few weeks.

After running into these people online, my opinion concerning  under documented Cherokee has changed 180 degrees. These "Gestapo" are SERIOUS and they are an arrogant and a hateful bunch.

I’ve just had a terrible week being interrogated by them. I went to their site because I wanted to understand why they hated the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama, recognized in Alabama as Cherokee.  For several days I conversed mostly with one person I'll call "Y" for the moment. I had thought I made myself clear. I asked "Y" if I could share some of the material she shared for my blog that she had written, and she responded “yes”. Fine, I still thought we were doing fine. Then she asked me to have my genealogy performed by “real” genealogists. This was my first sign of trouble. I already had done my genealogy, had worked on it for over 20 years, and I already knew everything they would find. I tried to help and mention my ancestors at first, and I told them the lines that went back to the Cherokee and also I mentioned there was some Catawba but I didn’t say which line.

The genealogy records are sketchy and they knew that before they started. However the photographic evidence is unmistakable, as is the DNA evidence. The Cherokee line, photos, DNA,  et cetera, go straight down the Brown/Guess surnames lines.

What did they choose to research? They looked into my Hawkins line, and the Richey’s mostly. It is possible the Hawkins line has American Indian, but I never mention them as such. My Joshua Hawkins was in jail in Huntsville, Texas for a year in the late 1850s I believe, maybe 1860. There is a record of this. In that record it also says he was born in Cherokee County, Alabama. Since the 1860 census has his birth about 1835, that means he was born in the Cherokee Nation, 3 or 4 years or so before final removal. That is evidence of a possible Cherokee connection, but because we have no family story about Cherokee on the Hawkins side, I didn’t even mention it in my own research as possible having any Cherokee connection.  This group of  genealogists never seemed to grasp the difference between “evidence” and “proof”. That is, if something wasn’t “proof”, they would declare that it also was not “evidence”.

The fact that he was in the Cherokee Nation as a baby is “evidence” that he might be Cherokee. But it is not “proof” as there were also many “intruders” upon the land as well, and as I said we have no family stories of the Hawkins’ being Cherokee, I did not mention them as I did the Brown and Guess lines. Here is the only family photo I have ever seen of my grandpa Noah Hawkins, son of Joshua, the man who was in prison for a year. Joshua’s wife was a Byrum, and photographic evidence shows them VERY fair skinned. Dad said he saw his grandma (Byrum) Hawkins once and said (quote as I never forgot it) she was a “great big red headed woman”. Here’s the only picture we have of Noah Hawkins, son of Josh and  Eliz (Byrum) Hawkins.

Noah Hawkins (1877-1957) is my grandpa and I never met him. He is the man with the butchering knife in his hand. This was during the Dust Bowl era. I was told the man next to him was a neighbor. I was told his name but I forgot it. I was also told if someone helped in the butchering process they'd be given a part of the meat. The elderly man is Jeff Richey, He would have been maybe 1/4th or 1/8th Catawba. His wife, Josephine Brown, was where we have always been told we get our Cherokee blood. Jeff was Noah's father-in-law. Since the sun is shining on Noah and his neighbor equally, it does appear Noah is of a darker complexion than his neighbor. It was Noah's father whose prison record was almost forgotten, but was discovered a few years ago that says was born in Cherokee County, Alabama, which at the time of his birth, didn't exist. It was part of the Cherokee Nation.

Again, since they brought up the fact my great grandpa had been in prison for a year, a fact that had nothing to do with my genealogy. A friend said they sort of gloated over it – well, that’s the only reason I bring this up. There are other things I would have brought up, about both my Guess/Gist and Brown ancestors  too, had they been less judgmental.

