I’ve just spent this past weekend celebrating Seminole Days in Brackettville, Texas. This year, the celebration took place from Friday, September 18 to Sunday, September 20.
On Friday morning, before the sun came up, several of us gathered at the George Washington Carver School. Ahead of the first event of the day, we met at the school to enjoy some homemade breakfast tacos that were prepared by SISCA president Augusta Pines and coffee before getting on the road. A little after seven, a caravan of about five cars left Brackettville, headed for Seminole Canyon, located in Comstock, Texas. Once we arrived, we were greeted by the Seminole Canyon staff, and after briefly going over some rules and best practices, the hike began.
Later that evening, we gathered at the Carver School for our second and final event of that day. Tom Ashmore, president of the West Texas Archeological Society, was our guest speaker. He returned for the fifth year to give us an update on his work. This year, ahead of his presentation, he spent several days at Fort Clark Springs, where he discovered several items that were found in the vicinity of Joe Remo, who was a Seminole Negro Indian Scout, and from whom I descend. Tom found a small coin, a piece of a chimney, and several slabs of material that had been used while building his house. Seeing items that Joe Remo touched made me incredibly emotional.
On Friday evening, we also honored Mr. Russell Nowell with the Miss Charles Award for all that he has done over the years to help SISCA.
Saturday was the busiest day because it was full of activities and we had an election to complete. The first event on Saturday was our parade. This year, our parade marshal was Ms. Nancy Williams. She is one of our elders and a resident of Del Rio, TX. After the parade, we gathered at what we call the “Carver School Grounds” for our program. During our program, we announced the parade winners, gave a rundown of the events for the day, and enjoyed singing and listening to two songs. Ruben Exum, who is a Black Seminole and a vocalist, led “This Little Light of Mine” and then sang “A Change is Gonna Come” upon request. After our program, our BBQ plate sale began. People could choose from brisket, chicken, sausage, potato salad, rice, and beans. The brisket, chicken, and sausage were prepared by Lee Torralba.
After the BBQ, we began our afternoon events. Attendees could choose between playing loteria or listening to two presentations. Our Saturday Lecture Series featured Mark Mallory who is a PhD student who is attending Texas A&M and studying history. He has been working with our community since 2021, but this was the first time that he has spoken publicly about his work. And our second speaker was Isabel Celestino. She invited her family to speak with her about her great-grandmother Alice Fay Lozano. Along with her Terran Alexander, Rafaela Brown, and Carmen Hidalgo spoke.
After the presentation, we had our annual meeting. During the meeting, the results of the election were announced: Bertha Benson, Jerry Fay, and Sterling “Smiley” Goodloe were elected to the board. Augusta Pines remained president, Corina Torralba remained treasurer, and I remained secretary.
After the annual meeting, we had our Afro-Seminole Creole lesson, which was taught by Gabriel Sanchez, who is an amazing teacher. The ASC class attendees enjoyed a short lesson that went over the basics of the language before we spent the rest of our time playing ASC loteria. This was a great way to learn some of the vocabulary from ASC, while having a lot fun.
Our last event took place on Sunday. We gathered at the Seminole Indian Scouts Cemetery to pay our respects to our loved ones who have passed away between Seminole Days. Shortly after 10 am, we started with a welcome by Augusta Pines, then a prayer by Sterling Goodloe. We then said the names of the loved one who had died. We were treated to a beautiful rendition of a Negro spiritual that spoke to death, warning it not to come around. Elizabeth Ann Gaines Ali sang and gave us some history about the song. Ruben Exum also led/sang a song. To close out the ceremony, Ms. Gaines Ali led “This May be the Last Time,” and then Sterling Goodloe said a closing prayer.
After months and months of preparation, the actual events seemed to go by so quickly. What I took away from this weekend was the importance of making space for connection. We had so many people who traveled great distances to come and be with friends and family. There were so many people who said that they refused to miss Seminole Days. And as long as there are people who have a vested interested in keeping the history of the Black Semionle/Negros Mascogos alive, there is no way that this history will ever be lost or fade away.
