http:// [h1]Black Indians in the United States[/h1]
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Notable Black Indians:
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| Unknown. (182,494 identified as ethnically African/Native American on 2000 census)[sup][1][/sup] |
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| United States (especially the Southern United States or in locations populated by Southern descendants). |
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African Americans · Native Americans in the United States · Freedmen · Other Native peoples of the Americas · Zambos · Cafuzos ·
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Black Indians
[th=""]Total population[/th]
[th=""]Regions with significant populations[/th]
[th=""]Languages[/th]
[th=""]Related ethnic groups[/th]
Black Indians is a term that refers to people of
African-American descent, usually with significant
Native American ancestry, who also have strong ties to Native American culture, and social and historical traditions. This article addresses Black Indians in the
United States.
Certain Native American tribes had close relations with African Americans, especially those in the Southeast, where slavery was prevalent. Members of the
Five Civilized Tribes held enslaved blacks, who migrated with them to
the West during
Indian Removal in 1830 and later. In peace treaties with the US after the
American Civil War, the tribes, which had sided with the Confederacy, were required to emancipate slaves and give them full citizenship rights in their nations. The Black Indians were known as tribal Freedmen of the five civilized tribes (
Cherokee,
Creek,
Seminole,
Choctaw, and
Chickasaw Freedmen). In addition, some black maroon communities had been allied with the Seminole in Florida and intermarried. The Black Seminole included those with and without Indian ancestry. The
Cherokee,
Creek and
Seminole have created controversy in recent decades as they tightened rules for membership in their nations and excluded
Freedmen who did not have at least one Indian ancestor on the early 20th century
Dawes Rolls. Lawsuits are pending.
[h2]Contents[/h2][hide]
- 1 Overview
- 2 History
- 2.1 Colonial America
- 2.2 1800s through Civil War
- 2.3 Native American slave ownership
- 2.4 Indian Freedmen
- 3 Genealogy
- 4 Notable Black Indians
- 4.1 Historic
- 4.2 Contemporary
- 5 See also
- 6 References
- 7 External links
- 8 Further reading
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[h2][
edit] Overview[/h2]
Until recently, historic relations between Native Americans and African Americans were relatively neglected in United States history studies.[sup]
[2][/sup] At various times, Africans had more or less contact with Native Americans, although they did not live together in as great number as with Europeans. African
slaves brought to the
United States and their descendants have had a history of cultural exchange and
intermarriage with
Native Americans and other slaves who possessed Native American and European ancestry. Most interaction took place in the
Southern United States, where slaves were held in greatest number.[sup]
[3][/sup] Numerous African Americans thus have some Native American ancestry, although not all have current social, cultural or linguistic ties to Native peoples.[sup]
[4][/sup] Black Indians refers to African Americans who grew up or were closely associated with Native American culture. It does not mean all those who happen to have some Native American ancestry.
Relationships among Native American groups and Africans and African Americans have been varied and complex. Some groups were more accepting of Africans than others and welcomed them as full members of their respective cultures and communities. Native peoples often disagreed about the role of ethnic African people in their communities. Other Native Americans saw uses for slavery and did not oppose it for others.
After the
American Civil War, as members of the US Army, some African Americans fought against Native Americans, especially in the
Western frontier states. Their military units became known as the
Buffalo Soldiers. Black Seminoles particularly were recruited and worked as Indian scouts for the Army. On the other hand, many Native Americans and African-descended people fought alongside one another in armed struggles of resistance against U.S. expansion into Native territories, as in the
Seminole Wars in
Florida, as well as resistance against slavery and racism.
