Seminole Scouts: Blending African and Native Identity

Every year, descendants of the Black Seminole Scouts meet in Brackettville, Texas to celebrate Seminole Days on the grounds of the Carver School, a segregation-era school house that educated Brackettville's African American students. The Black Seminole cultural identity developed following the Emancipation Proclamation, as freedmen sought new lives and opportunities in Seminole Indian communities in Florida and South Carolina. Black Seminoles first came to Brackettville while stationed at Fort Clark as cavalry soldiers in the U.S. Army. Today, Black Seminole Scout descendants continue to live in Brackettville and maintain the cultural legacy of their ancestors in a variety of forms, including cooking, dress, spirituality, and language.
This video was produced for our heritage travel app, Texas Time Travel Tours. The mobile app features statewide thematic tours focusing on a variety of time periods and cultures in Texas history. View the mobile tours or download the app at texastimetravel.com/get-guides.