They also chose to look at my Richey’s. I mentioned to them that Joseph Richey married Sarah Ann Wayland and both died young. They were putting other Richey’s as the parents of my ancesrtor. They never looked at our Wayland’s. Had they done so, they’d have seen that my Wayland ancestors helped organize the first Protestant Church in Indian Territory (when Indian Territory included much of Arkansas). It was along the White River in 1815 and predated Dwight Mission by three years. Had they checked the Wayland’s they’d have seen two of them, Jarred and James -- were members of Bean’s Rangers, one of three ranger units that were the first soldiers stationed at Ft. Gibson abt 1832 when it first opened up.  Had they looked deeper, they’d have seen Joseph Richey, great grandpa’s father, they one that died young, served in the military at Fort Gibson also, during 1846-1847. He is the man with the mixed-blood Catawba wife, Sarah Ann Wayland. Jarret and James Wayland were her first cousins. They were also first cousins of each other. This bunch showed me a photo of some Richey’s and tried to tell me – “Look at your Richey ancestors! They’re White!!" My response was "Why shouldn’t they be white? I have no idea who was in that picture, but it wasn’t my direct line." Any Richey’s not from the bunch that married into the Catawba or Cherokee would have been PURE Caucasian. Mine did both and that kept us a little darker skinned for an extra two generations, as those old photos prove. Had they researched deeper yet, they’d have seen that the Waylands go back to the Melungeon’s along the Tennessee/Virginia Border in the 1790s. These Melungeons were also called at one time “the friendly Indians”. One man (Dr. Richard Carlson, PhD; "Who's Your People") wrote a dissertation for his PhD on them, and traced them back to Fort Christanna and the Saponi Indians there. The Saponi were a band of the Eastern Siouans, whose largest representative was the Catawba. But this group of "genealogists" never looked at my Wayland's. They missed that. However they were searching for Cherokee so I can let that pass.

I showed them a half a dozen photographs, and they said photos were useless (only using more vulger language). I specifically chose these photos because a few of them showed names that could be mapped to faces. They even replied “Only one of the photos looks American indian.” Well all of them I showed them showed dark complexion and other traits, but that was quite a revelation coming from this bunch. They ADMITTED an ancestor of mine “looked American Indian”!  All the photos I shared with them are shown in the previous blog entry. Please look at them. So I thought they still might be fair. Boy was I mistaken.

I showed them some (not all) of my DNA evidence, showing the location of the segments where my DNA, on all 23 chromosomes, was of American Indian origin. There was also some sub-Sahara African DNA popping up in a couple of locations, as well. I was told “That doesn’t mean s***!" When they told me they didn’t find Cherokee ancestors on the two lines they searched, I reminded them that I had already told them there was no known Cherokee ancestry on those lines. When I mentioned this as a reminder, I knew full well about that prison record recording my ancestor’s place of birth as Cherokee County, Alabama. But I kept it to myself. Without family stories about him saying that he had Cherokee blood, I didn’t think I had enough circumstantial evidence on him, so I didn’t mention him.  They compared our names with names on prominent rolls. Again, the only rolls I expected my family to be on was the Reservation Rolls. One ancestors name was “John Brown” and he lived two doors down from “William Brown” in Alabama, and there was a John and William Brown who received reservations near one another in southeastern Tennessee, Hamilton County. There was a second John Brown in Northern Alabama -- his descendants were on the rejected rolls. Are the two men named “John Brown” related who lived just a few miles from one another? I don’t know. There’s a Hartwell H. Houston who signed up for the Miller-Guion rolls on their Freedmen’s Cherokee project, Miller Application #17703. He said his father was Almond Joiner who was part Creek. He said Cherokee John Brown had a daughter named Anna from one of his slaves. Anna was wife of Almond Joiner/Joyner. Well another descendant of this same Joiner/Joyner family married my great-great grandma’s half-sister. My great great grandma, Harriet Guess/Gist, married a son of John Brown named David Brown. The Miller-Guion report said they couldn’t find this John Brown “with any degree of certainty” on the 1835 roll, and therefore this man’s application was rejected. But as a reservee, he wasn't living in the Cherokee Nation any more. But that’s the only roll record that I can say with certainty belonged to someone associated with my family. These Joiner/Joyner’s were listed as “Mu” on census records in Tennessee (Bedford County I think, I might have forgotten). 

Two descendants of a man named John Brown married half-sisters. Also circumstantial evidence. In a court of law, an abundance of evidence eventually can be determined to be proof, and a man can go to prison because of it. I have tons of circumstantial evidence. That plus DNA PROOF and photographic evidence could be considered enough evidence for a court of law. But this bunch claims they found “no evidence”. They confuse “evidence” with “proof”.  Each point of EVIDENCE I showed them wasn’t PROOF alone, so they considered it to be NOT EVIDENCE, which was wrong – IT WAS EVIDENCE! Had they said it was evidence, just not proof, I might have agreed with them as that is what I have always maintained. There’s TONS of evidence.  And there is PROOF in the DNA reports I received, but they refused to acknowledge it as "proof" or "evidence" either.