[h2][
edit] History[/h2][h3][
edit] Colonial America[/h3]
The earliest record of African and Native American contact occurred in April
1502, when the first African slaves arrived in
Hispaniola. Some escaped inland on Santo Domingo; those who survived and joined with the natives became the first circle of Black Indians.[sup]
[5][/sup][sup]
[6][/sup] In addition, the first example of African slaves' escaping from European colonists and being absorbed by Native Americans was recorded in 1526. In June of that year, Lucas Vasquez de Ayllón established a Spanish colony near the mouth of the
Pee Dee River in what is now eastern
South Carolina. The Spanish settlement was named
San Miquel de Guadalupe. Among the inhabitants were 100 enslaved Africans. In 1526, the first African slaves fled the colony and took refuge with local Native Americans.[sup]
[6][/sup]
Intermarriage between African slaves and Native Americans began in the early 17th century in the coastal settlements.[sup]
[7][/sup] In 1622 Native Americans overran the European colony of Jamestown. They killed the Europeans but brought the African slaves as captives back to their communities, gradually integrating them.[sup]
[8][/sup] Interracial relationships occurred between African Americans and members of other tribes in the coastal states.[sup]
[7][/sup] Several colonial advertisements for runaway slaves made direct reference to the connections which Africans had in Native American communities. For example,
...ran off with his Indian wife..., had kin among the Indians..., part Indian and speaks their language good.[sup]
[9][/sup]
In South Carolina, colonists were so concerned about the possible threat posed by the mixed African and Native American population that was arising due to runaways, that they passed a new law in 1725. This law stipulated a fine of 200 pounds for persons bringing a slave to the frontier regions. In 1751 South Carolina passed a law against holding Africans in proximity to Native Americans, which was deemed detrimental to the security of the colony.
In 1726 the British governor of
colonial New York exacted a promise from the
Iroquois Confederacy to return all runaway slaves. He required the same from the
Huron tribe in 1764 and the
Delaware tribe in 1765.[sup]
[8][/sup] Despite their agreements, the tribes never returned any escaped slaves.[sup]
[8][/sup] They continued to provide a safe refuge for escaped slaves. In 1763 during Chief
Pontiac's uprising, a Detroit resident reported that Native Americans killed
whites but were "saving and caressing all the Negroes they take." He worried lest this might "produce an insurrection." Chief Joseph Brant's
Mohawks in New York welcomed runaway slaves and encouraged intermarriage.[sup]
[8][/sup] The Native American adoption systems knew no color line.[sup]
[8][/sup]
Woodson's notion of an escape hatch proved correct: Native American villages welcomed fugitives and some served as stations on the
Underground Railroad.[sup]
[8][/sup]
During the transitional period of Africans' becoming the primary race enslaved, Native Americans were sometimes enslaved at the same time. Africans and Native Americans worked together, lived together in communal quarters, produced collective recipes for food, and shared herbal remedies, myths and legends. Some intermarried and had mixed-race children.[sup]
[1![Alien 0] 0]](/styles/default/xenforo/NTemojis/alien.gif)
[/sup] Ads asked for the return of both African American and Native American slaves. Some Native Americans resented the presence of Africans.[sup]
[11][/sup] In one description, the "Catawaba tribe in 1752 showed great anger and bitter resentment when an African American came among them as a trader."[sup]
[11][/sup]
The Cherokee had the strongest color prejudice of all Native Americans.[sup]
[12][/sup] The hostility has been attributed to European fears of a unified revolt of Native Americans and African Americans: "Whites sought to convince Native Americans that African Americans worked against their best interests." [sup]
[13][/sup] Europeans considered both races inferior and made efforts to make Native Americans and Africans enemies.[sup]
[14][/sup] Native Americans were rewarded if they returned escaped slaves, and African Americans were rewarded for fighting in "Indian Wars".[sup]
[14][/sup][sup]
[15][/sup][sup]
[16][/sup] European colonists told the Cherokee that the
smallpox epidemic of 1739 was due to disease brought by African slaves, to create tension between the groups.[sup]
[17][/sup] The British tried to restrict contact between Africans and free Native Americans. They feared Native Americans' taking enslaved Africans as husband or wife and tried to discourage trade between the groups. The British also passed laws prohibiting the carrying of slaves into the frontier of the Cherokee nation's territory to restrict interactions between the two groups.[sup]
[17][/sup] Some tribes were said to encourage marriage between the two groups, to create stronger, healthier children from the unions.[sup]
[18][/sup]
In the 18th century, some Native American women turned to freed or
runaway African men due to a major decline in the male population in Native American villages. At the same time, the early African slave population was disproportionately male. Records show that a few Native American women bought African men as slaves. Unknown to European sellers, the women freed and married the men into their tribe. Some African men chose Native American women as their partners because their children would be free, as the child's status followed that of the mother. The men could marry into the tribe and be accepted. As European expansion increased in the Southeast, African and Native American marriages became more numerous.[sup]
[14][/sup]
[h3][
edit] 1800s through Civil War[/h3]
In the early 19th century, the US government believed that some tribes had become extinct, especially on the East Coast and those without reservations.[sup]
[19][/sup] It did not have a separate census designation for Native Americans. Those who remained among the European-American communities were frequently listed as
mulatto, a term applied to Native American-white, Native American-African, and African-white mixed-race people, as well as
tri-racial people.[sup]
[19][/sup]
The
Seminole people of Florida were unusual for forming in the 18th century, mostly from
Creek and other Native Americans who migrated from Georgia. They incorporated some Africans who had escaped from slavery. Other
maroons formed separate communities near the Seminole, and were allied with them in military actions. Some intermarriage took place. African Americans living near the Seminole were called
Black Seminoles. Several hundred people of African descent traveled with the Seminole when they were removed to Indian Territory. Others stayed with a few hundred Seminole in Florida.
