The pilgrims weren't the only Americans that thrived in a harsh, foreign landscape with the help of the Native Americans.
The Maroon cultures, also known as escaped slave communities, are the focus of a new exhibit at the Chucalissa Museum.
Daniel Swan, director of the Chucalissa Museum and associate professor in the anthropology department at The University of Memphis, described the importance of these cross-cultural relationships for the African-Americans who "escaped into a land they had no knowledge of, and they were obviously being hunted.
"The relationships they were able to form with these indigenous people, the Native Americans, was an important part of how these people survived," Swan said.
The fact that escaped slaves often did survive and formed their own communities under such tremendous strain is a story that very few people are familiar with.
"This exhibit is important because many people don't really realize that Africans resisted slavery to tremendous extents," Swan said. "It's a chapter of the slave history in America that people aren't really cognizant of."
The name for the cultures, Maroon, is a variation of the Spanish word "cimarron," which can be translated to English as "runaway slave." The impact of these cultures can still be seen today.
"Our common society was enriched tremendously by these new cultural formations," he said.
The Maroon cultures can be viewed as one of the shining rays of hope that radiated through the slave era in America.
"This exhibit shows a dark chapter in the history of the western hemisphere, but it also shows the resilience of human beings in meeting the challenges of daily life," Swan said.
Though Maroon cultures are an important part of history, several of these cultures are still thriving today in places like South America, Jamaica and even in Texas and Florida in the United States.
Wendy Bartlo, graduate student in the anthropology department and graduate assistant at the Chucalissa Museum, expressed excitement about the fact that the exhibit is from the Smithsonian Museum.
"It's nice to come here and compare our permanent collection with the traveling exhibit," Bartlo said. "It's a way to contrast two cultures that are sort of inter-related."
She also said she thinks now may be a good time for people to pay a visit to the museum, especially if they haven't been in a while.
"I know a lot of people haven't been out here since they were children on their third-grade field trips, so I think it may be nice for them to revisit and see how it's changed," Bartlo said.
Bartlo also said the exhibit could have a very special effect on some of the visitors.
"It might give people insight into their own personal family histories," she said.
Josh Gorman, who is working on his doctorate in anthropology at The U of M while working as a graduate assistant at the Chucalissa Museum, said the exhibit paints a portrait of survival.
"This is really great locally because it shows the manner in which African-American slaves adapted to new environments and worked with Native-American groups, or at least had contact with them, to survive outside of European control," Gorman said.
The exhibit also celebrates something that is innate to all groups of people.
"The exhibit is a wonderful celebration of not only survival but cultural efflorescence," Swan said. "The Maroon historical experience is a wonderful testament to the resiliency of the human spirit and the power of culture."
