Racial Hegemony in America: The Struggle for identity Among the Black Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes of the Southern United States |
2004/2005 Portland State University McNair Scholars Online Journal
Volume 1, Transformative Possibilities: Transcending Interlocking Boundaries
pages 150-164
Natasha Hartsfield
Faculty Mentors: Pedro Ferbel-Azcarate
The notion of race was introduced to the Americas at the time of colonization. For the Black Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes, racism has led to the rejection of their tribal heritage from both tribal and United States governments. The Black Indians are of both African and Native American ancestry with a history born in America and rich with resistance against colonial power. Blood quantum, the governmental requisite for tribal membership, is but one of the many laws put in place to govern Native American tribes. This introduces the question: Why, in a Nation that claims “freedom for all,” does there continue to be groups of people whose identities are not recognized? Why are descendants of both Native American and African ancestors ineligible for education scholarships, land allotments, gaming and fishing rights and other tribal allowances? In 1965 African-Americans were marching on Washington to demand their rights as American citizens. Today, Black Indians are marching on Washington from Indian Territory in Oklahoma to demand their rights. As a people who represent the continuing struggle for American freedom, the case of the Black Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes demonstrates how hegemony introduced the hypodescent rule or “one drop of blood” rule by the United States, laid the foundation for systemic effects of the racial hierarchy within the tribes. As this is an issue that may be further explored, future research might include a comparative study of other unrecognized groups that have been affected by colonialism, incorporating archival research, research of material culture and oral histories.
Introduction
There are many tribal groups within the United States who remain unrecognized by governmental and societal institutions due to issues of race. The Black Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes represent a community of individuals who are the descendants of both Native American and African ancestors from the Southeastern region of the United States.
At the birth of the American colonial experiment, race served as a distinguishing factor in roles of domination and subordination among individuals. Later, race became codified into law through legislation such as the Dawes Act, which was, and continues to be defined by blood quantum. Today, the concept of race continues to be woven deeply into the fabric of American society. For the Black Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes, racism has led to the rejection of their tribal heritage from both the tribal and the United States governments. Members of the Black Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes are a self-ascribed people, who have for many years, endured the struggle of gaining both federal and tribal recognition as an existing people with a rich history in the United States. The significance of self-defined identities is to be emphasized here. How is membership defined as per the individual and the tribe, contrary to the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the United States? Biology or blood quantum is but one example of governmental provisions imposed on Native tribes. When such constraints for group inclusion are made, they serve to disregard the Native customs and imply the colonial ideology, creating subsequent damage to the social fabric within the tribes. Why in a Nation that claims “freedom for all”, there continue to be groups of people whose communities are not recognized? Why are the descendants of both Native American and African ancestors ineligible for education scholarships, land allotments, gaming and fishing rights and other tribal allowances? Is the reason for such an unequal distribution of rights the result of socio-economic structure founded on the basis of racial inequality? The story of the Black Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes demonstrates how the introduction of hypodescent, or “one drop of blood” rule, by the United States, laid the foundation for the systemic effects of the racial hierarchy within the tribes. It remains to be seen whether the civil rights of multi-racial people will become acknowledged in law. As one member of the Black Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes, Angela Molette exclaims: “The descendants of African ancestored tribes of the United States are not extinct.” (2004). It is beyond time that United States accepts its obligation to its people to provide cultural and ethnic recognition as per the terms of each community…
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Tags: Natasha Hartsfield, Portland State University McNair Scholars Online Journal