These people looked mostly and the Hawkins and Richey surnames, and walked on. As for the Guess surname, we do have a little paperwork with the name of my g-g-g- grandma named “Rachel Guess”, b. 1790s died after 1840. They dismissed that, too. They NEVER asked me for advise as to where to look, and since they were being so rude, nasty and so arrogant, I quit cooperating with them. On the paperwork we have she already had four children when she married her second husband. She later married a third time. She might have kept her maiden name and it might have been Guess – but we just don’t know. When you read Hartwell Houston’s application you see these people’s names often had nothing to do the surname of the father or husband.

They wrote me down as a “fraud” despite telling me one ancestor’s photo looked American Indian, and despite my undisputable DNA proof. After declaring me a “fraud” Mr./Ms. "Y" asked me if I was going to be "her ally?" I responded by saying on the day they accepted science in the form of DNA test results, on that day I would become their ally.  I left their website and didn’t return to it until I was told they’d copied my membership card in the state recognized Echota Tribe of Alabama onto their site without asking my permission to do so. That with the insults calling me "wannabe", "fraud", et cetera, and I'd had enough. I asked them to delete it because they didn’t ask permission. They ignored me. I put some of "Y's" words on a blog entry, but first I asked permission, and "Y" agreed. 

I could write three or four more pages of circumstantial evidence, but you get the gest of it. Oh one more thing, I recall reading she wrote there were sixteen groups like hers – looking for frauds. I told her I’d like to talk to all sixteen. Those names were not forthcoming. I’m still waiting. In the days since this happened, I have heard from a dozen or more people who were treated in the same manner by these Cherokee Gestapo. If your ancestor didn’t sign up for Dawes, they treat you like garbage. They have proven the need for state recognized Cherokee.

Stories

These people run the
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Echota-Cherokee-Tribe-of-Alabama/117357264992657
website on facebook. They lure  people there, and then turn on them. I have heard from many people. I would feel guilty even naming the criminals who run that facebook website. But just because they have no decency doesn't mean I should act as they do.  However if they keep putting up lie after lie about me on their website I will name names. I suspect they will continue to write lies about me and I'll have to change my policy. It seems childish. They have no guilt in shaming others, but I am not like that. I have told you of my experience with them. Here are few examples of people’s experiences with this group.
First story –
Person 1 --  "My gripe is with [X] and [Y]."
Person 2. --  "I think that qualifies you..lol. I really don't think it's funny though. Do you have these confrontations on your fb.page ?"

Person 1 -- "No, I battled them on the Echota Cherokee tribe of Alabama, Facebook website. It is still up if you click on the right links on that site. How dare they tell me i am not Cherokee. My family is talked about in the Book "Unhallowed Intrusion". I am a xxxxxxxxxxxxxx recipient -- which means the lineage was reviewed by a Federal Judge. I have more Cherokee in me than [Y]. I fought them because I did not like how they treated [name] . They kept calling [him/her] [insulting name]. This [person] had done 25 years of research on [his/her] family lineages. I do not like how they treated Vance (that’s me – they know this is my blog so there’s no point in trying to hide my identity). They even dug up the trash that one of his ancestors had been to prison. And then posted that on the internet. [X] . . .  they were not on the Dawes roll. It is my understanding that [name] has filed a lawsuite against these people. They need to be taught a lesson. You do not do what they do to people. It is defamation of Character. They tell you that you have to learn proper Cherokee heritage from them and not a vulture Culture club. I would rather [qwerty] on myself than learn a damned thing from them. They are disgrace to the Cherokee Nation at a whole. I will go to the Eastern Nation and learn what i can to better the Echota. At least I have some relatives there with the same family surnames.At least I have some relatives there with the same family surnames. I am not eligible for CNO enrollment, as only one family member went there. The rest stayed in Georgia hiding in plain sight. I am not eligible for enrollment in the Eastern Nation even though  . . . my [ancestor] had Baker Rolll Number-though contested . . . He did not live in North Carolina at that date and time.

Person 1 -- "PS Bob Blankenship knows much about my family and even told me were to my ggg Grandfather's relatives in Catoosa Oklahoma in yyyyyyyyy Cemetary...."

Person 3 -- "They said one of my ancestors had been to Prison? Was it zzzzzzzzzz ? Did they show that the census records put his birth at 1834 or 5, and that those prison records said he was born in Cherokee County, Alabama?" [note: census records just say b. Alabama. That prison record is the only record we have of where exactly, he was born in Alabama.] He appears on only 2 census records, 1860 and 1880.  He was in prison for only about one year late 1850s, and was never in trouble again for the rest of his life. Cherokee County was in the heart of the Cherokee Nation at the time of his birth, he would have been just a very small child at the time of the removal. I never even claimed him a possible Cherokee before. I only mention this here because of the way they treated me. We have never found a record of just who his parents were. They are nowhere to be found."

