Uncovering Buried History: Reflections of my journey to the Allotment Era

Plus, Stealing Tvlse Summer Tour | Philadelphia and more

VNN Founder Brittany Harlow here. This year is the 100-year anniversary of an investigative report that exposed a dark chapter of Oklahoma history. This history still haunts many Indigenous families today. I’m not sure which is more frustrating- the fact that these events happened, or how they continue to be covered up to this day.

We published our most recent Stealing Tvlse episode on it last Friday.

The corruption was insidious, perpetrated by those who were meant to protect the rights and wealth of American Indian allottees.

Today, the Oklahoma American Indian probate scandal remains largely forgotten by the general public. It is not taught in schools, and local or state governments seldom acknowledge this painful history. But for the families who lost so much, it remains a raw wound.

Stealing Tvlse Summer Tour | Philadelphia

Philadelphia was the last stop on the Stealing Tvlse Summer Tour.

Traveling around the country to unearth difficult and buried history was not just a journey through physical landscapes; it was an emotional expedition into the hidden corners of our collective past. This endeavor was emotionally charged, complex, and deeply human, exhausting and fulfilling at the same time.

We selected Philadelphia, and specifically the Historical Society of Philadelphia (HSP), as our last stop on the tour due to their extensive collection from the Indian Rights Association (IRA), which was founded in Philadelphia in the 1880s. The IRA is the one who published the aforementioned investigative report, titled “Oklahoma’s poor rich Indians”.

According to the HSP website, the IRA was one of the most important organizations establishing and influencing American Indian policy in the 20th century. Their IRA collections spans 186 linear feet, 482 blocks, 38 volumes and 31 flat files. In short, an extensive amount of American Indian history and records from 1882 to 1994 live only in hard copy at the HSP. (We’re working on publicly digitizing some of those records for research purposes).

While many do not find the documents we found shocking, I certainly did.

Then again, I am often shocked by the depths of human cruelty and suffering inflicted upon others. The systemic injustices that so many others are fine with refusing to acknowledge.

In regard to Indigenous injustice, in the papers we read, in the reports we pored through, it appears the dehumanization of this ethnicity was a major factor of how these injustices were able to be carried out.

And we have only skimmed the surface.

The only solace I could find was the stories of advocacy over adversity, reminding us no matter how dismal a situation appears there will always be someone, somewhere fighting for what is right. As was the case with the IRA and others who sounded the alarm on Eastern Oklahoma’s probate crimes.

Their work, and ours 100 years later, reaffirms our shared responsibility to remember, learn, and evolve, so that the mistakes of the past are not repeated, and the voices of those who were silenced can finally be heard.

2023 LION Local Journalism Awards

Support and recognition are positive affirmations I thirst for to help me through difficult work times.

Funding from the Data-Driven Reporting Project, being a recipient of the 2023 RevContent Local Reporting Award, and most recently LION’s Collaboration of the Year Award at the 2023 LION Local Journalism Awards not only affirmed our work, but finally supported it.

Want to check out our acceptance speech for the LION award, written by LHRI Founder Tatianna Duncan? Click here.

We hope that by shedding light on these dark chapters of Oklahoma and national history, we can contribute to a broader conversation about accountability and healing. The pain of the past should not be forgotten but should serve as a reminder to strive for a more just and equitable future.

Thank you for joining us on this journey of discovery, and we look forward to continuing to share more stories that need to be told.

To learn more about our “Stealing Tvlse” series, click here.