Our Land Before We Die

Description

In Our Land Before We Die, Jeff Guinn traces the little-known history of the runaway slaves who fled to the Florida Everglades to live alongside the Seminole Indians. Deeply rooted in tribal oral history, and based on extensive interviews with descendants, this book describes the incredible circumstances of a people who sought shelter in the shadow of a tribe whose land and welfare already hung in the balance. And yet, in their tireless journey-from Florida to Indian Territory in Oklahoma; on the seven-hundred-mile flight from persecution that took them across the Rio Grande into Mexico; and then back across the Rio Grande to Texas-they never surrendered the hope of one day attaining land of their own. Our Land Before We Die brings to life the largely forgotten history of a courageous people and the descendants for whom this story is their only legacy.

First Sentence

MISS CHARLES EMILY WILSON, last survivor of the Seminole Negro camp on Fort Clark across from Brackettville in South Texas, doesn't organize the Seminole Heritage Days celebration anymore.

Description

"Every September the Seminole Negro hold a tribal gathering in the town of Brackettville, Texas. After a short parade down Brackettville's four-block main street, one hundred or so men, women and children gather in the one-acre Seminole Scout Cemetery and tell the story of their people. In Our Land Before We Die, Jeff Guinn echoes their voices as he traces the little-known history of the runaway slaves who fled to the Florida Everglades to live beside the Seminole Indians.". "Deeply rooted in oral tribal history, Guinn's book describes the incredible circumstances of a people who sought shelter in the shadow of a tribe whose land and welfare already hung in the balance. And yet in their tireless journey - from Florida to Indian Territory in Oklahoma; on the seven-hundred-mile flight from persecution that took them across the Rio Grande into Mexico, and then back across the Rio Grande to Texas - they never surrendered the hope of one day attaining land of their own.". "In this history of the Seminole Negro, Jeff Guinn summons the voices of descendants who recount the story as it has been told for generations. Our Land Before We Die skillfully brings to life a rarely glimpsed chapter in American history, in which the fates of a group of African-Americans and a group of Native Americans were intricately intertwined."--BOOK JACKET.

Subjects

Other Editions

• Our Land Before We Die: The Proud Story of the Seminole NegroHardcoverTarcher2002-09-12
• Our Land Before We DiePaperbackTarcher2005-01-13
• Our Land Before We DieElectronic resourcePenguin USA, Inc.2009-01-01