Second Story – 

Person 4. – " “Z” contacted me last year. She was cool and understanding of what she claims undocumented Cherokee. This year though she and her group confronted me on my wwwwwwwwww page. She was angered at me when I told her what I thought of her. She then sent my personal fb. page to her Cherokees that are fake fb. page and distorted my identity. She said that I was the Chief of the vvvvvvvvv  and other distorted rubbish. I photoed these postings of the Cherokee Gestapo group. Just like “A”."

Person 5 -- "She's my #1 hater and was contacted by my ex who is [name of state recognized tribe]. He works with them unfortunately. He got them on me."

[Vance’s note: this group claims they don’t work with state recognized tribes, or that ALL state tribes are phoney. But here is a state recognized American Indian who they apparently allow to work with them.]

Person 5 -- " “B”, “C”, “D”  are just a few haters."

Person 6 -- "Yes I know “B” and “D”. “B” and “D” were kicked off my friends uuuuuuuuu FB group (Native DNA discussion group).

Person 7 -- "E" is another hateful person from that group."

There was another comment where someone commented saying “Z” was once suspended from using facebook for a month because of making telling false statements about various people, and he/she received too many complaints.

Third story

Person 8 --  "I do not even know if we the Echota or they the CNO Gestopo put up the Echota Face book page. I tried to get there to help [person 9] and was blocked. The more I tried the more I was directed away from the site while [person 9]  was battling them.... So seems that the Gestopos have put that facebook page up to trap people inquiring about the Cherokee heritage. Thus they can tell everyone they are white and thus they do not want anymore Cherokee that they might have to share some money down the road....The Gestopo may have deleted comments from the site?"

Person 8 --  "I'm pretty sure they are like the trap door spider, vermin that sit back and wait for a nibble, trying to catch the unsuspecting. Yeah I can't find most of my comments any more, either."

Fourth Story

Here is a very telling story -- more proof they don't care about facts. They believe that if someone belongs to a state recognized tribe, you are fake.

Person Ten --  "This proves my Indian ancestry . ABCD EFGH was the brother of my ancestor ZXCD EFGH and they were the sons of DEFG, a well known Cherokee  in the area of DEFG Station, now a part of Chattanooga."  --

This member of the state recognized Echota Tribe of Alabama then provides a document which says: “# 0000; Action: Admitted; Name: XXXXXX and 4 children; Residence: Vian, Oklahoma.

“Reason: Applicant’s grandfather, ABCD EFGH was enrolled in 1835 in Tennessee. It appears that about 1850 the family moved west, some of them residing in Mo., and some of them in Arkansas. For this reason they were not enrolled either by Chapman in the East or Drennan in the west. Several of the younger generation were enrolled as Cherokees and have received allotments while others have not been so enrolled and allotted but they were recognized as being of Cherokee Indian descent, and there is no reason why they should not have been allotted if they had made the effort. . . . taken March 15, 1909.”

Lianna Elizabeta Costantino – "[one person] and Person 10 are FRAUDS who hang with a culture vulture club, none of whom are Cherokee."
When shown the document transcribed above, she replied, "This is a singular document, presented here out of context and disconnected to you as such on Facebook. Therefore, it is nothing but an unsubstantiated claim here, and does not negate all of the wannabe antics I have seen you get up to on Facebook  . . ."

[my note: I couldn't help but see the similarity between this man's story and my family's story. We also left the east in 1848 and other family members showed up in Arkansas before 1860. We also lived not far from Vian for a while after 1872.] This man's documents even say had his family made the effort to enroll, they would have been accepted. I am reminded about what mama told me about dad's grandparents. Dad's family lived next to his maternal grandparents farm, and on the other side lived mama and her siblings and parents. mama told me that Dad's grandparents started to sign up for Dawes, but "something happened" and she didn't know what it was -- but they never filled out the paperwork and it was never turned in.

