Some recent chatter among the genealogy buffs in the family has rekindled my interest in researching the prevalant "Indian" heritage legends told throughout black families along the Missisippi Coast.  In most cases it is usually Blackfoot or Choctow.

Well it all boils down to a term of endearment.

The natives that occupied the MS Territory during the years leading up to the War of 1812 and the Civil War were a coalition of Choctow, Chickasaw and Natchez. Other native tribes such as the Biloxi, Pascagoula, Tunica and Creeks which the main three tribes controlled also lived in this coalition know as the "Creek Nation". It is well known that runaway slaves often sought refuge among native tribes and for the most part were well taken care of and even intermarried. There were natives who kept black slaves. Most of the members of the Creek Nation opposed the enslavement of the blacks save the actual Creek tribe. All but a small faction known as the "Red-Stick" choose to fight against slave and native rebellion against Gen. Andrew Jackson. The term, "Blackfoot" served the same connotation as "Conductor" in the Underground Railroad" of the North. It was often used in reference to those natives who helped the "blacks" on "foot" (runaways) = BLACKFOOT.

WE ARE NOT decendants of the Blackfoot Nation who originated from Canada and down through Montana. As a matter of deductive reasoning the likely hood of being descendants of the Biloxi and Pascagoula are slim. The Pascagoula were entirely decimated and the few Biloxi that remained moved west, joined with the Tunica and eventually died out. There are plenty of us who may be able to trace lines to Choctow but it was the Creek "Red Sticks" who joined with the Seminoles and free blacks and fought fiercely for the abolishment of slavery and to maintain there lands. Most of our lines would be desendants of these tribes.

I will post more details when I have time to write it all out. I wanted to help point all of our research in the right direction and elicit the help of those who do family research to sort this out and work towards specific surname validations.