By contrast, an 1835 census of the
Cherokee showed that 10% were of African descent.[sup]
[9][/sup] Western frontier artist
George Catlin described "Negro and North American Indian, mixed, of equal blood" and stated:
By 1922 John Swanton's survey of the civilized tribes noted that half the Cherokee Nation were freedmen and their descendants.
Former slaves and Native Americans intermarried in northern states as well. Massachusetts Vital Records prior to 1850 included notes of "Marriages of 'negroes' to Indians". By 1860 in some areas of
the South, Native Americans were believed to have intermarried with African Americans to such an extent that white legislators thought the Native Americans no longer qualified as "Indian". Legislators wanted to revoke their tax exemptions.[sup]
[8][/sup]
Freed African Americans, Black Indians and some Native Americans fought in the
American Civil War against the
Confederate Army. During November 1861, the
Creek and Black Indians, led by Creek Chief
Opothleyahola, fought three pitched battles against Confederate whites and allied Native Americans to reach
Union lines in Kansas and offer their services.[sup]
[8][/sup] Some people who were Black Indians served in colored regiments with other African-American soldiers.[sup]
[2![Alien 0] 0]](/styles/default/xenforo/NTemojis/alien.gif)
[/sup]
Black Indians were documented in the following regiments:
The 1st Kansas Colored Infantry, The Kansas Colored at Honey Springs, The 79th US Colored Infantry, and The 83rd US Colored Infantry, along with other colored regiments that included men listed as Negro.[sup]
[2![Alien 0] 0]](/styles/default/xenforo/NTemojis/alien.gif)
[/sup] Civil War battles occurred in Indian Territory.[sup]
[21][/sup] The first in Indian Territory took place July 1–2, 1863, and involved the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry.[sup]
[21][/sup] The first battle against the Confederacy outside Indian Territory occurred at Horse Head Creek, Arkansas on February 17, 1864. The 79th U.S. Colored Infantry participated.[sup]
[21][/sup] Many Black Indians returned to Indian Territory once the Civil War had been won by the Union.[sup]
[2![Alien 0] 0]](/styles/default/xenforo/NTemojis/alien.gif)
[/sup] When the Confederacy and its Native American allies were defeated, the US required new peace treaties by the
Five Civilized Tribes, including provisions to
emancipate slaves and make them full citizens of their nations. The former slaves were called tribal freedmen, as in
Cherokee Freedmen and
Seminole Freedmen, and adopted into the tribes. The Cherokee had freed their slaves in 1863, before the end of the war.[sup]
[8][/sup]
[h3][
edit] Native American slave ownership[/h3]
Slavery existed among
Native Americans before it was introduced by the
Europeans, although it was unlike
chattel slavery. In oral tradition, for instance, Cherokees recounted people being enslaved as the result of failure in warfare, and as a temporary status pending adoption or release.[sup]
[22][/sup] As the
United States Constitution and the laws of several states permitted
slavery, Native Americans were legally allowed to own slaves, including those brought from Africa by Europeans. The Cherokee tribe had the most members who held black slaves, more than any other Native American nation.[sup]
[23][/sup]
In colonial North America, the first exposure that Africans and Native Americans had to each other came from Africans being imported as laborers, both indentured servants and as slaves.[sup]
[7][/sup] Records from the slavery period show several cases of brutal Native American treatment of black slaves. However, most Native American masters rejected the worst features of Southern practices.[sup]
[8][/sup] Travelers reported enslaved Africans "in as good circumstances as their masters." A white Indian Agent, Douglas Cooper, upset by the Native American failure to practice more severe rules, insisted that Native Americans invite white men to live in their villages and "control matters."[sup]
[8][/sup] Though less than 3% of Native Americans owned slaves, racial bondage and pressure from European-American culture created destructive cleavages in their villages. Many had a class hierarchy based on "white blood."[sup]
[8][/sup] Native Americans of mixed
white blood stood at the top, "pure" Native Americans next, and people of African descent were at the bottom.[sup]
[8][/sup] As among mixed-race African Americans, some of the status of white descent may also have been related to the economic and social capital passed on by white relations.