Fifth Story

Here is one of several hateful comments I have received, because of this posting. The guy in the photo below, wearing the ribbon shirt, said the following. This sounds like something only a "wannabe" would say, doesn't it?
" . . . an authentic Ribbon Shirt, just like the type one would wear to an authentic Stomp Dance such as the Green Corn at an authentic Stomp Grounds. You know.... the type that Non Cherokee are not invited to." 
[note: I'd love to respond, but that'd make me (someone called me a "grouchy" old man) look just like him. His words speak for themselves. Okay I will respond. I've been to several Stomps and I have NEVER seen anyone wear a ribbon shirt at one - NEVER! I've seen overalls and cowboy hats, but NO ribbon shirts, yet.]

He added; "Now that other guy looks just like someone that was very rude trying to demand that the Cherokee Nation enrollment office had to enroll him simply on his alleged DNA evidence."

[note: What? I NEVER asked ANYONE to become a member of the Cherokee Nation! I am 64 years old, and have known criteria for memberhip most of that time, and I knew we're are not eligible probably before Ribbon Shirt Guy was born. I talk about him because he, being mostly White, is just a hypocrite to talk of others like he does.

He was one of a crew of 10 or 15 who lured me to a post and then just started insulting me. So I feel no guilt in talking about one of them. I have tried to turn the tables on them, and lured them to my blog where I can control it a little, not much, but a little. I’m just usig the same tactic they use, but admitting it, not trying to hide it, like they do. Maybe if they can see what they are doing to others, they’ll show their victims just a little more respect. They are trying to turn Federally enrolled Cherokee against others who are recognized by states. So they say ANYONE recognized by states are fakes and wannabes. And maybe I will get sick of being insulted and lied about, I don’t know.  I do have high blood pressure, so if they keep up posting these lies, maybe high blood pressure will get me.

Ol' Ribbon Shirt added; "It's not like he didn't know any better either. Just some kind of Victim Complex or something. I wonder what the Ex Con went to Prison for? Con Artist, Dope Peddler, Child Molester? Who knows with this sick SOB?"
 

There is one member of that hate group who does seem to be a little more fair than the others. Even one of his own group followed him up by saying; “I believe the intake sheet said Theft”


It is obvious that by the way Ol' Ribbon Shirt worded this he was trying to give the impression that I was a criminal and that I had gone to prison. My response is that I have NEVER been to jail, never been tried either. Comments like this are why I felt the need to create these three blog entries. I started wanting to write a simple blog entry. I wanted to know why the Cherokee Nation hated State Recognized tribes, and ended up being viciously attacked. Here is my copy of a document where my ancestor went to jail. It OBVIOULY was dated 1858 -- he saw it and STILL told his lie. After he said this, I will mention his name and not just avoid it -- Chris Whitmore. Furthermore, below is the document he certainly saw and he KNEW it was 150 years old and wasn't me when he pretended that it was me. Damned lying hypocrite!

Look for "Joshua A Hawkins". Under "nativity" it says Alabama. Under residence it says "Cherokee County, Alabama". Per 1860 and 1880 Texas census records he was born either 1834 or 1837. But again, I have never thought he might be Cherokee. We have no family stories suggesting he was mixed-Cherokee. But who am I to say, these Cherokee Gestapo tell me written records are better than family stories, so . . .

So when Ribbon Shirt wrote about me saying; "It's not like he didn't know any better either. Just some kind of Victim Complex or something. I wonder what the Ex Con went to Prison for? Con Artist, Dope Peddler, Child Molester? Who knows with this sick SOB?" 

He had seen the document saying it was an ancestor of mine who was jailed in 1858 for “theft”. He knew it wasn’t ME! He doesn’t even know people don’t wear ribbon shirts to Stomps. And he does look a lot Whiter than my Uncle Hoten. But since he’s “documented” and grandma’s brother isn’t, Uncle Hoten would have been called a “wannabe” by this group at that White guy, Chris Whitmore, wearing  the ribbon shirt for a photo op -- was the Cherokee. Hmmm . . .

This is the type of material they say on a regular basis to others – then they pretend to be innocent. I have copied and pasted every comment they have said to me so that if and when (and they will)  they delete it, I still have copies of all the hate mail I have received (it amounts to pages). And why? Just because I got curious and wondered why they hated state recognized American Indians. They don’t realize THOUSANDS were left off the rolls, or on or near the East Coast, no roll was ever created for them and their descendants.

This is the type of material they say on a regular basis to others – then they pretend to be innocent. I have copied and pasted every comment they have said to me so that if and when (and they will)  they delete it, I still have copies of all the hate mail I have received (it amounts to pages). And why? Just because I got curious and wondered why they hated state recognized American Indians. They don’t realize THOUSANDS were left off the rolls, or on or near the East Coast, no roll was ever created for them and their descendants

This person KNOW my ancestor, NOT me, was in jail for “theft” and HE KNEW IT when he wrote what he said. Ribbon Shirt deliberately LIED whereas I have always been honest.

