So, instead of staring disconsolately at my TiVo that keeps rebooting itself and then freezing (keeps me on my toes), I decided to flip through some of my open browser windows that have been cluttering the desktop forever.

And it's depressing stuff. I swear it has nothing to do with what day it is, but I found myself randomly reading the text of treaties between the US government and various Native nations, and I got as far as:

The Commissioners Plenipotentiary of all the Choctaw nation [...] shall also restore all the negroes, and all other property taken during the late war, from the citizens, to such person

and I realise I know nothing about the relationship of the Choctaw with slaves of this period. So, you know, Google.

Brought to Indian Territory in the 1830's Black Choctaws arrived with the Choctaw Indians as slaves. Prior to removal the Choctaws had been exposed to Africans in their native homeland of Mississippi. Slaves were a part of the European culture to which the Choctaws would later adapt. Slavery would be one of the institutions the nation would adopt. Chief Moshulatubbee had slaves as did many of the Europeans who married into the nation, with the Folsoms and LeFlores among the larger slave owners.

The only family of distinct free status in the Choctaw Nation at the time of removal was the Beams family, children of Nellie Beams. Though their status was later challenged by their half Choctaw siblings who sought to sell them for profit, their recognized status as free Choctaw citizens was noted by their fellow citizens. A full account of the saga of this family is found in the Journal of Negro History 1976. Slavery remained in the Choctaw Nation, till 1866, when the Treaty of 1866 signed in Ft. Smith, Arkansas requiring that The Choctaws release their Africans from bondage.

I did not know that Native Americans kept black slaves. Was this common?

I didn't know that either.

Not very, mostly by the more 'westernized' tribes that were in the south. It was encouraged at times by the local and federal government, because if the Native Americans were keeping slaves for plantation use, well that means that they are becoming just like the Europeans. Part of the reason it was not very widespread was that slaves were valuable, and if the Native Americans had stuff that was valuable, well, it tended to disappear into the nearest colonists' pocket. Slavery was only ever profitable in narrow circumstances, which required plantation agriculture. Land that was suited for that, well, that also tended to end up in European hands, and once the Native Americans were kicked off that sort of land for far less desirable lands, it became unprofitable. Despite that, several tribes did have slaves, the southern Cherokee seem to the worst offenders.

Wikipedia has an entry that leads to more info here.

A Breaking Bad thanksgiving (video) for those who are interested in such thing. [link]

If you'd like to get some simple pleasure, try this--move your finger from side to side as if it's following you.

My TiVo is acting up, so I'm randomly trying shows on my Instant Queue since it reboots when I try and watch the next Revenge episode. So...suddenly I'm watching Dollhouse, and it occurs to me: HOW THE FUCK DID I MAKE IT PAST THE FIRST DOLL ENGAGEMENT?

For some reason that skeeves me way more than it did the first time. However then there was Enver, and that reminded me there are good bits. But then Boyd reminds me there are asspull and sad bits, and now I'm wondering if they cast Tahmoh to make Eliza look nuanced.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig. I got to play with Barbies! Also eat all of everything. There was a surprise guest -- my aunt's nephew (my mother's brother's wife's brother's son) wasn't supposed to be home from Australia yet, but was! The rest of his family was very excited. I only ever see him at Thanksgiving anyway, so was less excited, but that was cool.

I did not know that Native Americans kept black slaves. Was this common?

When I first learned about this as a kid, I was really upset about it for days. I could not understand how one oppressed group owned another. Gotta love early education of the evilness of humans. Stays with you.

I could not understand how one oppressed group owned another

Humanity jumped the shark for me when I learnt how complicit everyone could be in the systematic oppression of everyone else--whether it was through malice, shortsightedness, oppression of themselves...we're all pretty awful. My parents were very genocidally educational, although I'm pretty sure they didn't realise the scope they were exposing me to at the time.

I came across an article about a guy whose former employer revealed his migraine condition in a request for a reference. And that's legal because the guy revealed his condition outside of a medical enquiry, so it didn't count as privileged medical information. The migraines in this instance were revealed because they'd cause him to miss work without calling in, so it wasn't just chit chat out of school--it was intended to convey information about their suitability as an employee, but damn...

I mean, I thought there's a tacit agreement to say "Jimmy worked here from fall of 2005 until 2010" and that's about all the detail most references were going into these days. The chronic ailment thing sounds totally like it's too much trouble to bother revealing to a stranger.

Obviously there's a million possibilities for why they were willing to be so open with a stranger, but that doesn't half make me paranoid about what's legal to disclose. Even if you think they wouldn't...to know they can is a bit scary.

Man--watching Revenge is pretty damned fun. I cannot tear myself away, and I haven't even worked out what it's conflicting with why I wasn't watching it this whole time. I love the shit I totally don't see coming (aka all of it, pretty much). Also, I swear it has more green screen than Once Upon A Time.

Does anyone watch Scandal?