Abstract
ABSTRACTOklahoma's history books make little mention of the sociocultural significance and impact of all‐Black towns within the state. There is scant information in Oklahoma's historical and archaeological records that discuss the roles of women in all‐Black communities. The town of Dorason was an all‐Black town settlement in Western Oklahoma. It was nestled between two all‐Black towns within an American Indian tribal district. Miles away, the bustling railroad town of Elwat would later become home to many descendants from the all‐Black towns we discuss in this chapter. Very little remains in these mostly forgotten spaces and places. Through a process of ethnohistorical investigation and several trips to field sites, our research places descendant community narratives within Black Feminist archaeological scholarship. Our purpose in privileging narratives is two‐fold: 1) to fill in the gaps between the archaeology of storytelling and space and place literature; and 2) to illustrate the ways in which storytelling situated within archaeological frameworks is empowering. The inclusion of these narratives creates an understanding of empowerment through all‐Black town space and placemaking. We argue that intimate space, storytelling within spaces, and strong social networks are and were critical elements of self‐empowerment and emancipatory practices in contentious spaces.
Published Version
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