And this “prison time” was for my great grandma. I was b. 1952, dad was b. 1915, grandpa was b. 1877 and his daddy, they one who went to jail for I think it was a year, maybe one and a half years – I forget. He was Joshua Hawkins, b. 1835 or 1837, depending on whether you believe the 1860 or the 1880 census, the only 2 census records he is on. In fact we never have discovered who his parents were.  The interesting thing about him is that I have always believed they were “White” before grandma and grandpa married in 1904 in Loco, on the western edge of the Chickasaw nation, -- it ran right up to the Comanche Nation. Grandma’s family’d lived there since the late 1880s (Indian/Pioneer Papers, look up Oscar Richey, one of grandma’s brothers). 

Got off tract, sorry. Yall found his prison record. Since I’ve been researching this for over 20 yeyars and they were looking at my family for the first time in their lives, all they found was the superficial easy to find relatives – but it is the hard to find ones that were American Indian, a fact proven by DNA evidence.  Off tract again – Jesus, don’t let me get distracted. In Joshua’s prison record it says he went to jail for a year (maybe 2 at most?) about 1858 or 9 for a minor theft and he went to Huntsville Prison in Texas. In that same record it says – in more detailed records than you might find online (maybe it’s there, I really don’t know) it says he was born in Cherokee County, Alabama. Now I am not sure there was a Cherokee County in 1835 or 1937 as that county was in the Cherokee Nation. I know the Intruders had poured into the Cherokee like a swarm of locusts, by the mid/late 1830s. So since we have no family story of him being mixed Cherokee, I never even considered those Hawkins’ as possibly being Cherokee! I might have casually considered it, but I kept that to myself, never mentioning it in public. To this day even though we have a record saying he was born in a county that was part of theh Cherokee Nation at the time of his birth. I to this day think he was probably White. THAT’S how tough I am on my own family and in my genealogical research.

I could share a dozen or more such stories about this group. All I hope to get out of this is a nicer bunch of interrogators -- turn these Cherokee Gestapo in the into something better.

Educational Game

I think this should be fun. One of these is a person is the great Uncle of a man who has DNA PROOF of having American Indian ancestry, but is not on the rolls, so he has been called a “wannabe”. The other guy says he has documented proof of Cherokee ancestry in the rolls. Just by looking, can you tell me which is the “Wannabe” and which has “documentation” in the Cherokee rolls?

Oh, I forgot, the guy with documentation goes around calling others (including me) a “WANNABE”

I decided to add a picture of grandma's brother, Uncle Hoten, taken 1909-1910.  I got so much hate mail, I felt I needed to post this as well. I asked people to look at the photos I already had up, but these people didn't do it. So here it is again. I have also had people tell me I was faking photographs. So here (below) is the original. It was taken from a school photograph 1909-1910.

If you look at the last 2 rows of kids attending this school, they are listed together, or they say “so and so behind so and so”. Read the names. You’ll see “Ida May ?W? behind Holton Richey.” To the right of them it says “Reecie Wade (blurred) behind Thomas Stanford.” Notice the blurred face behind and to the right of only one person on the bottom row who looks like he might be full blood Indian. It is grandma’s brother, and if yall are gonna tell me he isn’t Native American, well I just don’t see how ya could miss it. I suspect the only reason yall are going to such lengths to lie about us it that a year and a half ago I joined the state Recognized “Echota Band of Alabama Cherokee”. Hoten was grandma’s younger brother, and we always called all her brothers and sisters “Uncle” or “Aunt” even though they were our great uncles and great aunts. We always had Richey family reunions at Lake Quanah Parker in the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. Today they don't allow camping, but when I was a child it was common. I think Hoten, no I’m pretty sure, his family lived up around Chickasha. A mixed race person could put down any race and most mixed race people who could put down “White” on census records would do it. Why are yall act so surprised to hear that? I know yall found Uncle’s Hoten and Otho on the 1900 census because I remember yall finding that. Another of grandma’s brothers is on the top row. He died of the flu in an epidemic in 1918 I believe the year was. Please know I couldn’t have faked these photos, as the same photo is found in a book on the history of Tillman County, Oklahoma, Vol. 2 I think.