Numerous African-descended people were held as slaves by members of Native groups up until the Civil War. Some later recounted their lives for a
WPA oral history project during the
Great Depression in the 1930s.[sup]
[24][/sup]
[h3][
edit] Indian Freedmen[/h3]
Main article:
Cherokee Freedmen Controversy

Members of the Creek (Muscogee) Nation in Oklahoma around 1877. Note mixed European, African and Native American ancestry. L to R,
Lochar Harjo, principal chief; unidentified man,
John McGilvry, and
Silas Jefferson or
Hotulko micco (Chief of the Whirlwind). The latter two were interpreters and negotiators.[sup]
[25][/sup]
After the Civil War in 1866, the five civilized tribes, parts of which had supported the Confederacy, were required to grant their slaves citizenship and membership in the tribe, as the United States freed slaves and granted them citizenship by amendments to the US Constitution. These people were known as tribal freedmen - for instance, Creek or Cherokee Freedmen. Similarly, the Cherokee were required to reinstate membership for the
Delaware, who had earlier been given land on their reservation, but fought for the Union during the war.[sup]
[26][/sup] Many of the Freedmen played active political roles in their tribal nations over the ensuing decades, including roles as interpreters and negotiators with the federal government. African Creek men, such as Harry Island and Silas Jefferson, helped secure land for their people when the government decided to made individual allotments to tribal members under the Dawes Rolls.
In the late 20th century, the Cherokee Nation moved to take descendants of Freedmen and Delaware off the tribal rolls, except for those who had a Cherokee ancestor on the Dawes Roll. A political struggle over this issue has ensued and the matter went to the tribe's Supreme Court. The Cherokee later reinstated the rights of Delaware to be considered members of the Cherokee, but opposed their bid for federal recognition.[sup]
[26][/sup]
By the tribal Supreme Court ruling of March 2006, the
Cherokee Nation was required to reinstate as members about 1,000 African Americans (and descendants) whom they had dropped from the rolls in the mid-1970s. In response, leaders of the Cherokee Nation organized a referendum to vote on qualifications for citizenship in the tribe. The referendum established direct Cherokee ancestry as a requirement, unlike previous qualifications. Only such members were allowed to vote in the referendum. The measure passed in March 2007, thereby forcing out Cherokee Freedmen and their descendants unless they also had direct Cherokee ancestry. This has caused much controversy.[sup]
[27][/sup] The tribe has determined to limit membership only to those who can demonstrate Native American descent based on listing on the Dawes Rolls.[sup]
[28][/sup]
Similarly, the Seminole nation of Oklahoma moved to exclude Black Seminoles from membership. In 1990 it received $56 million from the US government as reparations for lands taken in Florida. Because the judgment trust was based on tribal membership as of 1823, it excluded Seminole Freedmen, as well as Black Seminoles who held land next to Seminole communities. In 2000 the Seminole chief moved to formally exclude Black Seminoles unless they could prove descent from a Native American ancestor on the Dawes Rolls. Two thousand Black Seminoles were excluded from the nation.[sup]
[29][/sup] Descendants of freedmen and Black Seminoles are working to secure their rights.