Many of the black Americans who traveled to Oklahoma had ancestors who could be traced back to Oklahoma . Many of the settlers were relatives of Native Americans who had traveled on foot with the Five Civilized Tribes along the Trail of Tears . Others were the descendants of people who had fled to Native American Territory . Many Black residents were also from the various Muskogee speaking peoples , such as Creeks , Seminoles , and the Yuchi , while some had been adopted by the tribe after the Emancipation Proclamation . They were thus able to live freely in the Oklahoma Territory
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Greenwood, Tulsa