Black and Native peoples are original to these lands.
Black and Native: Heritage That Cannot Be Erased.
Throughout history, Black and Native peoples formed families and communities through marriage and unions, creating “Black Indians.” These relationships arose from shared oppression, proximity, and strategies for freedom, such as matrilineal systems that allowed children to be born free.
Tensions also existed: some Native nations enslaved Black people, European colonizers encouraged division, and changing tribal laws sometimes excluded those with African ancestry. Despite these challenges, Black-Native communities endured.
"In the era of shared slavery, where African and Indigenous slaves lived together and brought forth illegitimate families in the eyes of the land. Native Americans owned African slaves, babies were born, families continued, and blended communities grew" (Cerny, 2022).
Our roots are shared, our stories intertwined.
The Racial Integrity Act, 1924
The 1924 Racial Integrity Act enforced the “one-drop rule,” labeling anyone with African ancestry as Black and banning interracial marriage. Walter Plecker used the law to erase Native identity in Virginia, declaring “no real Indians” existed and reclassifying them as Black or colored.
Despite this, many Native families quietly resisted, marking “Indian” on records where only “White” or “Colored” were allowed—preserving their heritage against state-sponsored erasure (Birchett, 2024).
Birchett, N. (2024, November 13). Records of A Paper Genocide. The Uncommonwealth.
Paper Genocide
“Paper genocide” refers to the deliberate destruction or manipulation of records to erase a group’s history and culture. In the U.S., it has targeted Native American and African-American communities through the loss of treaties, land records, and official documentation. Census misclassifications, state and federal laws, and institutional publications have systematically diminished Native identity “on paper,” perpetuating misinformation, cultural erasure, and generational trauma that continues today (Bullock, 2023).
Blood quantum
Freedmen of the Five Tribes
Blood quantum is a U.S. government–created system measuring “Indian blood” to determine tribal enrollment. Used to limit membership, it ties Native identity to racial “purity,” a colonial concept rooted in eugenics. Before colonization, tribes did not measure belonging this way. Today, some federally recognized tribes still use blood quantum, though each tribe sets its own membership criteria as part of its sovereign authority (Hair, 2016).
Hair, J. (2016, April 27). Blood quantum Native American: Definition, facts & laws. Powwows.com.
Freedmen of the Five Tribes
Freedmen of the Five Tribes
Freedmen of the Five Tribes
Freedmen were formerly enslaved African Americans of the Five Civilized Tribes who lived in Indian Territory after emancipation. Despite sharing tribal culture, most tribes denied them full citizenship after the Civil War, despite the 1866 treaties. The Dawes Rolls (1898–1907) reinforced this by labeling citizens as “by blood” or “Freedmen,” often misclassifying mixed families. Today, only the Cherokee Nation fully recognizes Freedmen descendants, who continue to fight against blood quantum rules that block equal tribal citizenship (Oaster, 2021).
Oaster, B. (2021, October 11). 7 questions about Freedmen answered. High Country News .
Stolen Land
Freedmen of the Five Tribes
Discrimination
Laws and practices allowed white landowners to seize land from African Americans, often using heirs’ property, where land without a will was divided among descendants and sold without their consent. Over generations, this systematically eroded Black landownership. In Mississippi alone, 800,000 acres were taken between 1950 and 1964, worth $3.7 to $6.6 billion today. These patterns reflect the “doctrine of discovery,” a principle that justified European claims and denied Indigenous and African Americans legal ownership, framing theft as entitlement (Goldstein, 2019).
Discrimination
Freedmen of the Five Tribes
Discrimination
Racism in the U.S. has historically privileged White Americans while oppressing Black and Native peoples through slavery, segregation, land theft, and forced assimilation. Black and Native communities have faced systemic discrimination in law, education, and culture, with overlapping struggles in Indian Territory and beyond. Today, both groups experience disparities in criminal justice, healthcare, and economic opportunity. Limited public awareness of Native issues further perpetuates ongoing inequality (Wikipedia, 2025).
From Injustice to Resilience: Our Story Continues.
Generations Oppressed, Strength Remains.
We empower Black Native communities to overcome systemic racism, honor our heritage, and thrive with resilience, unity, and pride. Through education, advocacy, and cultural preservation, we reclaim our narratives and build a stronger, equitable future.
“Racial ideology combined eugenics, or the belief that racial characteristics were inherited from one generation to the next, and longstanding racial prejudices against Black and Native Americans” (Craig & Smithers, 2024).
Craig, A., & Smithers, G. (2024, March 20). How Virginia Used Segregation Laws to Erase
Some of our ancestors did not arrive, they were already here
Not all who are called African American came from across the ocean, many were born of this land.
African Native Americans, or Afro-Indigenous peoples, trace their ancestry to both African and Native roots, forming a unique and enduring culture that blends the two. Historically, shared struggles under slavery and colonization forged deep connections between Native tribes and African Americans.
Today, terms like Afro-Indigenous, Black Native, and Black Indian reflect both heritage and identity, honoring the intertwined histories and resilience of two peoples whose stories remain vital to understanding America’s past and future.
