The Heritage of Black Indians
"African Americans intermarried with Indians as early as the mid 1700’s. Some Indians were even known to have slaves. Some tribes bought the slaves freedom and then the slaves resided with the Indians. There are over 15 million descendants from the African Native Americans. Intermarriage between Indians, Africans and Europeans were quite common in the Eastern seaboard and southeastern states.
"Many mixed blood families were forced to choose one culture over another. Because of US contempt for both African and American Indians, many families chose to hide their African and/or Indian heritage. As families research their genealogies, the barriers are gradually being broken.
"Throughout American history, the longest and most consistent contact between American Indians and peoples of African descent occurred among those tribes that the federal government designated as the Five Civilized Tribes--the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles. While most family history is know only by oral histories, some information can be found on the Freedman Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes."
