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The Native Californian Juneteenth: Another False Promise of Freedom
Juneteenth is a commemoration of the announcement of the supposed emancipation of slaves in Texas, on June 19, 1865. One hundred and fifty-six years after the original Juneteenth, it was declared a federal holiday. The news was slow to be announced, and it has been slow to be recognized. More important, the General Order №3 read by the Union General that day, did not really “free” the slaves. What that General Order actually said was:
The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.
Like the Emancipation Proclamation itself, the supposedly “free” African-Americans were enjoined to continue to “ labor faithfully” for “wages.” This announcement foreshadowed the failure of Reconstruction.[i] One form of slavery merely replaced another. Instead of working for one master, they had to work for several, falling further into debt no matter how hard they worked. “Idleness” was punished as vagrancy, and the “vagrant” sold again into servitude for his crime. The false promise of freedom given to African-Americans on Juneteenth was also given to Native Californians decades before. This model continues to be followed today.
The Franciscan Fathers who established the Missions in California relied on the indigenous population stolen for labor, just as the Southern plantations relied on people stolen from Africa. Some came voluntarily, but once inside the Missions, they could not leave, and their entire lives were ordered by the Fathers. While slavery of the indigenous population was technically outlawed by the “Leyes de los Reinos de las Indias” or “Laws of the Indies” issued by King Charles of Spain,[ii] there is no other word to accurately describe this system of labor. The control of the padres over their novitates was absolute and eternal. The…
