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Black Indians are Native American people – defined as Native American due to being affiliated with Native American communities and being culturally Native American – who also have significant African American heritage.
Because their lineage traces back to both African and Indigenous origins, Black Native Americans' genetic heritage distinguishes them from other African American and Native American communities. Despite making up a small percentage of the population, black Natives have a rich history in the U.S.
This identity often includes Freedmen—the free men and women who were once enslaved by citizens of the Five Tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole, and Choctaw)—and their descendants. Black Natives and Freedmen are the legacy of our Black and Native ancestors.
Historians estimate that by 1861, 8,000 to 10,000 Black people were enslaved by various tribes in Indian Territory. Slavery ended in the greater U.S. in 1865 but not in the Creek Nation until...
Walton-Raji’s ancestors are Freedmen, African-Americans who were slaves of the Five Civilized Tribes – the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole Nations – in Indian Territory,...
Host Michel Martin explores shared black and Native American heritage with William Katz, author of Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage, and Shonda Buchanan, an English professor, who is of...
Black Native Americans were largely erased from US history. “We Refuse to Forget” explores the situation of Black members of the Creek Nation in the 1800s, and their descendants in the 20th...
