6th Annual Seminole Burning Honor Walk to be held January 8

NationalCrimeEventsCommunity Indigenous

Published: 12/19/2024, 7:02 PM

Edited: 01/08/2025, 12:34 AM

Photo Courtesy: Seminole Nation of Oklahoma

(SEMINOLE RESERVATION) It’s one of the most horrific days in the history of the Seminole Nation. On January 8, 1898, two teenage Seminole boys, Lincoln McGeisey and Palmer Sampson, were chained and burned at the stake by an angry mob for a murder they did not commit.

“We believe those spirits are still with us,” said Redbear Williams, a citizen of the Seminole Nation. “Those are our ancestors and when we do these things they walk with us. They help us heal to show us a better understanding of what life is and how life can get and what it can be."

Williams has been organizing the Seminole Burning Honor Walk since 2020.

The Seminole Nation says the events that led up to the burning began on December 30, 1897, when Mary Leard, a woman living near the Seminole Nation Reservation’s western boundaries was murdered at her home. An infant baby was also injured and ended up dying.

In the days following the murder, an angry mob detained two young Seminole boys and tortured them, trying to get a confession.

“The mob chose Palmer Sampson, a fullblood Seminole who could not speak or understand English and Lincoln McGiesy, as their victims to be lynched, despite having Frank Leard, a survivor and eye witness of the attack, swore Sampson nor McGeisy were not the ones to kill his mom,” a Facebook post by The Seminole Nation states.

The Nation says over 200 people were there to witness the burning, which was classified as a lynching. The crime was supported by newspapers in Pottawatomie County. However, the U.S. Government did decide to indict 69 of the mob members.

While this tragedy happened more than a century ago, local Seminoles have never forgotten.

On January 8th, 2025, Williams will lead the 6th Annual Seminole Burning Honor Walk starting at the Mekusukey Mission and ending in the city of Maud where the burning took place.

The walk is about 7 miles total.

“We decided to do this because this is something that our people needed to understand because it's part of our history,” said Williams. “And how our people stood together and came together to get justice for them even though what was done was really really wrong.”

Williams said they’ve had as many as 50 to 60 people show up for the walk each year.

He told VNN Oklahoma the walk has also led to more people discussing the history of what the Seminole people have endured.

“A lot of people are starting to take notice and interest in their history and their culture and it's more like the story behind it, starting to come together and just starting to ask questions,” said Williams.

There will be an opening ceremony before the walk, which will include breaks. People will have a chance to speak when they arrive at the site of the burning.