Reclassification & Historical Erasure

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During the 18th through 20th centuries, many Indigenous families in the southeastern and central regions of the United States were administratively reclassified in census, tax, and property records under racial designations such as “Negro” or “Black.” This practice occurred under slavery, Jim Crow, and eugenics-era policies and was used to:

Sever Indigenous peoples from treaty protections

Obscure Indigenous land rights

Facilitate land seizure and economic exploitation

These classifications were political and economic instruments, not reflections of Indigenous identity or bloodline. 

SITN documentation preserves evidence demonstrating that reclassification did not extinguish Indigenous lineage, kinship, or cultural continuity.

The Indian Removal Act of 1830, signed by President Andrew Jackson, authorized the forced relocation of Eastern Native American tribes to lands west of the Mississippi, opening up millions of acres for white settlement, but involved coercive treaties, bribes, and sometimes violated existing laws, leading to the tragic "Trail of Tears" for the Cherokee and similar removals for other nations like the Choctaw, Creek, and Chickasaw, with the government often using dubious agreements, backdated patents, and exploiting internal tribal divisions to seize land and consolidate power. 

Key Aspects of the Indian Removal Act & Treaties:

The Act (1830): Legally permitted the President to negotiate treaties with tribes for their land east of the Mississippi in exchange for territory in the West, promising financial aid and protection.

Coercion & Deception: While ostensibly voluntary, the Act was used to pressure, bribe, and threaten tribes, often ignoring resistance and signing treaties with unauthorized factions, notes an article from the U.S. Department of State history site.

Land Grabs: The primary goal was to acquire fertile Native American lands for white settlers, fueling westward expansion and the growth of slavery.

The Trail of Tears: The forced removal of the Cherokee Nation (1838-1839) epitomized this policy, resulting in thousands of deaths from disease, starvation, and exposure during the brutal journey to Oklahoma.

Broader Impact: Other nations, including the Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole, also suffered forced removals, collectively known as the "Trails of Tears," affecting over 88,000 people. 

Regarding Land Patents & European Claims:

While the provided search snippets focus on the act of removal and treaty-making, the assertion about Europeans backdating land patents and using tribal names is consistent with historical patterns of land theft and fraud during this era, where settlers often exploited loopholes and fraudulent practices to claim Native lands, notes a USF Digital Commons article on Indian Removal and a BIA.gov overview of Indian Law. 

In essence, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 formalized a policy of dispossession, using treaties as a tool for forced migration, with deep injustice and land theft embedded in its implementation, leading to immense suffering and loss for Native American peoples, notes the National Archives.